Exploring post-modern theatre through mixables and ‘other bodies’

By Indeewara Thilakarathne

The striking aspect of Din-a 13 Dance Company which is currently working on a theatre project on the theme of ‘upheavals’ in Sri Lanka, is its semantic approach to theatre and to challenge the deep-seated perceptions of beauty, prototype societal norms. The first leg of the theatre project which commenced in Sri Lankan would be further explored in Venezuela and in Lebanon and how the ‘upheavals’ affects the population at large.

The separate theatre projects will be developed in three counties and the production will be combined and the final performative installation will be staged in Germany in 2014. The DIN A 13 Dance Company’s new translational project WRAP which has just commenced in Sri Lankan is made up of six dancers; two women and four men with different physical appearances. The Sri Lankan production is choreographed by Gerda Konig, Assistant Choreographer Marc Stuhlmann and the music for the production is by Harsha Makalande.

The principal motif of the dance company is to create ensembles through an exchange of dance cultures and every two years, the company meets in Crossing Dance Festival in Dusseldorf to which the mix-abled dance ensembles all over the world are invited. Interaction of diverse media of arts such as visual media is a salient production feature of the company. The scenes of the production would be created through ideas generated through improvisations. In other words, the production would take its own course leading up to the final performative installation on the working theme of ‘upheavals’.

The DIN A 13 Dance Company

The DIN A 13 Dance Company was founded in 1995 by choreographer Gerda König and internationally is one of the few dance companies, whose members comprises dancers with different physical appearances.

The artistic approach of the company lies in the exploration and visualisation of the quality movement “other body”, which is used in its diversity of choreographic work. It is these movements that inspire and fascinate because they question the standard viewing habits and ideals of contemporary dance and at the same time enrich it with new impetus. Suspected boundaries between physical characteristics and values ??and maximum power of dance can be dissolved in choreographic images that are provocative questions and challenge into an artistic dialogue. - And so is the unexpectedness of a different body for aesthetic experience, the expression of new Qualitatsmasstäbe.

2005 Fijalkow Gustavo took over the production line of the company.

Since then, work Fijalkow and King together to develop co-productions and networking internationaller. In cooperation with the Goethe-Institut Sun dance productions created with regional and international artists in Ethiopia, South Africa, Brazil, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal and Sri Lanka.

Since a further focus of the work of DIN A 13 Dance Company is performing at festivals, in particular of Crossings Dance Festival, which was celebrated in collaboration with the tanzhaus nrw been three editions. Mixed-abled dance companies from around the world gather to philosophers, artistes, politicians, film directors, journalists, critics and other actors in the social, cultural and political life. Crossings shall propose to the other side of the Mixed-abled Dance nucleus, bridges to other art forms and provides a forum for questions about the relationships between society, contemporary art, otherness, disability and aesthetics.

Artistic debate

Since the founding of the ensemble, the focus is on the artistic engagement with dancers who do not meet the usual standards of social aesthetic standards, however, impressed by the perfection and beauty of its movements. The unexpectedness of another body becomes an aesthetic experience that sets new standards of quality and its expression in stark contrast to the classical notions of beauty is dancing movement.

It is these movements are the ones who inspire the audience to the performances of the DIN A 13 Dance Company and fascinate because they question the standard viewing habits and ideals of contemporary dance and at the same time enrich it with new impetus.

The success which has grown steadily since the founding of the ensemble is attributable among other things, co-productions with regional and international artists.

Due to the constant artistic exploration of cultural realities, traditions, politically and historically contingent and socially influenced conditions, Gerda König tracked in a continuous manner their choreographic research approach.

This is your special interest in the creative process leading to a dialogue with the artistes on site to find new approaches for their artistic work.

This approach by her in recent years opened the possibility of a comparative, choreographic cultural exchange, which has shaped their artistic creations and give their choreographies an unmistakable signature.

Through the continuous development of conceptual art as complex dance company DIN A 13 to one of the leading mixed-abled Dance Ensemble has been around the world. As an internationally established ensemble DIN A 13 Dance Company of the German dance scene is no longer possible to think.