JUAN GABRIEL HARCHA: ANGELA LOIJ

In his solo piece, the Chilean sociologist and BA graduate (HZT Berlin) takes on an exotic persona; Juan Gabriel Harcha explicitly turns himself into the “other”. His intention fulfills itself by simply stepping on stage. What follows is a non-judgmental reflection on European colonial history, as he sets off on a sensuous, rhythmic adventure driven by spontaneous decision-making.

Angela Loij, who died in 1974, was the last full-blooded Selk’nam, an aboriginal group that lived on the archipelago Tierra del Feugo (Chile and Argentina) and that – decimated by disease and massacres – died out almost completely within a few years of European colonization at the end of the 19th century. The Selk’nam developed a unique language of body painting for their rites of initiation.

"The performance displays a sensuous, rhythmical and strongly ornamental physical statement, determined by the particular conditions of space and audience and by my subjective disposition to dance.

Angela Loij was the last surviving aboriginal Selk’nam, who inhabited Tierra del Fuego and developed a rich body-painting language for their rites of passage." -Juan Gabriel Harcha

CHOREOGRAPHY, DANCE, PERFORMANCE Juan Gabriel Harcha COSTUME Elisa Seiffert Make-up Andreas Krosch SUPPORTED BY Tanztage Berlin / Sophiensæle THANKS TO Jana Unmüßig, HZT Berlin

LEE MEIR + MAYA WEINBERG: IF IT‘S FUN

After getting to know each other in Tel Aviv in 2009, Maya Weinberg came to Berlin via Ponderosa / PORCH. Lee Meir found her way here via the HZT Berlin and in 2014 received an “Einstiegsförderung” grant from the Berlin Senate. If it's fun is their first collaborative piece.

The duo describes what they do in their studio as a potpourri of creativity. In this milieu of over-abundance and limitless options, the duo creates a process-oriented and playful work; a creative analysis or a dialogue between two strong artists. Intimate and powerful, without endangering the fragile nature of the creative process.

„If it´s fun  is a rummage into a state of hyper-creativity. A habitat of superabundance will be our starting point; we yield to a physicality of open links, wandering about and through self defaults, upset objects, and flickering cultural signposts.“ – Lee Meir + Maya Weinberg

CHOREOGRAPHY, DANCE, PERFORMANCE, STAGE AND COSTUME Lee Meir, Maya Weinberg PRODUCTION Tanztage Berlin / Sophiensæle Coproduction Diver Festival Tel Aviv THANKS TO André Lewski, HZT Berlin

photo © Diethild Meier