Where We Stand / Ezan Kélé
Fay van Baar / Kossi S. Aholou-Wokawui with the Ensemble Of Curious Nature
Two choreographic perspectives on community: Fay van Baar and Kossi S. Aholou-Wokawui, together with the ensemble Of Curious Nature, demonstrate how movement arises from instinct and sensation—between the urban present and dream-filled memories.
Where We Stand
Then suddenly, right in front of you: alarm signals in the bodies of others. Freezing. No one moves. What are they staring at? Can you see anything?
The ensemble Of Curious Nature is deeply concerned with cohesion in today’s society. Guest choreographer Fay van Baar’s new work takes the so-called “bystander effect” as its starting point, according to which people in groups behave more passively towards strangers in need. Together with the dancers of Of Curious Nature, van Baar explores the influence of internalized images on such behavior. What assessments, constellations, and body signals encourage or prevent the decision to help?
A black square in a white room catches the eye. It almost looks like a black hole, inevitably drawing the gaze and dance movements toward it. Something is happening here. But what exactly? How should we react? We sense what we cannot see; our own imagination fills in the gaps that open up. What behaviors determine our reactions in uncertain situations? In this new production, OCN explores the question of moral courage. Fay van Baar and the dancers jointly explore what prevents a group from acting and allow the desire for solidarity to resonate.
Ezan-Kélé
Fay van Baar’s new production is accompanied by a piece from the OCN repertoire that also deals with the state between imagination and reality. In his choreography, Kossi S. Aholou-Wokawui questions the dawn in the countryside of Togo from his memories. In a semi-awake state, the subconscious of the night lingers and drives sensations into the dawning day. Smoldering desires and longings make their way in the semi-darkness, threatening to tip over into reality or dry up again. Ezan-Kéle (“dawn” in the Ewe language) has its origins in my memories of the nocturnal and early morning movements of people in rural Togo: an intermediate state between dreaming and waking, in which one encounters others and oneself in the darkness.” (Kossi S. Aholou-Wokawui)
Where We Stand
Choreography: Fay van Baar | Choreographic Assistance, Training Direction: Albert Garrell | Dance: Lys Cabral, Wan-Yun Chen, Jed Nagales, Tiago Reis, Daniel Sabia, Pere Sansaloni Servera, Carolina Verra, Agathe Mas, Panna Poszony | Music: Shida Shanhabi, Henry Torgue & Serge Houppin | Lighting Design: Carlos Heydt | Costume Design: Kitty Lyell | Photos: Marianne Menke
Ezan-Kélé
Choreography: Kossi S. Aholou-Wokawui | Dance: Lys Cabral, Jed Nagales, Daniel Sabia, Pere Sansaloni Servera | Music: Toto Bissainthe, Divan Gattamorta, Simon Mayer, Serge Weber | Music Editing: Kossi S. Aholou-Wokawui | Costume Design: Koami Vignon | Photos: Ursula Kaufmann
Lighting Design: Carlos Heydt | Technical Director: Nathaniel Johnson | Dramaturgy: Anke Euler | Production Manager: Moritz Petri | Film & Media: Médoune Seck
Where We Stand is part of IncluDancE, a project by TanzRAUM Nord gUG / Of Curious Nature and Scenario Pubblico / Compagnia Zappalà Danza. Funded by the European Union.
Ezan-Kélé is part of the production Moving Mountains by TanzRAUM Nord, in co-production with Teo Otto Theater Remscheid and steptext dance project (2023). Supported by the Senator for Culture Bremen and the Waldemar Koch Foundation, Bremen.
