The solo performance east of what? by caner teker is the third work in a trilogy about the trans-individual self within identity politics. Following on from the works KIRKPINAR and karadeniz, it expands on reflections on a post-migrant German-Turkish identity.
The focus is on the ‘köçek’—young, male androgynous dancers in the Ottoman Empire—who wore female clothing and jewellery and were known not only for their lascivious dancing but also for offering sex work. The hybrid practices and histories of the köçek offer space for contemporary and future narratives from a post-migrant perspective.
east of what? interweaves classical movement vocabulary from Turkish traditions with practices that translate sensuality into the performer’s movement and challenge sexualised and orientalising gazes. Using the basic gestures and rituals of the köçek, the interpretation of sex work today as an individually and collectively lived experience, as well as the grief that accompanies stigmatisation and violence, teker creates reduced, affective movement material in order to approach the figure of the köcek. Starting with a minimal, almost sculptural presence, dynamic sequences are gradually introduced, which were developed in close collaboration with other sex workers. Beginning with an accentuation of the hips and the vibration from the shimmy, caner teker paves paths through the audience with continuous variations in movement. This movement travels through the audience within the divided stage space, accompanied by Nazanin Noori’s ambient hardcore music. The performance morphs into a sensory duet, creating the atmosphere of a concert. Drawing inspiration from the zurna and davul instruments that traditionally accompany the köçek in their performances, caner teker and Nazanin Noori mix traditional Turkish elements with contemporary Western references to create hybrid spaces of shared connection, new alliances, shared memory and imagination.
east of what? thus breaks through the boundaries of affiliations, practices and rituals, and opens itself up to audiences as witnesses in the sense of radical sociability.
The solo performance east of what? by caner teker is the third work in a trilogy about the trans-individual self within identity politics. Following on from the works KIRKPINAR and karadeniz, it expands on reflections on a post-migrant German-Turkish identity.
The focus is on the ‘köçek’—young, male androgynous dancers in the Ottoman Empire—who wore female clothing and jewellery and were known not only for their lascivious dancing but also for offering sex work. The hybrid practices and histories of the köçek offer space for contemporary and future narratives from a post-migrant perspective.
east of what? interweaves classical movement vocabulary from Turkish traditions with practices that translate sensuality into the performer’s movement and challenge sexualised and orientalising gazes. Using the basic gestures and rituals of the köçek, the interpretation of sex work today as an individually and collectively lived experience, as well as the grief that accompanies stigmatisation and violence, teker creates reduced, affective movement material in order to approach the figure of the köcek. Starting with a minimal, almost sculptural presence, dynamic sequences are gradually introduced, which were developed in close collaboration with other sex workers. Beginning with an accentuation of the hips and the vibration from the shimmy, caner teker paves paths through the audience with continuous variations in movement. This movement travels through the audience within the divided stage space, accompanied by Nazanin Noori’s ambient hardcore music. The performance morphs into a sensory duet, creating the atmosphere of a concert. Drawing inspiration from the zurna and davul instruments that traditionally accompany the köçek in their performances, caner teker and Nazanin Noori mix traditional Turkish elements with contemporary Western references to create hybrid spaces of shared connection, new alliances, shared memory and imagination.
east of what? thus breaks through the boundaries of affiliations, practices and rituals, and opens itself up to audiences as witnesses in the sense of radical sociability.
Choreography, performance, stage | caner teker |
Composition, live music | Nazanin Noori |
Lighting design, stage | Shaly Lopez |
Costume | Olivia Ballard |
Dramaturgy | Stanton Taylor |
Outside Eye | Ligia Lewis |
Artistic production | Sofie Luckhardt |
Technical management | Hendrik Borowski |
Outside Eye production | Martin Bien |
Organisational collaboration | Gilles Yann Smrkovsky |
… |
Production | caner teker / PARASITES PROJECTS |
Co-production | PACT Zollverein, HAU Hebbel am Ufer |
Supported by die Kunststiftung NRW, Düsseldorf. supported from Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen. Supported by das NRW Landesbüro Freie Darstellende Künste e.V. Supported by den Fonds Darstellende Künste aus Mitteln der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien |