Choreografy: Célestine Hennermann
Dance: Katharina Wiedenhofer, Albi Gika
Set Design, Costumes: Sounds of Silence
Susanne Kessler, Petra Eichler
Music: Gregor Praml
Dramaturgy: Johanna Milz
Assistance: Felix Graf
Light: Scrøllan Hagemann
Management: Alexandra Schmidt
Premiere: 25. November 2011 at the tanzhaus nrw Düsseldorf
A dance production for the very young
elephant walk
Two smitten penguins, playful seals, a lazy caravan of camels, a hen laying eggs, dog, cat, and elephants – after the success of her piece “Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst” (“I spy with my little eye”) choreographer Célestine Hennermann takes a look at animal movements.
How does the penguin walk in comparison to humans and how exactly does an elephant move? Contemporary dancer Katharina Wiedenhofer and hip hop dancer Albi Gika bring these questions to life on stage and transport their young audience into a world of big and small surprises. Dozens of colorful pails in various forms and sizes (set design and costumes by Sounds of sielnce) offer sheer endless possibilities for transforming the stage. A sound collage composed by Gregor Praml supports „elephant walk” as it becomes a landscape of ice and snow, a farm, hoofs, paws, water or clouds…
„elephant walk“ tours internationally and has been shown more than 150 times since the premiere in 2011. Specially created to delight very little ones, children can join the dancers on the set at the end and try out their own animal movements as part of this magical dance experience.
„elephant walk“ imitates animals that wander beautifully on the fine line between imitation and abstraction. (…) When the dancers rub backside to backside and their bellies wave together it is courtship – only without animals. It is just dance”
(Melanie Suchy in TANZ, professional journal for ballet and contemporary dance, Jan. 2012)
„Elephant walk“ of Célestine Hennermann charmed by grace and mischievous expressions of the dancers Albi Gika and Katharina Wiedenhofer.”
(Die Rheinpfalz 17.9.2013)
“One of the positive surprises was „elephant walk“(…) how Albi Gika and Katharina Wiedenhofer interpret the advances among penguins, the posturing of the chicken, coquetry between cat and dog in very different dance styles from classic HipHop, was also fun for the adults.“
(Mannheimer Morgen, 17.9.2013)
“For us it’s all about to awaken emotions of the young audience.“ A claim which was more than satisfied in Gütersloh.“
(Die Glocke, Gütersloh 14.9.2015)