DIE DUNKELHEIT

Sebastian is dancing! And he dances “die Dunkelheit”: rejection, dark emotions, suppressed affects, sadness, aggression, anger, “evil” – but also partying, excess and transition.
In Billinger & Schulz’s new choreography, Sebastian deals with himself. And with current phenomena of rejected and frustrated masculinity: from the increasing number of male “deaths of despair”, deaths of men who feel useless and worthless (“anomie”), to the epidemic of socially isolated, mentally ill, lone perpetrators who see themselves as being left behind and rejected by women, to the male support for right-wing parties and nationalist ideas. To boosting songs of the Nightcore-genre that, as an internet phenomenon, is part of male dominated digital echo chambers, Sebastian imaginarily and physically explores digital parallel worlds and social retreat spaces. He deals with the question of how it feels for men and boys and what it does to them to be confronted with progressive reflections of masculinity as well as general, derogatory charges against men such as “Men are generally evil and toxic” and “Masculinity is a pathology”. In this examination he is supported by Jungyun Bae, Magdalena Dzeco and Camilla Fiumara as projective anime girls sprung from the Internet that become reality on stage and are long-time artistic allies. Together with them, Billinger & Schulz explore the tension between the idealized, disembodied image that can be worshiped as an unreal, passive cartoon character, and the fact that a relationship is only possible with real people who do not merge into an image – who are made of flesh and blood and have a mind of their own –which of course includes the risk of rejection.

CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY: Verena Billinger & Sebastian Schulz

DANCE, PERFORMANCE SOLO: Sebastian Schulz

DANCE, PERFORMANCE TRIO: Jungyun Bae, Magdalena Dzeco, Camilla Fiumara

PROJECT ORGANIZATION: Neele Renzland/transmissions GmbH

PRODUCTION: Billinger & Schulz

Co-Production: FFT Düsseldorf, Produktionshaus Naxos.

Funded by: Culture department of the City of Frankfurt am Main, Conception fund of the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia, Hessian Ministry for Science and Research, Arts and Culture. With kind support: Z – Zentrum für Proben und Forschung, ID_Tanzhaus Frankfurt Rhein-Main, Frankfurt LAB.