TURN - cartography of a movement
Hasenheide, Berlin, 21-24.04.2022
At a central park in Berlin, Hasenheide [„Heath of Hares“], the German gymnastic movement was founded when the first gymnastics court [“Turnplatz“] was built in 1811. Within a short time, gymnastics became very popular, not only among the boys and men who joined the movement but also among the spectators who participated in the exercises and gymnastics festivals by the thousands. From the start, gymnastics was not just an athletic activity but something that explicitly pursued a political agenda: the conception and rationale of the exercise routines, as well as the organization of gymnastics, reflected the rising German nationalism. The ideological orientation was also the focus of political speeches held at the “Thing” [meeting site] of the gymnastics court. First in the Hasenheide, then in many other places, boys and men, guided by F. L. Jahn, formed a “people’s body”. Through gymnastics, they formed not only their bodies but also the idea of German nationalism.
The choreographic audio walk TURN – Cartography of a Movement looks back at this history of the Hasenheide and searches for ways to break through nationalistic orientations. Together, and with the voice of a flâneuse in their ears, the audience roams across established paths, open spaces as well as delicate desire paths of the park. Strolling, drifting, and letting thoughts wander; when strolling, the body enters into an open exchange with the environment,and inside and outside can merge. Similar to gymnastics, such a way of using public space was long reserved for men. However, for some time now more and more women and queer people have been occupying the public space that is rightfully theirs on a global level. As they stroll through places, their visibility is resistant to the unwritten, discriminatory rules of public spaces. In TURN – Cartography of a Movement, continuous and contradictory histories of the past and present interlink to form ever new maps of Hasenheide – in search of common dis/orientations.
With: Sasha Amaya, Otto Calmeijer Meijburg, Soroa Lear, Areli Moran, Hannah Filu Sampé, Cinzia Schincariol, Milena Stein, Dominique Tegho
Direction, choreography, text: Nora Tormann // dramaturgy, text: Judith Hesselmann // sound design: Manuela Schininà // costume design: Cintia Rangel // speakers: Virginia V. Hartmann, Mira Sanjana Sharma // translation: Virginia V. Hartmann // production management: Chris Wohlrab // press relations: Anita Goß // public relations: Aurora Kellermann // assistance: Mareike Jung // sound engineering: Lola Tseytlin // photos: Oliver Look // video documentation, trailer: Svenja Simone Schulte // camera: Alessa Rhode // graphic design: Cécile Kobel
A production by Nora Tormann, co-produced by TATWERK I Performative Forschung and supported by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR.
Earlier research was funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the program NEUSTART KULTUR, [aid program DIS-TANZEN/ tanz:digital/ DIS-TANZ-START] of Dachverband Tanz Deutschland as well as by Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR.
