COME OUT

about the piece

The piece ‘Come Out’ is part of Radical Minimal and is based on the composition of the same name by Steve Reich. The starting point of this composition is the testimony of a young African-American man named David Hamm, who was mistreated by the police. This case went down in history as the ‘Harlem 6.’ In his testimony, D. Hamm describes the moment when he tried to squeeze blood out of one of his bruises to make the point that he had a right to see a doctor: “I had to, like, open up the bruise and let some of the bruise blood come out to show them.” Steve Reich then uses this sentence to create a composition for two tapes in which the original statement is increasingly transformed, and overlapping layers of sound are superimposed in such a way that the actual message of the text is no longer audible. This reference has been largely ignored in the history of its reception to date. A. T. Kersmaeker’s version, for example, concentrates on the choreographic interpretation of the compositional effects.

The two dancers, Oluwafemi Israel Adebajo and Ridwan Rasheed, now look at this case and this composition from a certain distance. Minimal music, or minimal art in general, is largely unknown as a genre in African countries. In contrast, the use of repetitive structures in music and dance is very common. Their interpretation thus engages with the repetitive structures of the music and, like Steve Reich, creates a very dynamic and powerful choreography.

videos

credits

Concept: Christoph Winkler | Music:  Steve Reich | By and with: Oluwafemi Israel Adebajo, Ridwan Rasheed | Costume: Marie Akoury | Video contribution: Gabriella Fiore | Technical management: Fabian Eichner | Production management: Laura Biagioni

A production by Company Christoph Winkler in co-production with SOPHIENSÆLE.
Supported by the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Europe and the Federal Cultural Foundation with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media.

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