M

In the piece, “die Masse(demos)”, I worked with dance students in Bangalore and in  Cologne. The piece was, in fact, two separate ones, each engaging with the same  concept and which developed very differently in these distinct environments. The  concept was about “the people”, a term that I sought to define through the body, in  particular the collectiveness, the feeling of togetherness, which allows one to see  oneself as a part of “the people”. Within the realm of collective experience and  action, demonstrations and strikes are of special interest to me.

“Die Masse(demos)”  was about a community, even if temporary, that emerges now, in a time where the  traditional idea of community is suffering under our increasing individualism. The  work dealt heavily with connecting oneself to which is considered to be lost - a  community, our bodies, humanity. I was interested in the possibility of escaping  social control and creating, with gathered bodies a political power that could have an  impact, that could make some kind of de facto change. If not in its environment, then  at least within the group itself.