b12

b12 summer main event

asteroids

Ben Wright // Johannes Wieland // nadine gerspacher

performance projects

b12 participants work out and research an idea with a choreographer in order to present it in a performance. each performance project is limited to about 15 participants. the performance projects run over 11 days. the pieces are then presented at dock 11.

dates (dock 11 theater)

29/07/2023 // 19:00

30/07/2023 // 16:00

30/07/2023 // 19:00

Ben Wright

former associate-director & choreographer at skånes dansteater | artistic co-director at candoco dance company

Wright is a UK based director and choreographer working in dance, opera, theatre and film. He originally trained at Ballet Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and worked as a performer between 1991-2006. He was Artistic co-director with the inclusive ensemble Candoco Dance Company, 2017-2020, and Associate Artistic Director/Choreographer for Skånes Dansteater, 2014–2017. He continues to direct his own project company: bgroup and joined the faculty at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in the UK in 2022. his Recent choreographic work includes Orlando, with Emma Corrin, in London’s West End, The Lost Thing for The Royal Opera House London, Candoco, A space in the Dark for Black Box Dance Theatre, and the film of his production, The Feeling of Going - a fully orchestrated staging of Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi’s album, GO, for Skånes Dansteater. Wright also worked as an intimacy coordinator for the Amazon film My Policeman, and Funny Woman for Sky Atlantic. As a performer, Ben worked for Stan Wont Dance, Adventures in Motion Pictures, Ricochet, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Richard Alston and Amanda Miller. In 1995 he created the role of the Prince in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake.

A surrender to small humanness

'all living things are interwoven each with other, the tie is sacred, and nothing or next to nothing, is alien to ought else’ - marcus aurelius. experience is paramount to empathy and perception. wright’s performance project seeks to enliven senses, encouraging the practice of moving together to explore what might be most important - our mutual dependencies and interrelatedness to one another and a wider world that we are a part of. the connection is both ordinary and extraordinary. as a dance artist with over 30 years experience, wright will steer this collaborative project as an opportunity for participants to play, make, discuss ideas, which when interwoven will lead to a new choreographic composition. wright will guide participants through task-driven action and improvisational practices to encourage moving together as a means to configure a felt sense of connectedness to one another, self, and to experience. wright’s choreographic work has been described as poetic and physically sumptuous, placing humanity and storytelling at the heart of his practice. he commits to creating an inclusive, supportive and generous making space for participants, to which they can bring themselves wholly. he works with non-assumptive openness, is transparent in his thinking and observations, and sees questions as guidance.

Johannes Wieland

conceived in lisbon and born in berlin, johannes wieland completed his bfa at the amsterdam university of the arts, and worked, thereupon, in various companies with an extensive array of choreographers. after performing with the béjart ballet lausanne, he relocated to new york city, where he received his mfa in contemporary dance and choreography at nyu / tisch school of the arts. while running the company 'johannes wieland' in new york, he built from scratch what, for 15 years, has been known as the contemporary dance company at the state theater of kassel, germany, holding positions as a resident choreographer, artistic director and director of the dance department. his continued cinematic interest led him to making short movies. creating multi-disciplinary work through his berlin company mind eraser/johannes wieland is his newest playground and aside from being commissioned from companies and teaching for universities, his critically acclaimed pieces have been invited to tour internationally to festivals and events. johannes is also directing and curating b12 - the festival for contemporary dance and performance art (www.b12.space), which runs annually in berlin. he is a 1st prize winner of the kurt jooss prize, and has been awarded numerous other prizes, recognitions, scholarships, and grants. johannes was a nominee for the german theater prize der faust in 2016 for his creation you will be removed. he works on non-categorising art.

deadly trinity /// bǝɒblγ ɈɿiniɈγ

never go back! never look back! never think back! you are the first protagonist of the constructed, startling dream of now vs the fluid memory of then vs the exciting hope for the future. this deadly trinity is the architect of the dream you always wanted to dream of - or not? could be a calling! just to say: i am a by-passer looking at an unleashed, uncontrollable monster born from your psychological mess you left us all with. i think you know what silence is for, right? /// ɒlwɒγƨ ϱo dɒɔʞ! ɒlwɒγƨ looʞ dɒɔʞ! ɒlwɒγƨ Ɉʜinʞ dɒɔʞ! i ɒm Ɉʜǝ lɒƨɈ ƨυqqoɿɈinϱ ɒɔɈoɿ oʇ Ɉʜǝ bǝɔonƨɈɿυɔɈǝb υnƨυɿqɿiƨinϱ ɿǝɒlɈγ oʇ Ɉʜǝnˎ ɈoϱǝɈʜǝɿ wiɈʜ Ɉʜǝ ɿiϱib ʇoɿϱǝɈʇυlnǝƨƨ oʇ nowˎ ɈoϱǝɈʜǝɿ wiɈʜ Ɉʜǝ lɒmǝ ʜoqǝlǝƨƨnǝƨƨ oʇ Ɉʜǝ qɒƨɈ. ɈʜɒɈ livǝlγ ɒnɈi-ɈɿiniɈγ iƨ Ɉʜǝ bǝƨɈɿoγǝɿ oʇ Ɉʜǝ niϱʜɈmɒɿǝ i nǝvǝɿ wɒnɈǝb Ɉo livǝ Ɉʜɿoυϱʜ - oɿ bib i⸮ ɔoυlbn’Ɉ dǝ ɒ ɔɒllinϱ! imqoɿɈɒnɈ Ɉo noɈ ƨɒγ: γoυ ɒɿǝ Ɉʜǝ qɿoɈɒϱoniƨɈ looʞinϱ ɒwɒγ ʇɿom ʜɒɿnǝƨƨǝbˎ ɔonɈɿollɒdlǝ ɔυbblγ ʇɒiɿiǝƨ υndoɿn ʇɿom mγ non-qƨγɔʜoloϱiɔɒl oɿbǝɿ i will noɈ lǝɒvǝ γoυ wiɈʜ. γoυ bon’Ɉ Ɉʜinʞ i bon’Ɉ ʞnow wʜɒɈ noiƨǝ iƨ noɈ ʇoɿˎ ɿiϱʜɈ⸮

nadine gerspacher

cia nadine gerspacher | former dancer of dave st. pierre company montreal

nadine gerspacher is a freelance dancer, choreographer, teacher and artistic director of her own company cia nadine gerspacher. she has been working internationally for over 20 years and choreographs worldwide for companies and universities. among others, she danced for five years with the internationally renowned dance theatre company dave st. pierre from montreal, which strongly influenced her own choreographic work. in 2015 she worked as a choreographer for the cirque du soleil. in 2016 she received the isadora prize from the iwanson-sixt foundation in munich for her exceptional achievements in contemporary dance. in her trilogy 2019-2021, which she successfully completed in september 2021, she described and questioned various facets of the pre-corona era. in 2022 she successfully celebrated her latest piece re. im e-werk freiburg: a duet that she created together with arias fernandez, which combines krump dance and contemporary dance. furthermore, she leads the two programs free bodies & free roots, which accompany young dancers over eight months, preparing them for their professional careers. in 2022 she also opened free zone, a centre for movement, creation and performance in barcelona, with nicolas ricchini. in addition, she is the co-founder of the nexo festival in freiburg/germany together with tina halford. cia nadine gerspacher receives 2022 guest performance funding from tanzland/inthega houses for 2023-2026.

paradise is a feeling

nadine gerspacher's penchant is dance theatre inspired by everyday life. as humans have done since the beginning of time, nadine explores our experience of relationships, emotions, motivations, struggles and successes through stories, in search of meaning and deeper truths. she conceives and brings to life characters inhabiting imaginative worlds of absurdity, poetry, and unfiltered physicality. grotesque moments filled with humour, vulnerability and transformation are trademarks of her creations. her physicality is defined by a raw, powerful movement balanced with a special attention to detail, particularly in the movement of the hands. playing with different textures, switching from light to thick, her movement is a consistent search for surprises. in this way, each creation emerges from both the personal and the collective essence created by nadine and the participants. she enjoys getting to know the dancers, developing special roles for character work with them. the intention is to provide a fertile group for creative work by cultivating exchange, openness and diversity. nadine encourages spontaneity in the creation process. the play of contrasts and extremes, moving pictures, as well as her cinematographic style, are essential to her creations. nadine fosters collaboration in the studio, offering the opportunity for dancers to be actively engaged in the creation process and to bring their own knowledge and experience into the process.

performers

b12ers can get tickets at a reduced ticket price (10 euro)!

a note to

A surrender to small humanness (A series of draft sketches)