Tanze mit dem Besenstiel

Karlsplatz becomes a dance floor: with God‘s Entertainment, Monika Gintersdorfer and La Fleur develop an open, collective movement system that combines elements of waltz, polka and tentacular choreography.

In the spirit of Johann Strauss (son), choreographic heritage meets the physical present. Monika Gintersdorfer, known for her transcultural performance forms, and the transnational ensemble La Fleur combine European dance traditions such as the polka and waltz with body-political movement patterns from the Global South. The bodies narrate, analyze, dance and pose the question of collective agency in public space.

Together with volunteers, a tentacle network of gestures, rhythms and movements is created that decentralizes authorship and tests new, fluid forms of collectivity in public space - as an octopoid collective that knows no center, but many possible directions.

The so-called theme dance is at the center of the joint performances: La Fleur and the audience invent relevant, characteristic dances to the Strauss music, because in the Ivory Coast every hit needs its very own dance. The alphabetical catalog of Johann Strauss‘ works contains promising titles such as Diabolin-Polka, Gut bürgerlich, Hopser-Polka, Im Krapfenwald‘l, Motoren Walzer and hundreds of others, which are translated into an exuberant, fantastic dance production in this work.

OCT.opus 25

The team of artists that go by the name of God’s Entertainment will be depositing a huge octopus replica in the pond near the Karlsplatz to offer us a new interpretation of Strauss’ waltzes.

This artistic ersatz for an octopus, representing an intriguing symbiosis between Strauss and cultural studies expert Donna Haraway, is designed to give us a completely new perspective on the waltz as such, with lively and provocative interpretations opening up unprecedented emotional and intellectual vistas on the music of Johann Strauss. With the help of an array of supporting artists, Strauss himself will conducting OCT.opus 25 and dancing to his own music. On five weekends, the project will be electrifying its audiences with humour, temperament, concerts, performances and dinners.