part 1 (Folk Dance)
part 2 (Renaissance dance)
part 3 (Darijesque)
Lea Pischke (Berlin, Germany): Darija – Kharita
- duration: 120 min
- watch: 9th December 2018 at 5pm UTC
DESCRIPTION: The solo performance “Darija – Kharita” is an exposure of two processes running in parallel: the learning of a language together with its accompanying gestures and facial expressions as well as the gradual mastering of a classical dance position, both originating from the Oriental cultural space, and both having undergone fundamental changes over the course of time. As a contemporary dancer from Europe, I merge my attempts of learning the dialectal Arabic Darija, a unique historical blend of different linguistic influences which is spoken throughout Northern Africa, with the figure of the Arabesque from European ballet, itself a historical adaptation from a decorative pattern taken from Oriental art. I endeavour to further this historical cultural dialogue by inventing new variants of the Arabesque from the perspective of a contemporary dancer and by eventually proposing an updated form: the Darijesque. In order to exemplify the proximity and the ongoing exchange between these two cultural realms, I shall be performing various Arabesques and my own notions of the dialect Darija in front of architectural representatives of both the Oriental and European cultural realm within the city of Berlin, Germany.
BIO: Lea Pischke (GER / FR / UK) is a dancer and choreographer with a degree in Fine Art from the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Marseille (School of Fine Art of Marseille) and a Master’s in Creative Music Technology from the School of Performing Arts, Bath Spa University, UK. She completed her education in dance and choreography at Tanzfabrik Berlin (GER), SEAD Salzburg (AT) and P.A.R.T.S. Brussels (BE). Her work “Spectral Schematics” concentrates on the formalistic legacy of dance, music and politics according to Jacques Derrida with residencies at Ramdam, un centre d’art, Lyon and the Centre National de la Danse, Paris. In the “Zeughaus” – series, she investigates the transposition of design methods found in computer programming into movement together with media artist Michael Baumann, with kind support by the Andrea von Braun Stiftung and the City of Cologne. Supported by a scholarship from the City of Berlin and residencies at the European Centre for the Arts, Dresden/Hellerau, Lea is currently preparing a “solo of counter-integration” via Darija, the North African Arabic as well as the Arabesque, a pattern from oriental architecture and classical dance, which will be premiered in 2019. Her work has been presented at various venues of which amongst others: Ada Studio, Laborgras, Uferstudios, Berlin (GER); Rosas Performance Space (BE), Théâtre de Vanves, Paris (FR), National Palace for Culture, Sofia (BG). ARTIST’S WEBSITE 
Kindly supported by Theaterhaus Mitte, Berlin
