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© Annemie Augustijns The famous opera The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny , in short Mahagonny , with the libretto by Bertolt Brecht and music by Kurt Weill, tells the story of a city where, if paid for, there are no rules for entertainment (food, sex, boxing and drink), everything is permitted for entertainment. In this artificial city, people are prevented from realizing that their lives are empty and meaningless by spending their time with entertainment, so much that people are made to forget that they are human by dulling their feelings. So, the plot of the Mahagonny can be read as a critique of American society, so Mahagonny may represent Las Vegas, for example, or it may also describe the corrupted Berlin of the 1920s of the Weimar Republic. Mahagonny, which premiered in Leipzig in 1930, was the culmination of a six-year partnership between Brecht and Weill. Like all cult and timeless works, it was met with protests (organized by sympathizers of the National Socialist ...

In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who will perform in Fringe Festival Istanbul 2022. Our second guest is Eleni Papaioannou from A(r)CT. Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer What is the essence of performance in your opinion? A performance, for me, is life magnified, reproduced, represented, reoccuring in front of your eyes. The essence of a live performance is the exchange of energy and ideas through movement or words, through images, music and aesthetics. A performance is filled with emotions and motions. It is a shortcut to the creator’s soul and a window to his/her creative mind. That’s why, in my opinion, to watch a performance is something sacred. Something we should really admire, whether we get attracted to it or not. Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How? I deeply believe that art has the power to transform people and societies and it has been proven many times in the past, in both politic...

© Andrea Behrends In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who will perform in Fringe Festival İstanbul 2022. Our first guest is Becca Hoback from Enactor Productions.  Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer What is the essence of performance in your opinion? Enactor’s solos are exploring what it means to be a human being having a relationship with your body. As I was beginning to curate the collection of solos, the spark was wanting to understand how to better integrate my relationship with my body into my identity. I realized there was a strong separation between the times when I was aware of my body - usually in the dance studio - and the rest of my life. As I began exploring this topic and having conversations with others, I realized that each person’s body-relationship is going to look different - sometimes drastically. I knew I wanted to work with others to gain more perspective and explore just that. How do we t...

In this series of interviews we try to get to know the artists who performed in İstanbul Fringe Festival 2022. Our last guest is Agnieszka Kazimierska from t he former Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards .   Ayse Draz, Art Unlimited Performing Arts Editor & Mehmet Kerem Ozel, Writer  © Nikita Chuntomov What is the essence of theater in your opinion? A deep and meaningful, living - thus necessarily in flesh - nourishing encounter among human beings that is based on craft. It entails mastery of being in relation. A space in which the quality of people’s attention becomes a gentle container for awakening what is hidden, for a common communal journey through ideas, ideals, dreams, desires, which are all rooted and living in the body and often kept dormant. A space of revealing and revelation. A space of generous giving. Of giving up. Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How? Yes, definitely. Not all art, not any “art” has this power, but def...

Setting of with the idea " True perfection lies in imperfection ", imPerfect Dancers Company was founded in Italy in 2009 by Walter Matteini and Ina Broeckx. Matteini and Broeckx have danced in many world-renowned dance companies and in the works of many world-renowned choreographers like William Forsythe, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin and Maguy Marin.  The ensemble, which has performed in many countries from Colombia to Tanzania, from Canada to Israel, from Armenia to Poland, previously presented their piece Lady Macbeth at the CRR Concert Hall in Istanbul, Turkey.  Walter Matteini Ina Broeckx What is the spirit of performance in your opinion? How do you define contemporary performance? Energetic, emotional, receptive and motivated – these are just a few words that characterise our work. Our choreographic language is intensely physical and athletic, and hinges on our quest to explore and understand the human soul in all its different facets. Our work seeks to create an emotional co...

As part of the 2021-22 Season Dance Program of Cemal Reşit Rey Concert Hall, the Spellbound Contemporary Ballet was on the stage with their piece called "Vivaldiana" on the evening of 18th April. "Vivaldiana" was also a part of the International Baroque Music Festival organized by the CRRCH. After an extensive career in America, Mauro Astolfi returned to his home city of Rome and founded Spellbound Contemporary Ballet with Valentina Marini in 1994. In addition to a prolific choreographic career, he also plays an intense educator role. In addition to the works of Astolfi, the Spellbound Contemporary Ballet performs works created specifically for this ensemble by choreographers who have become famous on the world stage in recent years, such as Marco Goecke and Marcos Morau, and also organizes workshops and events in collaboration with many international institutions.  We interviewed the choreographer Mauro Astolfi. © Marco Bravi What is the spirit of performance in yo...