Baader - A Choreography of Radicalisation

solo, 2011

In the solo "Baader - A Choreography of Radicalisation” Christoph Winkler continues his study of the physicality of "evil” characters in dance by taking a closer look at the historical persona of legendary German terrorist Andreas Baader. Baader (*1943 -†1977) was one of the founders and main leaders of the German left-wing militant organization Red Army Faction, also commonly known as the Baader-Meinhof Gang.
From an early age onwards, Baader cultivated his image very deliberately. In his writings, he spoke of the instrumentalization of the body as the "holiest weapon” of the revolution. His strategic use of his own body even to the point of his death, makes him an ideal object of study for dance.
There is no doubt that Baader was an exterme character, but what really is "evil” and how does the concept of em-bodi-ment change, when defined as physical action?

In this physically extremely exhausting one-hour solo, Winkler and Hansen manage to prove what contemporary dance is capable of when it takes recourse to its inherent potential: to expose in an otherwise utterly empty space, the multiple layers of a complex political persona, from self-presentation to self-doubt, merely with the help of physical movement.- tanznetz.de

Far from being any kind of propagandistic mission statement, but also far from being arbitrary, the physical-musical element meshes with the original spirit of revolution. [...] fantastic. - taz

[…] choreographer Christoph Winkler proves that it is possible to artistically represent Baader without falling back on clichés. […] the dance piece [is] art in the best sense of the word, not simply parroting the circumstances and established opinions and clichés, but revealing possibilities. - derFreitag

[…] a one-hour solo that gets under yoru skin. And even crawls into your brain: it is not the deviant character Baader who dancer here, but the average guy. […] almost revolutionary in its beauty. - junge Welt

Second Trailer: www.tanzforumberlin.de/trailer336.php

Concept: Christoph Winkler | Dance: Martin Hansen | Lights: André Schulz | Costumes: Lisa Kentner & Vivien Wanneck | Make-up: Kathleen Kelly | | PR: K3 Berlin | Production-Dramaturgy: ehrliche Arbeit - freelance office for culture

A Christoph Winkler production in co-operation with Ballhaus Ost. Funded by the City of Berlin - Department for Cultural Affairs. Supported by Phase7.

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