Choreography and direction: Ersan Mondtag / Dance: Daphne Fernberger, Rob Fordeyn, Dayo Kramer and Alexei Von Garnier (Kinder Ballett Kompanie Berlin), Yannick Lomboto, Philipp Joy Reinhardt, Jone San Martin, Kate Strong, Ashley Wright, Ulysse Zangs / Voices: Luise Aschenbrenner, Abigail Baines, Alma Berg, Emma Gough, Theo Hoffmann, Daniel Hoffmann, Noah Lapp, Greta Holly Patten / Text: Olga Bach, Diawara Bandiougou, Eva-Maria Bertschy / Music: Benedikt Brachtel / Assistant sound design: Lukas Rabe / Stage design: Stefan Britze / Realization stage design: Gabi Bartel, Nina Janßen-Braje und Simon Kernen / Light design: Stefan Britze / Costumes: Teresa Vergho / Dramaturgy: Eva-Maria Bertschy / Assistant director: Akin Isletme / Intern: Lara Weidemann / Production assistant: Ben Mohai / Harp: Melis Çom / Guitar: Pedro Aguiar / Piano, harpsichord: Jean-Pierre Collot / Accordion: Julian Schwarz / Violin: Emmanuel Hahn / Organ: Konstantin Esterl
Ersan Mondtag and ensemble
Joy of Life
A choreography
- Performance
- Dance
English /
German subtitles /
approx. 90 min.
With an ensemble of ten dancers, the Berlin-based director Ersan Mondtag is developing his first choreographic piece at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, thereby intensifying the conceptual and performative approaches of productions such as “De Living” (NTGent/HAU 2019). In “Joy of Life” the dancers find themselves in limbo - in a realm of uneventfulness, in which they can neither die nor achieve happiness. After the sudden stasis, they fall into a leaden fatigue, haunted by nightmares. In order to not completely lose their bearings they try to keep in shape doing simple exercises. Gradually they learn how to align their movements with the others again to form a “corps de ballet”, enabling the soloists to have a brilliant performance. However, their movements only unfold to full beauty in an individual search for meaning, in which they coincidentally encounter others, yet still develop a choreography together. Dance – or rather dancing – becomes a metaphor for our “being in the world”.
We hear the children's and adolescents’ voices off-stage. Fallen out of space and time, they populate limbo. They recall the vastness of the sea and the moment they understood how the world expands around them. They talk about how they rebelled against their parents who determined their lives and, above all, their future and about the journey they embarked on when they set out into the world - to dance. The closer their fates approach the present, the more complicated the tasks they are confronted with become. Some organize protests and go on a hunger strike in order to reduce CO2 emissions and secure the survival of humankind. Others refuse to recognize the boundaries that are obstructing their future and embark on a deadly journey through the desert and the Medierranean Sea. The fictional conversation is based on interviews with the dancers in the production, with representatives of the Fridays for Future movement and with children and teenagers from Africa who came to Europe across the Mediterranean. A kaleidoscope of a time in upheaval is created in which children invoke science and applicable law to ensure their survival.
Cast
Dates
Past
Notes:
Due to an extensive PCR testing regime for SARS-CoV-2, the performers can also move on stage in this production without minimum distance.
Credits
Production: HAU Hebbel am Ufer. Co-production: Theater Freiburg, Kampnagel (Hamburg), Künstlerhaus Mousonturm (Frankfurt a. M.). Funded by: Hauptstadtkulturfonds.
Location
HAU1
Stresemannstr. 29, 10963 BerlinThere are two marked parking spots in front of the building. Access to the Parkett by means of a separate entrance with lift when necessary. Barrier-free restroom facilities are available. Tickets for wheelchair users and accompanying persons can be booked via the ticketing system. If you need any help, please contact our Ticketing & Service team at +49 (0)30 259004-27 or send us an email at
tickets@hebbel-am-ufer.de.
