Despite a cool aesthetic approach, it gets quite hot in Ben J. Riepe’s new play. “Hundstage (Dog Days)“ is about what’s left when love goes down the drain, which is hurt, desire, jealousy, love and eroticism, aggression and violence. The choreographer arranges this game of nearness and distance like a collage of “tableaux vivants“ in a chaotic world. Riepe stages the intoxicating power of emotions through subtle means and intense pictures of movement. Water is a recurring motif in this precisely constructed doomsday scenario, yet its cooling effect never brings relief – the fulfilment of desire keeps being denied.
“Riepe artfully connects the distant extremes of melodrama and grotesqueness“ Stefan Michalzik, Offenbach-Post

Ben J. Riepe studied dance and choreography at Essen’s Folkwang Hochschule. He did stints at NEUER TANZ in Düsseldorf  and as a guest dancer in Pina Bausch’s ensemble Tanztheater Wuppertal. He gained first attention with his own plays while still performing his postgraduate studies in choreography. The Ben J. Riepe Kompanie was founded in 2004 and today comprises a team of twelve, working continually in Düsseldorf. The award-winning choreographer was invited to the Deutsche Tanzplattform in 2010 and belongs to the four select companies chosen for the Spitzenförderung in NRW.

Choreography, concept: Ben J. Riepe
With: Fa-Hsuan Chen, Deborah Gassmann, Hyun-Jin Kim, Simon Hartmann, Benjamin Kahn, Linda Nordström, Daniel Ernesto Müller Torres
Music: Alex Alves Tolkmitt
Costumes: Anna Kleihues
Light design: Ansgar Kluge
Technical direction: Dimitar Evtimov
Production manager: Jan Riepe
Production assistance: Maximilian Linsenmeier
Photo: Ursula Kaufmann

Duration: 60 minutes

www.benjriepe.com

A production by Ben J. Riepe Kompanie. Coproduced by: tanzhaus nrw Düsseldorf, Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, Frankfurt/Main, Station Zuid, Tilburg/NL. Supported by: The Ministry for Families, Children, Youths, Culture and Sports of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the National Performance Network (The support of the NPN regarding coproductions is funded by the Kulturstiftung des Bundes), Kunststiftung NRW, the Office of Cultural Affairs of the State Capital of Düsseldorf, Kunst- und Kulturstiftung der Stadtsparkasse Düsseldorf.