Nicola van Straaten – tanzschreiber

Entanglement, Collective Action, and Art as a Vehicle for Hope.

1. March 2020, Nicola van Straaten

Languages:
DE
and
EN

Peter Scherrebeck Hansen, Snorre Hansen, and Katrine Staub share an open rehearsal at the end of their month at the Lause Residency for Art and Activism.

Something Resembling Magic

25. February 2020, Nicola van Straaten

Language:
EN

“Witches” by Ursina Tossi played at Ballhaus Ost on 21 and 22 February 2020. The work sets out to interrogate the historical figure of the witch, doing so in surprising and often uncomfortable ways.

Expelling Oppression with a Loving Thrust.

14. January 2020, Nicola van Straaten

Languages:
DE
and
EN

“JUCK” — something between a celebratory techno-ritual, trauma release therapy, and a total exorcism of patriarchy — is more than a powerful, and finely tuned performance. The work, which featured at Tanztage Berlin 2020, is a survival strategy to ensure community and joy in the face of oppressive systems.

An Elegant and Generous Denial.

10. January 2020, Nicola van Straaten

Language:
EN

“Neptune”, a 45-minute solo by Lois Alexander in collaboration with Nina Kay, premiered on 8 January 2020 at Sophiensæle in the framework of Tanztage Berlin.

High on Entertainment, Low on Criticality.

18. December 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Language:
EN

“Hillbrowfication”, by DorkyPark’s Constanza Macras and performed at the Maxim Gorki Theater, is a colourful of explosion of choral beauty that leaves the audience uplifted by optimistic energy, yet leaves behind unanswered questions, and, at least for myself, an array of mixed emotions.

Sustenance, Resistance, Self-Reclamation

12. December 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Languages:
DE
and
EN

Upstairs in the gallery of Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Colombian performer and choreographer, Jao Moon, manages to permeate through identities, boundaries, memories and aesthetics in his solo “Memory of Dislocation – Exactly the Same in the Opposite Direction”, showing from 7 – 10 December.

Ashes to Ashes

17. November 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Language:
EN

As a part of the NO LIMITS Disability & Performing Arts Festival, “Ashed”, performed by Unmute Dance Company at HAU2, takes its inspiration from the petrified figures discovered in the volcanic ash of Pompeii.

Voices in the Dark

3. November 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Languages:
DE
and
EN

“Blind Date”, premiere Friday 1 November in the framework of OPEN SPACES at Tanzfabrik, is collectively authored and performed by Ayşe Orhon, Christina Ciupke, Clément Layes, Igor Dobriči, Jasna L. Vinovrški, and Litó Walkey.

Unfinished, Together – An Evening at Lake Studios

27. October 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Languages:
DE
and
EN

Once a month, the dance research and residence centre Lake Studios hosts “Unfinished Fridays”, an open studio providing an opportunity for residents and other invited guests to share their works-in-progress, followed by a facilitated feedback session with the audience.

A Complex Chorus of Voices

10. October 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Language:
EN

“STRICKEN” (“KNITTING”), 4 – 7 October at Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, by Magda Korsinsky attempts to unpack the complex relations between a black girl and her white grandmother and explores the ways in which racial and political issues manifest in the intimate relationships between family.

Graduation Shows: BA in Dance, Context and Choreography

23. September 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Language:
EN

From 21 to 28 September 2019 nine graduate students from the Dance, Context, Choreography BA programme at HZT, the Inter-University Centre for Dance Berlin, are showing their graduation works. They offer a glimpse not only into their own projects, but also into this rather special programme.

How the Body Remembers – The Archive, the Canon, and Other Impossible Questions.

9. September 2019, Nicola van Straaten

Languages:
DE
and
EN

The event series “What the Body Remembers: Dance Heritage Today” (24^th August – 21^st September, 2019) hosted by the Akademie der Künste and other partners offers four weeks of performances and lectures, including an exhibition, a campus, and a publication all dedicated to the history and heritage of contemporary dance today.