BABAE
- Dance & performance
- Part of Aerowaves Twenty20
30 min.
Info
The limited resources, the pandemic and the impossibility of travelling have made us more isolated than we would have wanted from the international scene. In this context, we consider that it is of the utmost importance to resume contact with other artists, other practices and discourses, with other international structures and institutions, with which we can expand the dialogue and change perspectives. This year, the National Center of Dance Bucharest (CNDB) is pleased to announce the presence of three international artists who will present selected performances following CNDB’s participation in the European contemporary dance network Aerowaves, which includes similar institutions from Portugal, Germany, Denmark. , Switzerland, Norway, Belgium, Hungary, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Croatia, Russia, Iceland, Ireland, and others.
BABAE, the first international performance we’re inviting you to this year, is one of the 20 works selected in Twenty20 – Aerowaves program.
BABAE means “woman” in tagalog (philippine language) and is a 30min Solo work inspired by the “masterpiece of strangeness”, Mary Wigman’s Witch Dance, that premiered at the Witch dance Project Festival in 2016 at the Sophiensaele Berlin.
Raised and classically trained in Germany, Joy examines inherited vocabularies, reconfiguring what it means to summon the power and mystical practices of woman as witch. Evolving the movement material of Mary Wigman into her own witch caracter, she combines her roots in Philippine folk dance, classical/contemporary training andvocabulary of hip hop and voguing.
During her performance, Joy lets the audience witness an ancient and intimate ritual who’s procedure seems to be only known to her. In her piece Joy exposes herself to states of transformation and trance at the one hand, while she radiates strength in her femininity at the other. Her journey is a celebration of life, spiritual awareness and wisdom. In her witch character, Joy embodies women ́s historical sacrifices next to pure celebrative freedom.
BABAE is a one woman interplay between the animalistic and sensual qualities of ritual and power.
The solo lasts for 30 minutes and will be followed by a discussion with the artist.
Choreography, concept, dance: Joy Alpuerto Ritter
Music: Vincenzo Lamagna
Artistic assistent: Lukas Steltner
Lights: Arne Schmitt, Joy Alpuerto Ritter
Costume design: Lan Behrendt DYAO
Tehnical support: Fabian Bleisch
Bio
Joy Alpuerto Ritter was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. In her youth she was trained at the Ballettschule Armin Krain and learned Philippine Folk Dance in the cultural dance group led by her mother. In 2004 Joy graduated at the Palucca School in Dresden, Germany with a dance diploma. She started working as a freelance dancer with choreographers like Christoph Winkler, Heike Hennig Wangramirez, Constanza Macras and Yui Kawaguchi.
After expanding her repertory in urban dance styles, she became part of the Hip Hop and Voguing Ballroom culture scene in Berlin and has won prizes in several Dance Battle Competitions.
In 2011 she joined Cirque du Soleil as a dancer and aerial artist for the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour. Since 2013 she has been a dancer and rehearsal director of the Akram Khan Company and has been nominated as “outstanding female dancer” (modern) in the Performance “Until the Lions” by the National Dance Awards UK in 2016.
In the last years Joy has been creating her own work like Unda (premier at the Barbican London), Alter Egos (Sophiensaele Berlin), Heimkehr (coproduction LOFFT das Theater), rOOms (Co-funded by the creative europe program of the european union). With her solo work Babae, she has found international response as a Choreographer and is one of the Aerowaves artists 2020. Her work as a (an associate) choreographer established new collaborations with Akram Khan (UK), Ballett Black (UK), Chen Shi-Zheng (New York), Riz Ahmed (UK), Viviana Durante (UK), Floria Sigismondi (USA/CA), Florence and the machine (UK).
www.joyalpuertoritter.com
Supported by
„Witch dance Project 2016” Sophiensaele Berlin
Special thanks to
Christoph Winkler “Witchdance Project”, Farooq Chaudry “Portrait in Otherness”, Akram Khan, Elena Polzer” Ehrliche Arbeit “, Lukas Steltner, Sophiensaele Berlin și Tanzfonds Erbe.
