TABUROPA is an international theatre and dance project on the topic of taboos that was conducted by Kobalt Works in collaboration with partner companies from Portugal (Teatro Praga), Poland (Association of Theatre Practicioners, Warsaw) and Germany (Futur 3, Cologne).
In workshops, public rehearsals, performances and lectures, the artists explored the cultural, historical and everyday significance of taboos in their countries.
Country-specific experiences with taboos were jointly analyzed by artists working together across borders. The work was discussed with the public through 4 independently created performances and associated events in these four countries.
TABUROPA is a project fostering comprehension of a real-life European ‘canon of values’. And through these activities, TABUROPA is an artistic and social action promoting the emergence of a pan-national, European public.
Arco Renz created in collaboration with four actors of Teatro Praga the performance Incubadora.
The performance investigates conflicts between the individual and the group, colourful inner tensions that manifest through the body. Taboos are largely dependent on the social and cultural context that they belong to. Rather than trying to represent these dependencies, the research in the frame of TABUROPA has led us to work with “taboos” as human physiological experiences in an experimental lab. The title refers to this situation as well as to the space and processes of exchange between mind and body.
Four dancers representing Kobalt Works created together with the Polish theatermaker Agnieszka Blonska the performance Eintopf.
Belonging. Being identified. Defined. Replaced. Re-identified. Re-defined. Our stories. Are they really ours? Or are they sank in stories of our nations? Who are we? Here, in United Europe. In the time of political correctness and the world of union and co-existence, how do we relate to ourselves and others? Where are the limits? What don’t we want to talk about? What don’t we want to see? This performance will investigate our concept of coexistence and ability to cohabit. Four dancers with different backgrounds and nationalities through movement and words will explore the idea of identity and belonging. They will also challenge ‘rules’ of theatre questioning identity of an audience and performers.
Creatives
- creation Incubadora: Arco Renz, Rita Morais, Nuno Leao, Ricardo Teixeira, Sonia Baptista
- creation Eintopf: Agnieszka Blonska, Angel Kaba, Igor Shysko, Marielle Morales, Sayaka Kaiwa - Mioko Yoshihara