Choreografische Mitarbeit: Kartharina Wiedenhofer
Dance: Jonas Frey, Albi Gika, Victoria Söntgen, Katharina Wiedenhofer und Schüler*innen
Dramaturgy: Ilana Reynolds
Stage Design & Costume: Nathalie Meyer
Video & Light: Gregor Knüppel
DJ/Music-Mix: Richard Oberscheven,
Production Management: Lucia Primavera
Management: Alexandra Schmidt
Premiere: 7. November 2019, Eschborn
a dance performance for everyone aged 11 and over
WONDERLAND
In „WONDERLAND“ the Frankfurt choreographer Célestine Hennermann and four dancers from contemporary and urban dance meet the thoughts, wishes, fantasies and utopias of students’ transition into or in the middle of puberty. Viral dances and movements from the world of computer games (e.g. Fortnite, Super Mario) and social media become the source and inspiration into understanding aspects of youth identity and senses of belonging.
The story of „Alice in Wonderland“ runs like a delicate red thread through the piece.
Searching for her own ever-changing self and for the direction she should take – Alice reflects the central themes of identity and acceptance affecting youngsters during this
time. The astonishment of who one actually is and who one wants to be is reflected in the acknowledgement and rejection of young people by their peers, family, school
and media role models.
The research of WONDERLAND began together with Frankfurt high school students. where the aesthetic approach and artistic content of the work was collected and developed. The choreographic development of the piece then took place independently within the artistic team. The last stage of the work was then finalised together with different youth target groups within various educational formats. The result is a professional dance performance for and by young people, in which not only the four dancers but also students from various schools and cities are on stage, developing their own choreographies, working with improvisation and learning choreographic material. WONDERLAND is promoted and funded through the TANZLAND project of the Federal Cultural Foundation and is transmitted with a contemporary understanding of art.
WONDERLAND is a production of Hennermanns Horde, supported by: TANZLAND – Fonds für Gastspielkooperationen is an initiative of the German Federal Cultural Foundation in the project management of the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland. Co-produced by the Eisfabrik Hannover. Further sponsors: Cultural Office of the City of Frankfurt am Main, Hessian Ministry of Science and Art, Cultural Office of the City of Hanover, City of Eschborn, Volksbühne im großen Hirschgraben. With the friendly support of the Wöhlerschule Frankfurt and the Tanzetage Liederbach.
„The special thing about the performance was that the children were treated absolutely professionally. They were integrated into the stage play in such a way that at first the audience was not really able to differentiate who the professional dancers were. For many of the children it was their first opportunity to perform on a stage, to express themselves differently and thanks to the project to thus perceive themselves differently. A great opportunity for adolescents!“
(Bad Homburger Woche, 12.12.2019)
„But who is a professional dancer and who is not, is hardly noticeable in the dance production. This is not so much due to the fancy face masks that everyone wears at the beginning, which make them look like characters from a computer game, but rather is a merit of the choreography. The choreography does not try to approach what trained dancers are capable of, but rather relies on movement material that all participants have at their disposal without making artistic concessions.“
(Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 12.3.2020)