29 / 30 / 31 oct 2020 tanzhaus nrw

A transmedial opera

In GESCHÖPFE (CREATURES), the new 2020 choreography, Ben J. Riepe, along with six performers* and two musicians*, sheds light on the brittle conditio humana between fragile creatureliness and one’s own creative, effectual powers, between deiform deed and hubris, between merciless exploitation of the environment and being at its mercy, powerless – as subject and object of a new world order, as we deemed ourselves at its pinnacle. Which possibilities of a new communality can we conceive of, in the liminal space of those dichotomies?
The reference space as well as the pictorial canon for GESCHÖPFE ranges from the history of creation and the Frankenstein myth to cyborg stories, from ancient Greek mythology to essays on the man-made Anthropocene age. At times as an exalted dance on the edge of a volcano, in the midst of elementary encounters with earth, fire, water, air and digital mechanical avatars, at times in almost meditative Shavasana, the ‘geschöpfe’ (creatures) struggle for their place in the new world order, in movement, song and sculptural moments. New, specially created music by composer Gordon Kampe connects with romanticist Lied (German Song) as well as with baroque-era sounds and Italian opera to unfold the eclectic sound of the transmedial opera.

Honke Rambow visited the team during the rehearsal period in the woods. Read more here.

Concept/Choreography: Ben J. Riepe
Composition: Gordon Kampe
Choreographic Assistance: Victor Zapata
Performance: Eray Gülay, Jolinus Pape, Paula Pau, Waithera Schreyeck, Igor Sousa, Leonie Türke
Live-Musik: Shaghayegh Shahrabi (Oboe), Enrico Taubmann (Saxophone)
Vocal Coach: Carolina Rüegg
Stage Design/Lighting Design: Ben J. Riepe, Philipp Zander
Scultptures: Moran Sanderovich, RaumZeitPiraten
Costume: Ben J. Riepe, Margit Koch
Technical Director: Philipp Zander
Technicians: Manfred Nücken, Moritz Bütow
Video: Alexander Basile, Kurt Heuvens
Photo: Alexander Basile, Ursula Kaufmann
Project Management: Jessica Prestipino
Conceptual Research: Janine Blöß
Social Media: Daniel Ernesto Müller
Management/Communication: Nassrah-Alexia Denif
Coordination: Izaskun Abrego
Visual Communication: dasbuero. Puder und Müller

A production by Ben J. Riepe coproduced by tanzhaus nrw.

Supported by the Ministry for Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the Cultural Department of the City of Düsseldorf, the Kunststiftung NRW, Fonds Darstellende Künste, BTHVN 2020 with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media, the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the RhineSieg District and the City of Bonn.