PROMETHEUS
nach Franz Kafka

Whoever dares to challenge the gods for the heavens is condemned to a life on earth. The logic of struggle and punishment perpetuates itself relentlessly. No matter how far one looks back, it seems as though human existence has emerged from these opposing forces—and in turn, we have imposed this logic onto all other living beings and entities.

Prometheus, eternally chained to the Caucasian rock as punishment, has long since become more than just a figure; he is a symbol of the existential struggle for existence. He gave us fire, and with it, the ability to develop technology, which for a long time seemed to bring us progress—in the illusionary hope of reaching heaven on earth as human god-like figures. Yet in truth, we have advanced no further than the origins of our own narratives. Every defeat has marked the beginning of a new uprising.

But is an existence conceivable that is not a struggle for survival?

Drawing from Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, we disengage chokeholds and grappling techniques from the logic of combat and explore a form of yielding that is not understood as surrender. This gives rise to a choreography that renounces resistance against the earthly and instead seeks a connection to the ground—one that finds its origins in Kafka’s words: “[...] in his pain, Prometheus pressed himself ever deeper into the rock to escape the stabbing beaks until he became one with it.”

PERFORMANCE: Camilla Fiumara, Muawia Harb, Johanne Schroeder, Santiago Mariño
CHOREOGRAPHY: Simon Möllendorf
DRAMATURGY: Björn Fischer
MUSIC: Richard Millig, Björn Fischer
CONCEPT: Simon Möllendorf, Björn Fischer

A dance performance by Dorfproduct, co-produced with Produktionshaus NAXOS
Supported by: Kulturfonds Frankfurt RheinMain, Kulturamt Frankfurt am Main, Naspa Stiftung