Cuppa Char en – Canan Erek

Cuppa Char

Green or black?

In choreographer Canan Erek’s tempo driven production tea cultures of the world meet each other, Asia meets Europe, misunderstandings are predestined. People are drinking tea all over the world, in a multitude of different ways, and following numerous diverse rituals which go far beyond the simple question: “Green or black?” Do such traditions and rituals determine one’s cultural identity in a modern world? Or does everyone simply help themselves from a brew of cultures in a global village to satisfy their own taste? How much authenticity is infused in the traditional or imported Zen? In CUPPA CHAR – a common British phrase for `cup of tea´ – five protagonists serve-up a dance theatre blend of poetry and grotesqueness, accompanied by the music of celebrated contemporary composer Mark Andre.

Concept-Direction-Choreography: Canan Erek
Composition-Music: Mark Andre
Dance and Creation: Jung-Sun Kim, Mu-Yi Kuo, Michel Meloni, Anne Schmidt, Nicki Vanoppen
Stage: Tal Shacham
Light: Lutz Deppe
Costume: Gilvan Coelho de Oliveira
Dramaturgy: Karin Kirchhoff

Premiere: May 7th 2009 in Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Berlin
In Cooperation with: Ballhaus Naunynstrasse, Tanzfabrik Berlin
Supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds

Press

Franz Anton Cramer über CUPPA CHAR
“To have made such a coherent collection of scenes from themes like incoherence, misunderstanding but also human encounters, that has to be one of the special achievements of Cuppa Char. I am also impressed with the subtle use of atmospheric – perhaps one could call them abstract figurations and sound materials, which then transform into humorous, narrative and – in the best sense – entertaining passages. As a result, you and your team manage to create a wonderful study about the confrontation with themes that go beyond the individual; they take the medium of dance seriously in a theatrical sense; and finally, in terms of your artistic development – so far as I have been able to follow – you mark a true breakthrough as far as the free and well thought-out use of contemporary forms of dance is concerned.”