Kareth Schaffer’s «Question of Belief» creates a demonology of the contemporary. Inspired by the contemplative practices of desert monks, dancers Mădălina Dan and Manon Parent deftly navigate between actionism and inertia, distraction and apathy. Demons appear and disappear in Dan Lancea’s slowly inflating stage landscape. Question of Belief invites an embodied look at those parts of ourselves – and others – that probably should just be ignored, but always seem to resurface.

In a slowly inflating stage landscape by stage designer Dan Lancea, which sometimes takes the form of a snail, a monster or a flaccid phallus, performers Mădălina Dan and Manon Parent lead a whimsical campaign against the very ordinary demons of everyday life. During potato chip-fueled fantasies of world and self-improvement, smartphone-induced contactless impro or a lethargic yawning contest, rage suddenly erupts from the dancers, only to be dispelled in the next moment, and immediately after to fall back into actionism. Taking every detour, they struggle back and forth between laziness and apathy, drowning miserably in boredom and triumphing loudly over procrastination.

In this way, a demonology of the contemporary, embodied by Dan and Parent, unfolds over the course of Question of Belief. To the subtle synthesizer rhythms of sound designer Jean P’ark,
sometimes reminiscent of ancient Greek epics, sometimes of early videogames, the viewers witness a messed-up odyssey through our more or less productive contemporary states of obsession. of the present. Question of Belief explores the multiple bodily constitutions we are placed in in the name of various belief systems, while creating an experiential space for the wonders, that have always been possible even beyond spiritual asceticism and the Work Hard paradigm.

KARETH SCHAFFER is a choreographer and performer living and working in Berlin, Germany. She practices an expanded concept of choreography: so far, her dance pieces have examined prophecies, mud wrestling, thrillers, synchronized swimming, Foley, Angela Merkel, emojis, ancient monastic practices, and conversational formats. Her work has been shown in Berlin (Sophiensæle, Tanzfabrik, HAU, Uferstudios, Ballhaus Ost), Amsterdam (Het Veemtheater), Düsseldorf (tanzhaus NRW), Essen (PACT Zollverein), Malmö, Hamburg (Kampnagel), Denpasar (CushCush Gallery) and Mexico City. Kareth Schaffer was awarded “New Talent 2016” by Jahrbuch Tanz and nominated “Dancer of the Year 2018”. She was also awarded the 2018 Pina Bausch Fellowship in cooperation with the Mekar Bhuana Center in Denpasar, Bali. Schaffer enjoys working with and for other artists* such as deufert&plischke, Tino Sehgal, Stefanie Wenner, Yvon Chabrowski, Christian Falsnaes, Tomomi Adachi, Dragana Bulut, and Barbara Berti.
constructioncompany.dance

[Source: play bill]

TFB Nr. 1644