Europeras, round 2

On Friday, we saw Europeras once more, 2 weeks after watching the premiere with a different group of kids. We were curious to see how this group would react to the massive production... 

Here are the blonde Bochum girls en route to the Jahrhunderthalle

Christopher and Drilon walked the red carpet in the rain

the jury ate some snacks before (and during) the long show

Davud

Davud, Meike and Nick posing/eating 

nice chewing Meike!

getting some energy out during the interval jumping up and down

after the show, we met Nikolay, a performer who wore that feather hat on the table in Europeras 2

passing notes took on a new meaning via phone passing tonight... is there a love connection happening in the jury? (I won't reveal the recipient)

Jacqueline looking at Nikolai's specific list of times he carries with him to know his cues

some Europeras inspired drawings 

and... more crazy photos from the Bochum girls on the van ride home

Birmingham and Manchester

I left Germany to check out Ask a Teenager at the AND Festival, Manchester and meet with the Fierce Festival in Birmingham to talk about future plans. As is often the case with the early days of project conception, the ideas were BIG and ambitious. We're talking about doing a Nightwalks with Teenagers and seeing if we can engage not only as many youth arts groups in Birmingham, but see if we can hook up with some of the young people we are working with now at the Ruhrtrienalle. That would be sick!

But likely unlikely. But you never know.

In any case, we're starting to build the desire and intention to begin to connect up youth that we've worked with on previous project, the goal being to start to form an international network of Young Mammals who can create work and create their own organizations in association with us, applying our approach to young people.

Regentanz im Pulse Park

Charles Ives - Kent Nagano

Wer hätte das gedacht. Kent Nagano und das Mahler Chamber Orchestra haben es geschafft die Jury 2.30 h ruhig zu halten. Nachdem wir in beiden Tanzstücken von Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker mit zu viel Talkativity zu kämpfen hatten, war während der Musik von Charles Ives konzentrierte Stille unter den Jurymitgliedern. Celim erklärte später im Künstlergespräch: "Wir sagen zwar die Musik ist uncool, aber wir meinen das nicht so. Wir wissen dass die Musik in Wahrheit schön ist und wir finden sie auch schön. Wir müssen das nur vor den Freunden so sagen". Wow. Danach fragte Celim, warum nur ältere und reich aussehende Leute im Publikum saßen und keine Kinder. Darauf hatten die Künstler keine Antwort, aber Celim hatte seine Frage schon selbst beantwortet. Kinder und Jugendliche sind uncool, wenn sie diese Musik cool finden. 
Vermutlich hatten aber auch die edlen Anzüge, Abendkleider und die respektvoller Art unter den Musikern die Jury beeinflusst. Diesmal stand kein nackter Tänzer auf der Bühne über den man kichern musste, die Jury hatte stattdessen hochkonzentrierte und schick gekleidete Musiker vor sich und ein feines Publikum hinter sich. 

Ulasch saß in der ersten Reihe. Seinen Ausblick auf Kent Nagano hat er festgehalten.

Seyma hatte irgendwo die Zahl 31 aufgeschnappt und versucht uns nun die türkische Bedeutung zu erklären..vor lauter Lachen brachte sie aber kein Wort heraus.

Shoe time

Die Jury kurz vor ihrem Auftritt. Sie hatten nicht so viel Zuschauer erwartet.

Selman hat den Europaras-Vogel auf der Seitenbühne gefunden

The Bochum Boys

Darren, this one's for you! Guess who's waering these heels?

Kaum zu erkennen...

...hier noch mal: VIP

Ulas' zweite Zeichnung. Unglaublich.

Die Sänger Thomas Hampson und Chen Reiss, gezeichnet von Ulas

Die Jury bei ihrer Arbeit

Life and Times, Episode 2

The jury saw Life and Times, Episode 2 this past Thursday, a musical extravaganza created by Nature Theater of Oklahoma. The show directly excerpts text from a 36 hour phone conversation between the directors of the company, Pavol Liska and Kelly Cooper, and a female friend (one of the members of the company, we were later told) who told them her life story. Episode 2 is part of a larger series, set to music and dance, focusing on her memories of grades 3 to 9, a time period this all-girl jury has just, and is still, experiencing...

first though, the Duisberg girls had to climb the cute yellow bird.

they waited in anticipation for the promised Justin Bieber appearance

there he is! or is he.... ?

red carpet arrival at the PACT Zollverein, Essen

waiting for the show to begin

twins

two hours of song and dance later...

we had a post show talk with company directors Pavol Liska and Kelly Cooper

we (and the directors) were curious to see how the jury could relate to the show... is an adult perspective on youth understood by youth? did the youth feel they could relate to what the caller said? It could have been a language issue (the show was presented in English, with German subtitles), the references to growing up in the 80's that they couldn't relate to, or just the different perspective on growing up (being in it instead of looking back on it)... but interestingly, the jury didn't seem to feel that connected to the commentary on growing up as much as some of the adults did.

Pavol and Kelly 

David Moss talks to the jury