Once again, the Staatsballett Berlin presents choreographies from the company. This iteration is particularly special as the Fellows of the »ENHANCE Mentorship Programme«, comprising graduates of Staatlichen Ballett- und Artistikschule Berlin, are involved in the artistic process together with their mentors, dancers from the company.

CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT by Alexander Abdukarimov tells the story of a pair of lovers based on Greek mythology, in which the "androgynoi" - people with two heads and four arms and legs - were divided into two halves by God and henceforth search for each other.The ensemble piece for ten female dancers on point features Staatsballett dancers Dinu Tamazlacaru and Aya Okumura as well as fellows of the mentorship programme.

In his choreography OH CAPTAIN for ten men, Johnny McMillan deals with identity politics and concepts of masculinity. What is there to say about this in the transient world of genderlessness? Intimacy and the nature of relationships were starting points for the subjective answers of each individual. The music was created especially for this work by Cosmin Nicolae, a DJ from the Berlin club scene.

Vivian Koohnavard's creation, THIS TOO SHALL PASS, for nine female dancers, is inspired by the sociopolitical changes of the 1970s caused by the Islamic revolution from a female perspective. The piece takes on a humourous approach, showing women not only from the most flattering perspectives. Psychedelic rock from the Iranian hippie era are the bedrock of this piece.

Arshak Ghalumyan, who is also the artistic director of the evening, began his creation DIE NACHT at the beginning of the season with a choreographic sketch as the fellows' first joint performance.In the following months, he went on to refine the piece in which every fellow contributes their own strengths, resulting in a piece in which a breakdancer takes the stage next to a ballerina. 

PROGRAMME

CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
Choreography: Alexander Abdukarimov
Music: Antonio Vivaldi, Max richter
Stage design: Alexander Abdukarimov, Julia Danilenko
Lighting design: Alexander Abdukarimov
Assistant to the choreographer: Ulian Topor

OH CAPTAIN
Choreography: Johnny McMillan
Music: Cosmin Nicolae
Costumes: Johnny McMillan, Alexandre Cagnat
Stage and lighting design: Johnny McMillan

THIS TOO SHALL PASS
Choreography: Vivian Assal Koohnavard
Music: Khruangbin, Tom Tom Club, Kouroush Yagmaei
Voiceover: Vivian Assal Koohnavard
Costumes: Don Aretino, Muyao Zhang
Lighting design: Amin Shahsavar

FELLOWS
Video: Olaf Kollmannsperger, Filipa Cavaco
Music: Hania Rani

DIE NACHT
Choreography: Arshak Ghalumyan
Music: Ezio Bosso, Dawn of Midi, Ludovico Enaudi
Stage and lighting design: Nikolai Korypaev
Costumes: Lucas Leclère
Assistants to the choreographer: Maria Boumpouli, Krasina Pavlova

Das Mentorship Programme wird gefördert durch die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien im Programm NEUSTART KULTUR, Absolvent*innen-Förderung DIS-TANZ-START des Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.