With Or Without You
You press my hand at the foot of the steps. We dance after the hospital has called. You lead me, the hands holding each other, do we have a date after all? I say thank you and you only ask: “What for?” Intimacy is that hard to grasp emotion of warmth, eroticism, vulnerability, or tenderness that can simultaneously be familiar as well as uncomfortable. Disabled dancers Fia Neises and Irene Giró extend an invitation in rooms of ‘access intimacy’ through With Or Without You, following the concept of disabled queer author and Activist of Colour Mia Mingus. Dangling from two vertical silk sheets in mid-air, the dancers confound visual, auditive, and temporal conventions, giving themselves over to the illusion of independence, hanging in the air. Accompanied by musician Jana Sotzko, they share stories of ambivalence and assisted intimacy. If so desired, one may become part of it and participate or simply enjoy watching.
Duration: 60 min.
In German, with English and German supertitles. Supertitles means that the spoken word will appear in written form throughout the set. Improvised moments and interactions with the audience will only appear in German in the supertitles. For interactive moments, there will be a communication assistant (DGS-German).
Wheelchair accessible, Early Boarding, Relaxed Performance, Audio description (including tactile guidance 30 minutes before the start), Pre-Show Access.
Accompanying programme
Artistic direction and performance: Fia Neises; artistic co-creation, voice training and performance: Irene Giró; live music, audio description post-production: Jana Sotzko; conception and voice from offstage: Saioa Alvarez Ruiz; dramaturgy: Tanja Erhart; artistic co-creation: Liv Schellander; dramaturgical support for aesthetic accessibility: Ari Althaus, Xenia Dürr, Stefanie Heller, Silja Korn, Rita Mazza, Zwoisy Mears Clarke, Nina Mühlemann, Miles Wendt; Production Management: Olivia Hotz; Technical Management: Lola Tseytlin; Set Design: Lea Kissing; Assistant Set Design: Mareike Kraatz: lighting design: Gretchen Blegen; costume: Merle Richter; supertitles: Maria Wünsche; film documentation: Tanja Brzaković, Max Matthiessen, Jelena Bosanac; photos: Xenia Dürr, Mayra Wallraff; communications assistant: Brice Stapelfeldt. A production by Sophia Neises, supported by the network Making a Difference in cooperation with Uferstudios. Funded by the Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion / IMPACT funding. Funded by Europe Beyond Access, co-funded by the Creative Europe program of the European Union. Guest performance as part of the Alliance of International Production Houses, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.