»wunden« Ben Rentz

In the organizer's words:

Based on the assumption that societies are traumatized by violence in many ways and that pain, suffering and guilt are inscribed and passed on over generations, "wunden" addresses the possibilities and opportunities of an embodied culture of remembrance. The background to the project is the current populist trivialization of war and persecution during the Nazi era. The piece will be developed in cooperation with the music festival "ZeitGenuss - Festival für Musik unserer Zeit" of the city of Karlsruhe, which is curated by Marlene Heiß, for the rotunda of the Orangerie of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, whereby the "ensemble ben rentz," continues its site-specific and cross-genre practice. To this end, the dance and music ensemble will be combined into a single unit.

The musical concept focuses on the music of the Balkans, which passes on a centuries-old cultural imprint between Arabic and European influences. Goran Stevanovich, born in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1986, has composed pieces based on the "Sevdalinka" for accordion and cello for this production. This highly emotional genre, which originated at the interface of different cultural traditions, runs through "wunden" as a common thread. Works by Arturo Fuentes, Mikołaj Majkusiak, Wolfgang Rihm, Aleksandra Vrebalov and Isidora Žebeljan complete the program.

Rentz addresses the topic of large-scale group movement and energy in space and embarks on an explorative search for 'wounds' in contemporary embodiment - for those border areas in which the political and social dimension of physical presence is both tangible and challenged. "wunden" creates a counter-proposal to social isolation and individualization. The confrontation with history and current continuities thus becomes a social responsibility.

Cast

CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY Ben Rentz DRAMATURGY Yoreme Waltz DANCE Solène Alonado, Fatemeh Azizi, Vein Narges Azizi, Erle Blume, Anton Schuster, Fannie Vakalopoulou, Ferdinand Waltz VIOLONCELLO Valerie Fritz PLAYER Marlene Heiß ACCORDEON Goran Stevanovich COSTUME Ben Rentz, Yoreme Waltz GRAPHICS Svenja Dalferth, Jasmin Mahmoud ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Emmy Tema DESIGN ASSISTANT Sarah Krug TECHNICAL MANAGEMENT Nik Wallbaum

A production by ensemble ben rentz, in co-production with "ZeitGenuss - Festival für Musik unserer Zeit" of the City of Karlsruhe (curator 2025: Marlene Heiß) and the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe.

With the kind support of the Cultural Office of the City of Karlsruhe, the Landesverband Freie Tanz- und Theaterschaffende Baden-Württemberg e.V. with funds from the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State of Baden-Württemberg, the Andreas C.H. Schell Foundation / Franz Bernhard Haus, the LBBW Foundation, as well as the federal program "Demokratie leben! Active against right-wing extremism, violence and misanthropy" of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth via Stadtjugendausschuss e.V.; coordination and specialist office for "Partnerships for Democracy" Karlsruhe.

Please note:

Reduced tickets are available - subject to available quotas - for school pupils, students, young people doing voluntary service, recipients of social welfare or unemployment benefit, holders of a severely disabled person's ID card, those doing basic military service, trainees, recipients under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act.

Admission via Botanischer Garten at 19:55.

The rotunda of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe can be accessed via a ramp. A disabled WC is located in the same building complex. Age restriction from 14 years. No seating. Photography and video recordings are not permitted during the performance.

If you have any questions, please contact office@benrentz.com. Please note that details may change until the day of the event.