Bilderschlachten / Batailles d'Images

Choreography/Direction: Stephanie Thiersch
Musical Direction/Composition: Brigitta Muntendorf
Les Siècles Orchester/Conductor: Benjamin Shwartz
Asasello Quartett: Rostislav Kozhevnikov (1. Violin), Barbara Streil (2. Violin), Teemu Myöhänen (Cello), Justyna Śliwa (Viola)
Lightdesign: Begoña Garcia Navas
Choreography/Performance: FFabien Almakiewicz, Neus Barcons Roca, Alexis Fernández Maca, Julien Ferranti, Gyung Moo Kim, Alexandra Naudet, Camille Revol, Joel Suárez Gómez
Choreographic Assistance: Marcela Ruiz Quintero
Costume Design: Sita Messer
Costume Assistance: João Lamego
Outside Eye: Stawrula Panagiotaki, Fabrice Ramalignom
Photography: La French Focale
Management: Tanja Baran, Béla Bisom
Production Preparation: Karolin Henze, Anna-Mareen Henke
Production Management: Sarah Heinrich

In Coproduction:
Théâtre de Nîmes (F)
Beethovenfest Bonn
tanzhaus nrw Dusseldorf
ensemblenetzwerk Freihandelszone

In Cooperation with: Brigitta Muntendorf, the Asasello Quartett and the orchestra Les Siècles

Composition: Bernd Alois Zimmermann „Musique pour les soupers du Roi Ubu” (1968) / Brigitta Muntendorf “Six moods to stand kings up” (2018/19)

Photography: Martin Rottenkolber, La French Focale, Sandy Korzekwa

Funded by: the German Federal Cultural Foundation, Kunststiftung NRW, Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, RheinEnergieStiftung Kultur, Kulturamt der Stadt Köln

This project is part of the residency program schloss bröllin e.V., supported by Ministerium für Bildung, Wissenschaft und Kultur des Landes Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Landkreis Vorpommern-Greifswald

“Stephanie Thiersch unites singing dancers, dancing musicians and other apparent opposites in a very crazy, very clever and very entertaining production that defies conventional categories. (…) In images of often grotesque beauty, it tells at once enigmatically and wonderfully directly of order and chaos, of confrontation that ends in tenderness, and a mysterious longing for the end.” Stefan Arndt, Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung (May 2022)

“‘Bilderschlachten’ – the title is to be taken very literally: This is the most overwhelming thing we have seen in years.” Rainer Hofmann, NDR online (May 22)

“This is great theater with a lot of irony, lampooning the pathos of great paintings and musical compositions as well as the pride of ballet. Because it all comes along so lightly, it is all the more convincing. The dancing is as casual as it is self-confident, the birds whistling commenting from the trees. Here, the world is in a state of perpetual dissolution, life melts away, and in the confession of transience, the meanings of the images also decompose. Whoever so nonchalantly leaves melancholy behind seems quite sovereign.” Thomas Linden, Kölnische Rundschau (May 2021)

“with one of the most interesting and courageous orchestras in Europe, Les Siècles” Stadtrevue (May 2021)

“There are still pieces that shift the boundaries and change the world of art a bit. ‘Bilderschlachten’ by Stephanie Thiersch is such an experience.(…) What makes ‘Bilderschlachten’ so revolutionary is the inner cohesion of dance and music, is a kind of synesthesia of the disciplines, which extends from sound and movement to the relationship to space, tempo and ambience. From this unity emerges a powerful maelstrom of freedom, a Dadaist iconoclasm, a fascinating Danse macabre of the history of dance, art and culture.”
Thomas Hahn, in: tanz (September/October 2019)

„… a grand tale about the present state of our civilization told through inspiring, visionary choreographies.“ But we had fun, Bernd Feuchtner, in: tanznetz.de (11 May 2019)

„Thierschs extraordinary choreographic and musical fresco delivers real picture battles. […] This piece is one of the most astonishing works, both in its exploration of the dance-music relationship and in its highly multi-layered structure, and yet all is always in consistent coherence.” Batailles d’Images of a triumphing Stephanie Thiersch – Thomas Hahn, in: Danser-canalhistorique (26 May 2019)

„Opera is often described as a spectacle total. Dance can it be, too, when choreographed by Stephanie Thiersch. The artist breaks the barriers, blurs the boundaries for a performance whose visual richness is such that the viewer, at
times, no longer knows where to look.” A hymn to emancipation in front of a disproportionate world, Stéphane Cerri, in: Midi Libre (10 May 2019)

„From the second tableau on the whole unique and fascinating poetry of Stephanie Thiersch‘s oeuvre is expressed through a visually hilarious score. On stage, creatures move with the most surprising silhouettes, a firework of shrill colours.” Attention! Objet Chorégraphique Non Identifié remarquable!, Julie Cadilhac in: La Grande Parade (19 May 2019)

„Batailles d‘Images is an outrageous piece of incredible synesthesia in which sounds, colors and gestures enter into dialogue. Dynamic, breathtaking, full of inventiveness and dedication, this creation proves the remarkable sense of
space and the fine originality of Stephanie Thiersch. […] Must see!” Attention! Objet Chorégraphique Non Identifié remarquable!, Julie Cadilhac in: La Grande Parade (19 May 2019)