Talking ravens, no passports, money for everyone, and a 3-step plan for social change: 2050 – Unsere Utopien (2050 – Our Utopias) by Raphael Moussa Hillebrand runs from 3 to 6 October at Radialsystem.
“Do you think about me often?” The future, the climate, borders, capitalism, Fortress Europe, global crises. But also solidarity, a fair society, and limitless technical possibilities, which facilitate it all. Pre-colonial ancestors who lived in different social systems and were eradicated in a colonial historical narrative. Whose story, however, Unsere Utopiencan nurture. 2050 – Unsere Utopien invites us to dream “for those who come after us”, but also for ourselves. The piece is playful, confrontational, intimate, and, most of all, emboldening and full of hope.
The spoken word is inscribed directly in the bodies, illustrated through precise, at times abstract, at times technical movement sequences. So that we can see, feel, and remember it. Solo sequences develop in unison. The interaction of the two dancers, Joy Alpuerto Ritter and Raphael Moussa Hillebrand, with live music by Eurico Ferreira Mathias and Djelifily Sako blend traditional and contemporary repertoire. The artists unite diverse contemporary dance forms, from breaking, popping, and vogue to contemporary dance technique as well as samba and battoca. With the help of expressive dance material, we are offered a glimpse of the plan: 1. Decolonize knowledge. 2. Create alternatives. 3. Self-defense. It seems complex, but tangible, within easy reach, not entirely utopian. We ultimately have a plan with three clear steps. If it weren’t for the other 35 steps. Resistance is hard work. It requires a lot of staying power.
Video footage and projections duplicate, multiply the dancers who are not alone with their desires and struggles. Emboldened by those who came before them and those yet to come. We are encouraged to think for ourselves, participate. A kaleidoscope of projections. An optical illusion, another version of reality? Or soon to become reality? Virtuoso solo interludes with cello, kora (a 21-string upright harp from Mali) , and percussion make us pause and listen to the sounds of the past and future. Utopias can be many things: futuristic narratives of worlds with flying vehicles, figments of the imagination, naive portrayals of future life forms. During the piece, I am reminded of a past panel discussion at HAU, where Margo Okazawa Rey, a co-founder of the Combahee River Collective, spoke about utopias, among other things. For her, utopias are essential for political and activist work. Operating within a system and simply restructuring it may change the circumstances for individuals, but merely shift existing power structures and oppression onto other groups. The way out is utopias, according to Okazawa Rey. Ultimately, they provide hope and incentive.
“And what do you dream about?”
2050 – Unsere Utopien by Raphael Moussa Hillebrand was performed from October 3 to 6, 2024 at Radialsystem.
