Potpourri
4 A.M. (Covid-19 update: The event cannot take place.)
A House Dance Piece
Pulsating sounds, ecstatically dancing bodies, a sense of freedom. In their dance performance 4 A.M., the two choreographers Olivia Mitterhuemer and Farah Deen invite participants to delve into the spheres of house culture.
Strongly influenced by the Afro-American and LGBTIQ+ community, House culture emerged in the clubs of Chicago and New York in the early 80s. Dance and music were primarily shaped by discrimination, oppression and the need of expression.
Referring to the inclusive and non-judgmental character of the culture, the music’s repetitive and upbeat quality serves as the central anchor for the four performers’ physical experience. Inspired by various encounters with the European and American scene, they bring different human relationships on stage, all within a spectrum between self-doubt, distance, intimacy and ecstasy. An homage to the House club as a safe place, where social conventions disappear. At 4 A.M., House beats and physical exchange open up a space of danced transcendence and collective freedom - based on the performers‘ personal experiences as white women and women of colour being socialised in Europe.
Olivia Mitterhuemer is a resident of Salzburg and a freelance dancer focusing on hip-hop freestyle and house dance. She is a co-founder of Dance Crew Potpourri and the Flavourama street dance festival. In addition to her job as a dance educator, she appeared with the company Hungry Sharks on Austrian and international stages from 2016 to 2019. Highlights of her last season include the appearance at the SOUNDANCE improvisation festival in Berlin and her being awarded a one-year scholarship for performance from the Province of Salzburg in 2020.
Farah Deen is from Salzburg and works as a freelance dancer, dance educator and choreographer in Vienna. She is a co-founder of Dance Crew Potpourri and the Flavourama street dance festival. From 2015 to 2020, Farah Deen appeared as a dancer in various productions by the company Hungry Sharks, traveling to stages in Europe, the United States and Sri Lanka. She performed in works by the likes of Simon Mayer, Silke Grabinger and Harmen Tromp. Highlights of her last season include her first own production Arielle and her being awarded the first prize at the Zero Project Art Competition. At imagetanz 2018, Farah Deen presented the solo The Sky Above the Mud Below by Hungry Sharks. Farah Deen and Olivia Mitterhuemer dedicate their artistic work to the propagation of hip-hop and house dance in theatre.
Pressestimmen
"It seems like the laws of gravity apply a little less to Olivia Mitterhuemer. If you watch her and Farah Deen dance, you feel the ease and the energy that emanates from house dancing. It might not even surprise you if the dancers take off from the ground at some point." (Die Bühne)
"We are seeing more how important the club is as a safe place and as a cultural breeding ground. The club and the music in the club are a safety net and an outlet for many people. And a way to let go. The club culture does something for the people that is missing now." (Olivia Mitterhuemer, interview with Bühne)
Credits
Conception and choreography Farah Deen & Olivia Mitterhuemer Dance Farah Deen, Cat Jimenez, Olivia Mitterhuemer, Rosa Perl Dramaturgy Philippe Riera Music edit TJ Hicks Light design Stefan Ebner Costume and set design Magdalena Neuburger Production Verena Pircher
A co-production by Tanzcompany Potpourri and imagetanz/brut Wien. Supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, the City of Vienna’s Department of Cultural Affairs, the City of Salzburg’s and the Province of Salzburg’s Departments of Cultural Affairs, Bildrecht. With the kind support of ARGEkultur Salzburg and SZENE Salzburg.
Dates & Tickets
Covid-19 update: The event cannot take place.
Event recommendations
Willi Dorner
figure (Covid-19 update: The event cannot take place.)
Georg Blaschke / Jan Machacek / M.A.P. Vienna
Giotto’s Corridor
Dance and Vanish
Magazin
