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performing:group
SPECTACULAR FAILURES
A dance triptych for everyone aged 12 and over
Winner of the Expert Jury Prize Westwind Festival 2022
Nominated for the Cologne Children's and Youth Theatre Prize 2021
Opening piece "Starke Stücke Festival 2022"
"Rarely has so much energy been spent on not getting something right. For the audience, whether young or old, this has an incredibly liberating effect: mistakes are king."
- Cologne City Gazette
Difficult times call for wild dances.
In order to live up to expectations, we get caught up in our self-imposed rituals every day. Dancing is beautiful, but it takes a lot of work. Anyone who is too slow, who doesn't fit into the group, who questions the system, gets kicked out! No job, no money, no likes.
So every day anew: get up, get dressed, train, deliver, serve, be entertained - create content, get feedback. If the first expectations are met, new, higher ones immediately arise.
Hello, is anyone watching???
In a world where attention is an important resource, it is important not only to meet expectations, but also to continually exceed one's own performance. In the wake of our society's "zero tolerance for errors", performing:group creates a merciless spectacle of the faster-higher-further principle in the struggle for the audience's attention.
Four dancers are constantly trying out new scenes and choreographies on stage. Failure is not an option.
Every evening anew. Every evening a world premiere!
Because disaster is the new coffee afternoon.
Upcoming Performance Dates
13.11.25 | 19:00 | Comedia Theater, Köln (*) |
14.11.25 | 10:00 | Comedia Theater, Köln (*) |
Production details
Age: 12 years and up | Duration: 60 minutes
Spectacular Failures is a production by performing:group in coproduction with tanzhaus nrw, Comedia Theater and Theater FELD.
Dance: Ying-Yun Chen and/or Tyshea Suggs, Constantin Hochkeppel and/or Francesco D'Amelio and/or Nico Hartwig, Marie-Lena Kaiser and/or Elina Brams Ritzau, Bianca Sere Pulungan and/or Josephine Kalies
Piece Development: performing:group
Directed by: Julia Mota Carvalho & Leandro Kees
Artistic Director: Julia Mota Carvalho
Idea: Leandro Kees
Choreography: Leandro Kees, Julia Mota Carvalho, Ying-Yun Chen, Constantin Hochkeppel, Marie-Lena Kaiser, Bianca Sere Pulungan
Original Music & Sound Collages: Martin Rascher
Costume & Set Design: Andrea Barba
Lighting Design: Constantin Hochkeppel
Executive Producer: Martin Rascher
Production Management: Martin Rascher, Laura Cadio
Assistant Director: Deborah Krönung
Technology: Dietrich Schuckließ
Dramaturgical Collaboration: Daniel Mathéus
Cultural Mediation p:g: Laura Cadio
Dramaturgical Collaboration Comedia: Anna Stegherr
Theatre Education Comedia: Sibel Günbatan
Photos: Christopher Horne
Video Recording & Trailer: Florian Karner
Booking: Dina ed Dik
sponsored by:
take-off: Young Dance, Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Art Foundation NRW, Cultural Office of the City of Cologne.

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