Tanzfabrik
Berlin
Stage
Stage
Stage
Stage
Kreuzberg 1
Möckernstr. 68
10965 Berlin
Stage
Stage

Dance, Life and Ritual

Talk by Koffi Kôkô, Johannes Odenthal
In the frame of Open Spaces/Sommer Tanz 2017

Koffi Kôkô and Johannes Odenthal in conversation about the connection between dance, ritual and life in Benin.
Moderated by Christa Flaig-Isaacs.

Koffi Kôkô

Koffi Kôkô (FR/BJ) was born in Benin, West Africa, where he grew up in close contact with the animist religion of his home. In 2004 and 2005 he was curator and together with Johannes Odenthal artistic director of the festival In Transit (HKW, Berlin). With Ismael Ivo he choreographed and danced the play »The Maids« under the direction of Yoshi Oida. In addition to Koffi Kôkôs most important work u. a. »Passage«, »D’une rive à l'autre«, »Terre rougeâtre«, »Ça« and »Les feuilles qui résistent au vent«. He choreographed a.o. at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Barbican Center in London, Tanztheater Verena Weiss, Lucerne.

Johannes Odenthal

Johannes Odenthal studied art history and archaeology in Cologne, Bonn and Paris. He has published numerous essays and books on cultural history and is a co-founder and editor of the magazines tanz aktuell and ballett international/tanz aktuell. From 1997 to 2006, Odenthal served as artistic director of the Music, Dance and Theatre Department at Berlin’s Haus der Kulturen der Welt. He has edited books such as “The Third Body. Das Haus der Kulturen der Welt und die Performing Arts” (2004), “tanz.de. Zeitgenössischer Tanz in Deutschland – Strukturen im Wandel – eine neue Wissenschaft” (2005) and “Tanz Körper Politik“ (updated and extended 2nd edition 2012) for the publishing company Theater der Zeit. Since 2006, Odenthal has served as programming director at the Berlin Academy of the Arts. Additionally, he has been a co-editor of the series “Positionen” (Positions) by the publishing company Steidl Verlag since 2009, the same year he developed the programme series “Politische Körper” (Political Bodies) in commemoration of modern dance in Germany.

Free Admission
In English