Skip to content

External media
Our website uses plugins of the video portal Vimeo. When you click to play a video, you agree to the collection and sharing of your data with Vimeo and the connection to a Vimeo server is established. The external Vimeo player is loaded with Do-Not-Track parameter.

Analysis tools
In order to analyze access to our video content anonymously, we use the open source web analysis service Matomo.

For further information, please see our privacy policy.

Recording: 2023-05-27 , Sophiensæle (Video © Bickmann & Kolde GbR)

Jeremy Nedd, Impilo Mapantsula

THE ECSTATIC

Leisure & Pleasure Festival | Sophiensæle

Production Details / Press Releases

Pantsula is a South African subculture that emerged during Apartheid in the townships of Johannesburg. It is still characterized by its own codes in fashion and language, its philosophy of life, social commentary, musical style and last but not least the powerful and energetic dance, known for its extremely high-speed virtuosic footwork. In The Ecstatic, this historically significant dance style meets the Praise Break from the context of the African-American Pentecostal church: an ecstatic dance tradition, a mode of praise, an interruption of the prayer in Christian Pentecostal service, where fast gospel music, shouts and the dancing body coalesce to truly cathartic moments.

From the fusion of these two worlds and aesthetics, Jeremy Nedd and the six dancers of Impilo Mapantsula develop a precise, energetic study of movement about states of ecstasy. They find a new space for community in the transcendental moment of “break”.

JEREMY NEDD is a Brooklyn (New York) born choreographer and performer who has been living in Basel for some time. Nedd has had engagements at the Semperoper in Dresden (2010-2012) and Ballett Basel (2012-2016). As a guest performer he is associated with Schauspielhaus Zürich, where he has worked with Trajal Harrell, amongst others. Nedd has realised and presented his previous productions at Kaserne Basel, ROXY Birsfelden, Tanzhaus Zürich, Arsenic (Lausanne), Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and Münchner Kammerspiele.
jeremynedd.com

IMPILO MAPANTSULA is a global network of high-level professional dance artists who specialize in Pantsula, a South African urban dance form. They are a professional organization that promotes the development of Pantsula dance and culture, creates formal standards, and acts as an industry representative. The organization aims to document and protect the living legacy of Pantsula and support dancers in professionalizing and further developing their art. Impilo Mapantsula creates learning opportunities and supports artistic creation and self-expression through educational, artistic and professional programs, with an emphasis on job creation, international collaborations and exchange programs.

[Source: play bill]

TFB Nr. 1767

Cast & Credits

CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY: Jeremy Nedd, Impilo Mapantsula
PERFORMANCE, CHOREOGRAPHY: Kgotsofalang Moshe Mavundla, Tommy Tee Motsapi, Bonakele Mambotjie Masethi, Sicelo Malume ka Xaba, Sello Zilo Midiga, Vusi 2.2 Mdoyi
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, LIGHT: Thomas Giger
STAGE: Laura Knüsel
MUSIC, COMPOSITION: Xzavier Stone & Modulaw
AUDIO DESIGN: Fabrizio Di Salvo
HEAD OF PRODUCTION SWITZERLAND: Ursula Haas
HEAD OF PRODUCTION SOUTH AFRICA: Daniela Goeller
DRAMATURGY: Anta Helena Recke
PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE: Kihako Narisawa, Lucas Del Rio Estevez
OUTSIDE EYE: Deborah Joyce Holman, Maximilian Hanisch
TOURMANAGEMENT: Caroline Froelich (Moin Moin Productions)

A production by Jeremy Nedd in co-production with Kaserne Basel, Arsenic – Centre d’art scénique contemporain Lausanne, and Theater Tuchlaube Aarau.
Supported by Fachausschuss Tanz & Theater BS/BL, Südkulturfonds, the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Migros Kulturprozent, Ernst Göhner Stiftung, Stanley Thomas Johnson Stiftung, Jacqueline-Spengler-Stiftung, Schweizer Interpretenstiftung, and Wilhelm und Ida Hertner-Strasser Stiftung.
The guest performance in the frame of Leisure & Pleasure is realized with the kind support of the Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia and Goethe Institut.

Leisure & Pleasure
FESTIVAL-CONCEPTION, CURATION, DRAMATURGY: Dr. Joy Kristin Kalu, Alexander Kirchner, Lena Kollender, Mateusz Szymanówka, Franziska Werner PRODUCTION DRAMATURGY: Wolfram Sander
And the team of Sophiensæle
The festival Leisure & Pleasure is funded by the Capital Cultural Fund.

Sophiensæle

Sophienstraße 18
10178 Berlin

sophiensaele.com
Map

Tickets: (030) 283 52 66

Video Documentation

The video documentation is produced on behalf of the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion. The purpose of this contract is to document productions in the field of contemporary dance in Berlin. The master recordings are archived by the University Library of the Berlin University of Arts. Copies of the recordings on DVD are available for viewing exclusively in the reference collections of the following archives (at media desks in these institutions):

University Library of the Berlin University of Arts
Mediathek für Tanz und Theater des Internationalen Theaterinstituts / Mime Centrum Berlin
Inter-University Centre for Dance Berlin (HZT)

To top