The programme 23/24 of Sophiensæle starts on 07.12.2023
On 7.12.2023, after urgently needed renovation work, the 2023/2024 season will begin at the Sophiensaele under the new artistic direction of Andrea Niederbuchner and Jens Hillje. We will publish the programme for the opening and the season on 26.10.2023, which is also the day when the pre-sale begins.
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TO ALL EMERGING DANCE ARTISTS BASED IN BERLIN
Every new year, the Tanztage Berlin is not only the city's very first festival, it has also established itself nationally and internationally as an important platform for emerging dance artists since its founding in 1996. The next edition of Tanztage Berlin will once again take place under the artistic direction of Mateusz Szymanówka. The festival is currently planned for 5-20 January 2024. The festival offers emerging dance artists based in Berlin a framework for their new productions and revivals. The programme of the last two editions can be found at: https://tanztage-berlin.sophiensaele.com.
Available as Video on Demand until March 06.
Figured and Flush are companion works by choreographer Sheena McGrandles that are part of an ongoing series on radical temporalities and illogical intimacies. Since the performances cannot be brought to the stage due to the pandemic, both works are reworked as dance for screen. The film is streamed on the external platform dringeblieben.de. There you also purchase your ticket. After the purchase you will receive a code via e-mail which is valid on two devices for the whole two weeks the stream is online. Please note that you can buy your ticket in the presale, but the video will be only online and streamable from the 20th of February, 19.00 PM, until the 6th of March. The ticketshop will be open all the time until the 6th of March. If you have problems with the procedure please contact chittka@sophiensaele.com or 030/27890045.
FIGURED
Forward, backward, cut, all back, repeat: two figures move in front of a wall. Their bodies and their relationship to each other are constantly interrupted and so are the narratives that unfold and disappear again. Concentrating on a complex composition and a detailed execution of movement, choreographer Sheena McGrandles uncovers the absurdity and artificiality of the everyday gesture. With a soundtrack created from various field recordings ranging from refrigerator to demo, Figured sticks persistently to the detail and insists on putting his - and our - attention to it, over and over again.
FLUSH
Isn‘t it a nice place here? Looks gorgeous. Nestled between thorn bushes and dark cut out trees. They sink slowly into the surface of the earth. They soon realise it was a trap and blame their big eyes for misreading the situation…
Following Gertrude Stein's concept of the Landscape Play, choreographer Sheena McGrandles breaks down linear and traditional forms of narration to create FLUSH, a study on radical temporaries and illogical intimacies – which may even evoke a new lesbian timing and aesthetic. The highly technical and stylized choreography moves through formal ordering principles of juxtaposition, simultaneity, multiplicity, and repetition, exploring a new approach to traditional representations of time.
Sheena McGrandles is a dancer and choreographer living in Berlin. She works in various contexts including theatre/stage, education and independent art and culture projects. Her current group of works explores radical temporality as a means of detailed exploration and exaggeration of movement. Her works create hyper-real, multi-narrative and humorous moving landscapes. Sheena presents her works nationally and internationally, including London (The Place), Amsterdam (something raw), Berlin (Sophiensæle), Mexico City (Museo Universitario Del Chopo), Los Angeles (PSSST). With Figured, Sheena McGrandles was invited to the Tanzplattform 2020.The piece FLUSH was shown at the TANZPLATTFORM 2022 in Berlin.
FIGURED: CONCEPT, director Sheena McGrandles PERFORMANCE Sheena McGrandles, Annegret Schalke SOUND Stellan Veloce LIGHT DESIGN Annegret Schalke STAGE DESIGN Sheena McGrandles OUTSIDE EYE Zinzi Buchanan FILM CO-DIRECTION AND EDIT Melanie Jame Wolf FILM CAMERA TINT Film Collective (Mireia Guzmán Sanjaume, Svea Immel, Katharina Voß)
FLUSH: CONCEPT, DIRECTOR Sheena McGrandles PERFORMANCE Sheena McGrandles, Annegret Schalke, Ewa Dziarnowska SOUND Stellan Veloce LIGHTING DESIGN Elliott Cennetoglu LIGHTS Sanja Gergoric DRAMATURGY Thomas Schaupp, Mila Pavicevic STAGE, COSTUMES Michiel Keuper, Martin Sieweke TEXT Sheena McGrandles, Mila Pavicevic FILM CO-DIRECTION AND EDIT Melanie Jame Wolf FILM CAMERA TINT Film Collective (Mireia Guzmán Sanjaume, Svea Immel, Katharina Voß) PRODUCTION ehrliche arbeit – freelance office for culture
Figured is a production by Sheena McGrandles. Funded by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe, supported by Agora MOVE Berlin. Flush is a production by Sheena McGrandles and ehrliche arbeit – freelance office for culture in co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE. Funded by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds, Siobhan Davies Dance London and the Goethe-Institut London.
Both films were made possible by funding from the City of Berlin – Department for Culture and Europe. Media partner: taz. die tageszeitung
