Inbetween power II

How can feelings of fear and danger be expressed in times of political and social transformation? And how do we go about addressing personal fears which arise from a specific and sometimes very different looking situations depending on their political and cultural contexts? The two-part dance production “inbetweenPower” by the mixed-abled dance company Din A 13 seeks to artistically explore this subject and offer answers to these questions.

In the first already produced part of the project, five dancers directed by the exiled Iranian choreographer Mehdi Farajpour explored the feelings evoked when independence and freedom are restricted in their daily lives and environment. The resulting dance and video material has since been integrated into the performance of “inbetweenPOWER” and will now be explored in greater depth in terms of gender identity. What aspects of power and violence are ascribed to men and women as a result of traditions they have grown up with and experienced? The three choreographies with three dancers each aim to explore the feeling of danger which certain power structures elicit, as well as search for free spaces beyond cultural and religious conventions. The set design featuring moveable video projection surfaces will serve as the starting point for this reflection.

Din A 13 consists of dancers with and without special physical characteristics – whereby the term “special characteristics” is used deliberately. In the study and presentation of “other bodies” and their qualities of movement, the ensemble consciously takes issue with what is considered the “standard body image” and searches for new, more diverse ways of expression in contemporary dance.

Artistic director: Gerda König
Choreography: Mehdi Farajpour and Gerda König
Camera: Jürgen Salzmann
Dancers: Ashwin Kumar, Harun Sarikaya, Ayca Turgut, Damiaan Veens, Jana Zöll, Míriam Aguilera

Dance performances: TanzFaktur, Cologne: 23–30 Jun. 2022; Barnes Crossing, Cologne: 3–8 Jul. 2022; Loft Theater, Leipzig: 7–9 Oct. 2022; Theater im Depot, Dortmund: 14–16 Oct. 2022