MADE TWO WALKING /
MADE ALL WALKING

The term “stranger” lies at the heart of the artistic debate, to which Richard Siegal and his Cologne-based company Ballet of Difference are devoting themselves over the next two seasons under the title The Near – Far. Richard Siegal uses the particularity of the composition of his diverse company to get to the bottom of the description of this strange relationship between proximity and distance, both socially and artistically.

The festival North/South will begin with Richard Siegal’s world premiere of Made two walking/Made all walking. In the production, the Ballet of Difference dancers not only move to the music of the Augsburg-based percussionist Njamy Sitson, who originates from Cameroon, the 14 dancers also produce sounds with their own bodies. The different drum patterns of the different bodies overlap and create new, complex rhythms, thus reflecting the African tradition of polyrhythm.

The festival will include a performance of LOGOBI by Monika Ginterdorfer and Knut Klaßen, in which Richard Siegal himself performs together with the Ivorian dancer Franck Edmond Yao (aka Gadoukou the Star). In addition to international talks and lectures, there will also be the Cologne premiere of the documentary film Draw a Line, which portrays the genesis of the Ballet of Difference Company.