Cliffdancers

A “cliffhanger” is what we call a dangling end of a normally cinematic episode which abruptly stops at a dramaturgical climax. It leaves viewers with unanswered questions and whets their appetite for a possible continuation. With the project “Cliffdancers” the tanzhaus nrw investigated to what extent the narrative technique of cliffhangers could serve as the basis for developing contemporary dance performances for young audiences. The project critically examined traditional viewing habits during a dance performance, recognising that children and young adults nowadays are growing up as designers and creators of their everyday lives. In the Internet they react to the latest reviews, speculate in user forums about what will happen next in their favourite TV series, and even continue developing the stories themselves in so-called “fan fiction”. In this way, TV series – even after they have run their course – take on an afterlife on the Internet. “Cliffdancers” wished to create such a media-based afterlife for a dance production, targeted at young audience members between the ages of twelve and sixteen. The artists of tanzhaus nrw have been working together with colleagues from the Belgian Kopergietery ensemble to produce a three-part dance series. Secondary-school pupils in Düsseldorf have collaborated with a team of choreographers, dancers, scholars, media artists, bloggers and game designers to produce the corresponding fan fiction. This has been shared and distributed via Snapchats, Instagram actions and YouTube tutorials. The participants have presented the results as part of the dance premiere.

Artistic director: Mijke Harmsen
Choreography/ Dance: Gaetan Brun-Picard (FR), Dani Brown, Enis Turan, Laura Vanborm (BE), Jade Derudder, Giulia Franceschini, Antonia Steffens
Experts: Sam De Graeve (BE), Vincent Fröhlich a.o.

Additional Venues:

tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf: 14 Jun. 2017, 31 Aug. 2017 (showing),
Kopergietery, Ghent: July 2017 (showing), 23–25 Sep. 2017 (try outs)