The 2022 Expo: History Has Failed Us, But…
Schedule
Fri Jun 17 2022 at 08:00 pm to 09:30 pm
Location
English Theatre Berlin | Berlin, BE
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History Has Failed Us, But…If I can’t dance, it’s not my revolution.
These words, attributed to the anarchist author Emma Goldman, serve as a starting point for the performance and accompany our choreographic investigation of protest and resistance. In what ways does a dancing body become an empowered body and what contradictions may arise from this empowerment? How can individual and collective bodies become resistant through movement? Which narratives and images of resistance linger in our memories and how can they be spoken about and shared?
Inspired by past and present revolts against injustices such as the Gezi Park protests in Turkey, the viral feminist performances of Las Tesis and the anger over the Sewol tragedy in South Korea, History has failed us, but… recounts protest movements from the perspective of queers and people of color – people whose bodies are still read as “Other” and “foreign.” The choreography combines visions of future demonstrations with existing traditional dances, such as the Korean ganggangsullae, which has been danced for centuries by women’s groups at full moon for catharsis, into an exchange of playful lightness and political urgency.
Throughout the evening, the dancers draw strength from physically activating specific moments, citing powerful poses and creating togetherness in solidarity together with the audience. The dancing bodies thus become a form of non-violent opposition against discrimination and racism and enriching the imagery and ideas of political movements.
Concept, Choreography and Performance by Olivia Hyunsin Kim | Performance by Ji Sun Hagen, Tatiana Mejia, Enis Turan | Music and Performance by Tatiana Heuman | Dramaturgy by Isabel Gatzke | Artistic Consultation by Ixchel Mendoza Hernandez | Costume and Stage Design by Kristin Gerwien | Light and Video Design by Jones Seitz | Pop-Up Kitchen by Vicky Truong Accessibility Consultation by Hyemi Jo Production Management by ehrliche arbeit – freies Kulturbüro
The Expo Festival: A Showcase of Wahlberliner*innen is an annual festival that debuted in 2013.
Over the last nine years, the Expo has been able to present more than one hundred performances of new work by international artists who have made Berlin their adopted home. In doing so, it holds a unique position in Berlin’s vast cultural landscape as both a local and international festival.
Berlin’s Freie Szene, the independent performing arts community, is remarkable for its diversity of background, artistic and aesthetic practice, working method and philosophy. One of the Expo’s most important goals is to ensure that this is reflected in the performances that make up the festival.
Between June 15 and 25, 2022, you can look forward to twelve different productions; six full-length productions and six work-in-progress showings.
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Where is it happening?
English Theatre Berlin, Fidicinstr. 40, Berlin, GermanyEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
