Climate catastrophe, scarcity of resources and genetic control are phenomena of our present. They were largely caused by those technological innovations that we actually wanted to improve our lives through. And now that things are getting out of control, the maxim for action is shifting: just a short while ago we tried to subjugate wild, unpredictable nature, now it is to be protected and preserved. But what do we actually understand by "nature"? Isn't our mental concept essentially determined by technology? Where does nature end and the technosphere begin?
TANZ Bielefeld discovers the digital: Running branches, pneumatic mushrooms and music robots determine the landscape of Noostopia (noos: "spirit", "mind", topia: "place", "space") and transform the TOR 6 Theaterhaus into an interdisciplinary field of experimentation that examines the consequences of the human urge for innovation. At the interface of contemporary dance and digital media art, choreographer Moritz Ostruschnjak, artist Martin Backes and designer Thilo Ullrich question the connection between what has become and what has been made. What awaits us in "Next Nature"? How can we encounter it if we have not previously outsourced ourselves?
World premiere: January 24th 2020, TOR 6 Theaterhaus, Bielefeld
Concept, Sound: Moritz Ostruschnjak, Martin Backes
Choreography: Moritz Ostruschnjak
Media art, robots: Martin Backes
Stage design, costume: Thilo Ulrich // Dramaturgy: Janett Metzger
Dance: Compagnie TANZ Bielefeld
Choreographic collaboration: Daniela Bendini
Choreographic assistant and training management: Sarah Deltenre
Production management: Christa Beland
A production of Theater Bielefeld. Supported by Ministery for Culture and Science of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia in cooperation with NRW KULTURsekretariat.
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Rarely has one seen in a dance piece an encounter at eye level between man and machine. (...) Ostruschnjak finds new, outlandish movements and images. There is a lot to see in this production: angular robot-like breakdance elements, acrobatics, duets like the one between Noriko Nishidate and a bundle of branches, fast-paced rhythmic ensemble formations. In the process, the boundaries between man and machine blur, as well as between contemporary dance and media art. (...) The ensemble inspires with the flexible implementation of a new, associative movement vocabulary. (...) Cheers and long applause for a successful experiment.
Neue Westfälische, January, 27th 2020