mirjam gurtner

gestalten forward dance company

History and granite of the Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig meet the immediacy and agility of the living body.

The Monument to the Battle of the Nations in Leipzig: a massive colossus around which many narratives entwine. For over a century it has been politically instrumentalised and assigned 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, set out on a dance quest for a counter-design to the monument's demonstration of power.

The dancers confront the martial facade and the historical (thought) structures of the monument with their variability and ambiguity. They disarm the heroic figures with their sensitivity and become sculptures themselves. Between stillness and movement, the Ensemble moves in the midst of the visitors, inviting them to experience the well-known monument anew.

GESTALTEN is a durational dance performance. The performance lasts three hours. During this time, the audience is free to decide when to come, 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.

Völkerschlachtdenkmal Leipzig
14 September 2023 | 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm | PREMIERE
16 September 2023 | 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
17 September 2023 | 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

CREDITS
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
COSTUME Julia Bosch AUDIODESCRIPTION Tomke Koop (Hörmal Audiodeskription)
TECHNICAL MANAGER Spyridon Paterakis
PRODUCTION Alissa Sebri
ILLUSTRATION Simona Schliessler

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.

Photos ©Tom Dachs, ©Michael Stuber, ©Lisa Premke, ©Maiko Miske

photos ©Tom Dachs (all images) ©Michael Stuber (last image)