Four international artist-teams were invited by the Frankfurt LAB artist residency programme, in cooperation with the KfW Stiftung, to work for four weeks in Frankfurt. At the end of the residency, the artists will open the doors to the rehearsal halls, to let you partake in their creations and to enter into a dialogue.

In “Gnathost-o-mata“ the interdisciplinary performance artist Carla Tapparo from Argentina connects mix-culture, like raves and DJ-ing, with storytelling techniques to create new meaning and experiences. She is interested in the relationship between the individual and the collective body. Bodies also interest the dancers and choreographers Emmanuel Ndefo and Femi Adebajo from Nigeria. In “Traces of Ectasy” they investigate male vulnerability and intimacy. Dancer and choreographer Stephanie Kayal has joined up with the musician and composer *Abed Kobeissy to deal with the physical and psychological injuries caused by life in Lebanon. As a sci-fi anti-hero she is out for vengeance in “Galactic Crush”. The director Manjari Kaul from India will develop “Firefly Women” with Savita Rani and Priiya, a play based on the letters from jail of two women, who were incarcerated because of draconian colonial laws.

Gnathost-o-mata:

Carla Tapparo dwells in the relation, interaction and unison of perceived dichotomies such as material-digital, body-mind, inside-outside, to name a few. Her current research is related to the body, as a biopolitical entity, under the notions of abjection and disidentification as well as how certain appreciations made of the individual body can extend to the collective body.
Performed by Carla Tapparo

Traces of Ecstacy:

"I have been asking myself some questions recently:
What happens if African men become emotional?
How can we begin to rethink intimacy, softness and vulnerability between African men and boys?
I am interested in Afro-masculinity and intimacy and in our responsibility to becoming men who can love other men."
Performed by Emmanuel Ndefo & Femi Adebajo

Galactic Crush:

"In a parallel universe, a mysterious explosion devastates a city ruled by evil.
Having recently gained superpowers due to chemical exposure from the blast, a dancer anti-hero teams up with her side-kick musician; they seek vengeance...
With good intentions, and no experience whatsoever, they prepare to fight the villains, bring them to justice, and save us all."
Performed by Stephanie Kayal & Abed Kobeissy

Firefly Women:

Based on letters written from jail by two young Feminst leaders charged under a draconian law, Firefly Women traces the contours of a Feminist Utopia. It maps the constellations of ways in which Feminist resistance, solidarity, and collective dreaming show us possible routes to gender just futures.
The piece is a dive into what Feminist solidarity and collective dreaming means in these oppressive times.
Performed by Savita Rani, Priiya, Manjari Kaul | Music Philipp Kehder | Directed by Manjari Kaul

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All pieces were accompanied by artist, choreographer and dramaturgist Wen Hui

„Frankfurt Moves!“ is an initiative of the foundation KfW Stiftung in cooperation with the Frankfurt LAB aimed at promoting up-and-coming international artists in the performing arts sector.