cie. toula limnaios presents “les égarés” at the HALLE Tanzbühne Berlin | 06.12.-09.12. + 13.12.-16.12.2023

Next week, HALLE Tanzbühne Berlin’s new creation “les égarés” returns to the programme. In it, Toula Limnaios and her company take on major themes from Baudelaire’s poetry collection “The Flowers of Evil” and sensitively transfer them to our present day: in a de-centred choreography with gripping music, the dancers lose and find themselves in the frenzy, discomfort and inner turmoil of a world in decay. This visually stunning essay is an extraordinary ensemble work on all levels and bears the unmistakable signature of renowned choreographer Toula Limnaios.

Fig. above: cie. toula limnaios “les égarés” foto jens wazel

“les égarés”, those who have lost their way, is the name of the new creation by cie. toula limnaios, which continues to follow the traces of the human condition and is inspired by Baudelaire’s “Les Fleurs du Mal”. In Baudelaire’s “The Flowers of Evil” there is no general rejection of the world, but on the contrary an autopsy of discomfort, evil and suffering. His poems, which symbolise the beginning of ‘modern’ European poetry, are not only about contradictions, but also about the fragmentation and transience of human existence.

“les égarés” reads visually like a choreographic essay, interpreted by eight dancers. They are as if trapped in a room, repelled from the here and now. Lonely and together, atomised in a swarm of attention.

Toula Limnaios (Choreographer/ Artistic Director)
Toula Limnaios (*1963, Athens/Greece) trained in classical and modern dance, M. Alexander and Laban technique as well as music and dance education in Brussels. She worked as a performer with Claudio Bernardo, Régine Chopinot and as an assistant with Pierre Droulers. She later continued her training at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, where she soon became a member of the Folkwang Tanzstudio under the direction of Pina Bausch. From 1995 – 2003 she danced in live improvisations with the musicians Konrad Bauer and Peter Kowald. In 2007/2008 she was a guest professor for choreography at the Ernst Busch University of Applied Sciences in Berlin and was a guest choreographer at various theatres. Together with Ralf R. Ollertz, she has founded and directed the cie. toula limnaios since 1996.

The cie. toula limnaios is an ensemble for contemporary dance and was founded in Brussels in 1996 by the choreographer and performer Toula Limnaios and the composer Ralf R. Ollertz. In 1997 they moved their headquarters to Berlin. In 2001 they were honoured with the “Meeting Neuer Tanz” prize. Their Beckett triology was produced as a television film for ZDF/arte in 2004 under the title “Atemzug”. In 2003, they opened their own venue, HALLE, which has established itself as an internationally networked theatre and production house.
Since 2005, the company has received support from the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion and for the years 2008-2010, the Fonds Darstellende Künste awarded it conceptual funding for “top ensembles of independent theatre and dance”. In 2012 she received the “George Tabori Prize”.
In addition to her artistic work, she is not only committed to innovative working structures, but also to the dissemination and communication of dance in our society. The cie. toula limnaios presents 60 – 70 performances per year with its ensemble and works with 18 permanent employees, who are supported by numerous temporary artists working with them.
With flexible, lean but highly effective structures and in co-production with international partners, it continuously performs high-quality ensemble work, making it one of the most successful contemporary dance companies today. As a cultural ambassador of the Goethe Institute and the Federal Foreign Office, the cie. toula limnaios presents its repertoire on international stages in europe and worldwide. The company has been institutionally funded by the State of Berlin, Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion since 2014. The cie. toula limnaios presents dance that is alert, critical and courageous in its endeavours for people, made by and for people.

WHERE?
HALLE Tanzbühne Berlin
Eberswalder Straße 10
10437 Berlin

WHEN?
Wednesday, 6. December 2023 to Saturday, 9. December 2023
Wednesday, 13. December 2023 to Saturday, 16. December 2023