Netta Weiser
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The Egg Dance (Beirut - Berlin / 2019)
First broadcast: Berlin 2021, reboot.fm
This Radio-Choreography takes us to downtown Beirut, to a derelict oval-shaped building called the Egg. The Egg was meant to be a movie theater but due to the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War in 1975 its building was never completed. Since then, it stands abandoned in the urban landscape of Beirut, just south of Martyr Square along what was the front line between the Eastern and Western parts of the city. During the 2019 protests in Lebanon, activists took over The Egg. They filled the empty building with gatherings, discussions, parties, and graffities. The following Radio-Choreography relates to a dance action that was performed at The Egg by Berlin-based choreographer Dominique Tegho. It took place while she was visiting her family in Beirut during the winter holidays of 2019, as protests were rising.
Composition Azadeh Nilchiani and Netta Weiser, Dance and choreography Dominique Tegho, Field recordings Merijn Royaards.
An den Jungen Tag (Berlin - Vienna / 1942)
First broadcast: Cologne 2021, DubLab radio
This Radio-Choreography is based on a dance text by Hanna Berger. Berger was born in 1910 in Vienna and was a dancer, choreographer, writer and pedagog. Along with her artistic work she was an anti fascist activist - in 1942 she was even charged for hosting subversive communist gatherings in her home, and was imprisoned for this reason in Berlin for several months. “An den Jungen Tag” (To The Young Day) is a dance text written as a diary entry by Berger, found at the German Dance Archives in Cologne. In her diary Berger describes a choreography in five scenes that takes place in a prison cell. A handwriting note by the title of the archival document marks that this dance was never performed. The text is narrated by Christel Dreiling, who was up until recently the archivist in charge of the Hanna Berger estate.
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Arrangement by Miriam Schickler, Text Hanna Berger, Archival research in collaboration with Miriam Althammer.
The Hair Dance (Tehran - Vienna / 2021)
First broadcast: Vienna 2022, radio Orange 94.0
The next Radio-Choreography takes us to the space between Teheran and Vienna. It begins with a hijab that falls down on the stage, and develops into a headbanging choreography of living in two cities. This radiophonic dance follows a performance by Sharazad Nazapour, who performed it for the first time at the Theatre University of Tehran.
Composition Netta Weiser, Dance and choreography Shahrzad Nazarpour, Sound design in collaboration with Andrei Cucu.
Mangroosim (Tel-Aviv, 1998)
First broadcast: Tel Aviv 2021, radio Halas
This is a radiophonic reenactment of a fragment from "Mangroosim" – a choreography for a mouth and seven stones. “Mangroosim” is a dance performance by Israeli choreographer Ruth Ziv Ayal, originally performed by Avital Yzhari in 1998 Tel-Aviv. The piece tells the story of a homeless woman who wanders around carrying a pile of stones. These stones are her companions and friends. She talks to them, laughs and cries with them, she eats them, and eventually they become her deathbed.
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Conversation between Christine Henniger and Elvira Schurig, recording and arrangement by Miriam Schickler, research in collaboration with Miriam Althammer.
Rien Ne Va Plus (Cottbus / Cologne, 1990)
First broadcast: Cologne 2021, DubLab radio
The next piece takes us back to the times of die 'Wende', the period of change before and after the fall of the Berlin wall. It revolves around the work of Elvira Schurig – back then, a choreographer and dancer from Cottbus, and today an established yoga instructor living in Leipzig.
This Radio-Choreography focuses on a piece by Elvira called "Rien Ne Va Plus" which was created in the framework of the Cotbuss Tanztheater between 1989 and 1990. In this piece, Elvira criticised the living conditions under the GDR (German Democratic Republic) policies and worked with texts appropriated from a GDR hiking book. For this reason, when I invited her to talk about the work and share her memories of being a choreographer during these times of transition, I proposed to do so while taking a walk outdoors. In summer 2020 we met at Clara Park in Leipzig: Elvira and I, together with Christine Henniger who held the interview, and Miriam Schickler who conducted the recording.
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The Chair Dance ( Vienna - Athens / 1913)
First broadcast: Berlin 2021, reboot.fm
The "Chair Dance" was created by Elsa Enkel – a German dancer, and a performer in the Viennese operetta scene of the early 20th century. In 1913 she travelled to Greece with an operetta troupe, and decided to continue her life in Athens. In the very same year of her arrival, she created a choreography which was performed as part of a satirical revue theatre piece, which was commenting on the first Balkan War that was happening at the time. The composition is based on the original "Chair Dance" musical score and lyrics, found at the Literary Archives in Athens.
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Composition by Marta Gentilucci, Dance by Netta Weiser, Historical input by Anna Leon, Soprano by Tehila Nini Goldstein, Piano by Michaela Catranis, Somatic research in collaboration with Mira Hirtz.
The Belly Dance (Berlin 2022)
First broadcast: Berlin 2022, reboot.fm
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A collaboration with Julia Grillmayar and baked beans.
Jingles
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A collaboration with Lenka Kocisova.