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GESTALTEN (2023)

Dance in the Monument to the Battle of the Nations

History and the granite that makes up the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig meet the immediacy and variability of the living body.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig: a massive colossus around which many narratives have been woven. For more than a century, it has been politically instrumentalised and given different meanings. With GESTALTEN (German for the verb “to shape” or the plural noun “shapes”), FORWARD DANCE COMPANY of LOFFT – DAS THEATER, in collaboration with choreographer Mirjam Gurtner, searches through dance for a counter-design to the monument's demonstration of power.

The dancers confront the monument’s martial façade and its historical structures (of thought) with their variability and ambiguity. They disarm the heroic figures with their sensitivity and become sculptures themselves. Between standstill and movement, the ensemble moves among the visitors, inviting them to experience the well-known monument anew.

GESTALTEN is a contemporary dance performance. The performance lasts three hours. During this time, the audience is free to decide when to arrive, how long to stay, and from where to watch. GESTALTEN is designed to be accessible to everyone: a (poetic) audio description is part of the production, and all levels of the monument are either wheelchair accessible or can be experienced via video projection.

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact us at fdc@lofft.de.

During the durational performance, you can come and go at any time.


GESTALTEN is a production of FORWARD DANCE COMPANY by LOFFT – DAS THEATER in cooperation with Monument to the Battle of the Nations Leipzig.

Supported by TANZPAKT Stadt-Land-Bund with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, by the City of Leipzig - Cultural Office and by the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism. This institution is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon Parliament.

Supported by Bureau Ritter/TANZPAKT RECONNECT, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of the NEUSTART KULTUR. Hilfsprogramm Tanz.

CHOREOGRAPHY Mirjam Gurtner
FROM + WITH Mouafak Aldoabl, Elsa Artmann, Renan Alves Manhães, Alfred Quarshie, Tamara Rettenmund, Lisa Zocher
DRAMATURGICAL CONSULTING + ARTISTIC PROJECT DIRECTOR Gustavo Fijalkow
AUDIO + VISUAL DESIGN Lisa Premke
AUDIODESCRIPTION Tomke Koop
COSTUME Julia Bosch
TECHNICS Spyridon Paterakis
PRODUCTION Alissa Sebri

ILLUSTRATION Simona Schliessler

The dance performance is included in the regular price of admission to the Monument to the Battle of the Nations.

Tickets can only be purchased at the box office of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations.

We are happy about financial support directly to FORWARD DANCE COMPANY!

Events

17.09.2023
Sunday, 14:00
Völkerschlachtdenkmal Leipzig
16.09.2023
Saturday, 14:00
Völkerschlachtdenkmal Leipzig
14.09.2023
Thursday, 16:00
Völkerschlachtdenkmal Leipzig