Ligia Lewis & Moritz Freudenberg
Still Not Still (scenes for camera)
Produced by HAU Hebbel am Ufer
It is reasonable to situate the world on the verge of sense and NON-sense
You go round and round and then you stop and you fall to the ground
What is deader than dead? (Ligia Lewis)
Full of dark humour and surrealist imagery, Ligia Lewis’ new work “Still Not Still” evokes with poetic force a unique theatrical language, disrupting any fantasy of historical progress. The choreographic composition for seven performers deals with the centuries-old and ongoing exclusions of black and non-white people from the historical record. Can a history full of bad faith, gaps, and holes, particularly for those that fall outside its purview, be left to the past? Inspired by the image of an 8th century Black Madonna in Italy as well as a 14th century French “complainte” (lament), “Still Not Still” addresses these voids as “lacuna” – dark cave – that have given those of us outside the privileges of white identity an ignorant self. She turns to the dark cave of the theatre space and negotiates the past within it to make another future possible. At the same time tragedy and comedy, the dance piece makes use of the playful, expressionless expressivity and dry, black comedy of “Deadpan”. Lewis designs a world outside of time in which dark gaps are tracked down and stasis is set in motion with the creative power of fictionalisation. Given history is fallible and insufficient, and overdetermined by its victors, what might emerge once it is laid to rest? “Still Not Still” takes shape as a prolonged lamento and offers a musical-performative reclamation, as a formal response to history.
“Still Not Still” was originally planned for April 2021 as a dance premiere on the HAU1 stage. Due to the current situation, it is not possible for HAU and the artist to present this work live. Instead, a cinematic experience has been created until the production can be seen live.
Note:
Due to an extensive PCR testing regime for SARS-CoV-2, the performers can also move on stage in this production without minimum distance.
Date
- Fri 11.6.2021, 19:00HAU4
Cast
Concept, choreography & artistic direction: Ligia Lewis / Performance: Boglárka Börcsök, Darius Dolatyari, Corey-Scott Gilbert, Cassie Augusta Jørgensen, Justin Kennedy, Jolie Ngemi, Damian Rebgetz / Dramaturgy: Maja Zimmermann / Outside Eye: Dragana Bulut / Lighting design & technical direction: Joseph Wegmann / Set design: Claudia Besuch (Gali) / Costume: Marta Martino / Sound design & composition: S. McKenna / Acoustic & electric guitar: Joey Gavin / Assistance: Lissa-Johanna Volquartz / Costume assistance: Marcus Barros Cardoso / Production management: Hannes Frey (HAU Hebbel am Ufer) / Production assistance: Vera Laube (HAU Hebbel am Ufer) / Touring & distribution: Nicole Schuchardt (HAU Hebbel am Ufer) / Camera: Moritz Freudenberg, Max Firchau / Editing: Moritz Freudenberg
Credits
Production: Ligia Lewis / HAU Hebbel am Ufer. Co-production: tanzhaus nrw (Düsseldorf), Arsenic Centre d'art scénique contemporain (Lausanne), Tanzquartier Wien (Vienna), Black Box teater (Oslo), Arts Centre Vooruit (Ghent), Gessnerallee (Zurich), Dance International Glasgow / Tramway. Funded by: Capital Cultural Fund (Berlin).
