The schrit_tmacher supporting programme:
“Into Ash” by Yin Yue and the “Light Beings” by Joost Meyer
A touching solo at the Ludwig Forum Aachen and floating sharks at the Stahlbau Strang factory
by Natalie Broschat
In addition to the top-class performances, the schrit_tmacher festival also offers a wonderful supporting programme. In addition to films, workshops, discussions or complete family days, the Ludwig Forum Aachen, for example, acts as a venue for a new dance solo and the foyer of the Stahlbau Strang factory offers space for works of art in return. It is always exciting and enriching to have dance take place in the museum (last year by Trajal Harrell) and to see and experience works of art outside the museum.
In the Ludwig Forum, the Chinese dancer and choreographer Yin Yue presents the new, half-hour solo “Into Ash”, which was co-produced by the schrit_tmacher Festival and the Aachen Museum of International and Modern Art. Just the evening before, Yin Yue and her dancers had wowed the audience with the dance piece “Nowhere” at the Stahlbau Strang factory. In the museum, she now walks very carefully towards the depression in the centre of the room, i.e. towards the forum in the actual, ancient sense. And as Yin Yue walks, the breathtaking red dress she is wearing catches the eye. It was designed by Ashlynn Park and is part of the spring and summer 2023 collection from her fashion label ASHLYN. A beautiful garment that moves between dress, blouse + skirt two-piece and wide trousers. It caresses Yin Yue’s body during her evocative dance. To four musically very different songs, she swings her arms, sways with a clenched fist and an upward gaze or turns her feet back and forth with precision as if controlled by marionettes. It is as if she is gathering earthen and transcendent energies and releasing them at the same time. Yin Yue has developed her own language of movement, which she calls FoCo: traditional Chinese dance styles meet contemporary, i.e. folkloreand contemporary. This is wonderful to watch and the audience can enjoy this for a special half hour by and with Yin Yue herself.
Transience can be found in the “light beings” by Joost Meyer. Using insulating epoxy resin, he created large, hollow sharks and other underwater creatures that float above the heads of visitors in the foyer of the Stahlbau Strang factory. The sculptor (*1976) likes to take animals as the basis for his artworks made from various materials, in order to then confront the audience with the question of how they actually feel about the creatures depicted. Is this shark above me threatening, should I protect myself or am I flying with it? After all, the natural habitat of these creatures is not the draughty heights but the depths of the water. This is precisely why the title “Beings of Light” is so apt, because we can be inspired by the form of these majestic animals while they are still below or above us.