Extended Teenage Era - Play February 10, 2009

A construction site of wooden beams and cardboard boxes. Everything is either being built or demolished. While one group dances, the others make the props for the next scene. Samir Akika has put together an internationally renowned ensemble for his performance. The action alternates between theatrical skit comedy and extraordinary dance, with music ranging from Franz Schubert and Bob Marley to Justin Timber lake. Forms of street dance are also involved – break-dancing and robotic movements are paired with booming bass, classical sounds or even South American dance music. Everything seems very playful, young and improvised. The dancers push the boundaries between genres with enthusiasm. Akika''s piece is a rapid course of questions, games and tasks which the dancers interpret in a wide variety of ways. Samir Akika, choreographer, producer and filmmaker, was born in Algeria in 1967 and grew up in France. He studied dance at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and was given the Kurt-Jooss Award in 2001, along with the Förderpreis für Darstellende Kunst der Landeshauptstadt Dusseldorf (Dusseldorf Performing Arts Award) in 2002. Contact: 26149546.