blackmilk is the first part of the trompoppies trilogy by Tiran Willemse. Trompoppies is Afrikaans and describes drum majorettes in uniform. The performance examines one of the choreographic elements of the formation dances they perform: the precise hand gestures. Fusing trompoppies movements with the melodramatic gestures of white femme starlets and gestures associated with Black masculine rap stars the work explores the distance between images of African and Afro-American male-presenting bodies.
blackmilk intervenes into this limiting repertoire of representations using the means of performance and explores a variety of affective bodies in the gray zones of legible identities, opening them up to a complex sensitivity that the artist describes as "black male melancholia".
With superb sound, striking theatrical effects and a dance that oscillates between virtuosity and despair, this solo is a powerful and suspenseful work that raises questions about the relationship between art and its reception, the conventions of artistic appreciation and sovereignty.
*Note:
There are periods of loud music, though not painfully so; the bass is noticeable. The subwoofer is routed to all four speakers. Strobes and darkness are used.
Concept, artistic direction, performance: Tiran Willemse
Music: Manuel Riegler
Lighting design: Fudetani Ryoya, Demi Jakob, Max Windisch-Spoerk
Production: Kelly Tuke
Tour management: Benjamin Fischer
Genre: Performance, dance
Language: Minimal, English
Duration: 70 min
A production by tiran in co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE, Gessnerallee Zurich, Tanzquartier Vienna and WPZimmer Antwerp.
Residencies: Tanzhaus Zurich, Buda Kortrijk, Les Urbaines Lausanne, Impulstanz Vienna, Trauma Bar and Kino Berlin.
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Tiran Willemse is an interdisciplinary collaborative artist working in the field of dance, theater, video and performance with Trajal Harrell, Jerome Bel, Ligia Lewis, Wu-Tsang (moved by the motion), Deborah Hay, Eszter Salamon, Meg Stuart and Andros Zins-Browne. Willemse’s practice centers on the interrogation of presence and absence in the performance of identity, he endeavors to foster new desires in the imagination through a visceral experience. His work has been presented by Palais de Tokyo Paris, Gessnerallee, Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts Lausanne, Museum Macro Rome, Impulstanz Wien, Santarcangelo Festival Italy, Kunsthaus Baselland, Tanzquartier Wien, Swiss Institute New York and Arsenic Lausanne. Willemse won the Swiss performance prize 2023 and lives and works in Zurich and Berlin.
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The Emerging Change Dance Festival celebrates the work of queer, trans, Black, Indigenous and BIPoC dance artists (QTBIPoC) and creates an inclusive space in Berlin for movement, transformation and shared celebration.
Under the artistic direction of Nara Virgens and Makisig Akin, the festival explores the tension between Survival & Pleasure. It examines how we survive and care for one another whilst simultaneously creating spaces for joy, pleasure, desire and shared experiences. A diverse programme of performances, workshops, residencies, community dialogues and celebrations brings together renowned international artists with emerging talents from Berlin.
Emerging Change sees dance as a place of encounter, resistance, joy and change. Survival & Pleasure thus become physical and collective practices: about persevering and carrying on, but also about celebrating, enjoying, desiring and being together. The festival invites you to come together, exchange ideas, forge new connections and celebrate spaces together.
More information about the festival emergingchange.org
The festival takes place in cooperation with DOCK ART Theater, Uferstudios e.V., Tanzfabrik Bühne, Tanzfabrik Schule, Karada House and the Prinzessinnengarten.