WHAT IS DANGER?

Choreographic encounter between two young protagonists from the Taiwanese and German dance scenes

‘What is Danger?’ presents an encounter between two strangers: the two choreographers and dancers Chang Chien-Hao and Jan Möllmer. They venture a meeeting between different cultures, life stories and artistic styles. Together they ask: what risks does such an encounter with a stranger entail? And how alien are we really to each other?

Möllmer lives and works in Wuppertal. His career has been distinguished by many years of experience as a guest dancer at Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. He has also worked with the choreographer Dimitris Papaioannou and performed with him on stage in over 30 cities worldwide. By contrast, CHANG’s work and life is based in Taipei, where he runs the company ‘Chang Dance Theater’ with his three brothers. While still a teenager, he trained in contemporary and classical dance at an acad- emy of the arts. Both artists investigate the de- fence mechanism that is activated in the body before and during a new encounter and how we can overcome this. They transform movements, images, texts and artistic experiences into kinetic energy. The result is a hybrid event with elements of dance, danger and play. The observer witnesses a process in which two men with widely divergent backgrounds attempt to define and negotiate a relationship. Are they brothers, partners, friends or do they remain strangers?