Press Reviews
HERE AND NOW
Press photos on request
Krone by Andrea Hein | 13. February 2017
Wildly moving mosaic of our times
"Here and Now", Andrea K. Schlehwein's lusciously breathless dance piece dealing with contemporary issues that had its premiere in 2016 in Millstatt was enthusiastically received in its guest performance in Klagenfurt last Friday and Saturday. Yes - contemporary dance can deeply engage the audience, if it's done well!
The flood of images that is turned loose on the viewers by the highly vibrant, creative ensemble (Unita Gay Galiluyo, Andrea Maria Handler, Georgia Capodistrian, Maria Mavridou, Simona Piroddi, Arnulfo Pardo Ravagli, Aurelius Rys, Roman Zotter) during one hour is, in terms of content and choreography, chaos with a system: testimony of a society in disintegration and upheaval, to live and enjoy liberty, equality, fraternity, against violence, uncertainty and solitude.
Resulting from the double-spaced stage situation at Schlehwein's premises at Stift Millstatt, the piece consists of double and even triple images, this time on the main and back stages of theater Halle 11. Of course, the TV screen is not missing; it shows news, ski jumpers, golf players – pure "Now". And then the "Here": frenzied joy of life, bold simplicity ("Make me great again" in Carinthian terms) and generally loud, engaging folk and classical music, riots, group situations and stylistic quotes that intervene in the turmoil of bodies with great precision, fortunately keeping clear of almost all current dance trends. Strong!
Die Kritik im Original: Wild bewegtes Mosaik unserer Zeit
TANZ.AT by Eveline Koberg | 25. July 2016
English translation, excerpt...
"Rich in omnipresent images, critical reflections, open for associations and a multitude of perspectives and interpretations (coming from its own, artistic side as well as from the side of the audience); colourful, challenging, contradictory, scary and crazy as dreaming of as well as the actual "Here to Now” [is what was shown under the same name by Andrea K. Schlehwein / Netzwerk AKS in it’s premiere at Art Space, as one of the central points of the program.] A dance kaleidoscope full of surprises, full of fascination for the grotesque, in which you can lose yourself, just to be stirred again by an unexpected twist, a development, a lurking danger; created and installed within a stage space consisting of two rooms, interconnected by doors. This space as well as the concept, the choreography, the costumes, the soundtrack and the light design are Schlehwein's work.
Structurally and thematically embedded in and limited by what the I and the We constitute, the nine international dancers of AKS are in search of space and role: determined, staggering, lost, aggressive. And without exception in knowledge and authentic application of their skills. A fully accomplished, gripping, exuberant 90 minutes dance event, a danced image of the Now; or in contemporary words, a danced screen-shot of our world, poetically unsettling."
Die Kritik im Original: Eine runde "Lange Nacht des Tanzes"
Kleine Zeitung by Andreas Peterjan | 24. July 2016
English translation, excerpt...
"The secret highlight of the festival, the premiere of “Here and Now” at Stift Millstatt uses dance as a medium of critique. Staged by Andrea Schlehwein, the production confronts current issues: nine dancers of Netzwerk AKS check our society for possibilities of development in utopian and at the same time menacing scenarios. Party-mania, voyeurism and social aggression are taken apart by means of dance, until, often, the only thing we are left with is pure movement. The gaze upwards, which runs through “Here and Now” as leitmotiv, remains unanswered - for the future begins in the here and now."
Andreas Peterjan
Die Kritik im Original: "Tanzkunst in allen ihren Facetten"
IMSÜDEN.AT by Stephanie Sihler | 24. July 2016
„HERE AND NOW“ - NETZWERK AKS
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A touching and at times also painfully grotesque dance piece at Stift Millstatt.
„HERE AND NOW”: Experiencing oneself
NETZWERK AKS – under the artistic direction of Andrea K. Schlehwein – presents a straightforward confrontation with the latest events, asking the question how diverse identities can be juggled and harmonized and dealing with social exclusion and its brutal consequences. The artists collective manages to create a touching and at times also painfully grotesque dance piece with „HERE AND NOW“.
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Making Sense, together.
Together with the dancers, the audience enters a quest for meaning. Nothing is „pre-digested“; the three-part dance piece challenges, provokes. The ensemble goes after the themes energetically, but at the same time with gentleness and sensitivity. The inaccessibility of the beginning is torn open little by little, sketched narratives emerge from the mainly abstract chaos. The multi-layered performance – each one of the nine dancers can be felt – seems almost improvised, however, each movement couldn't be more controlled.
Andrea and Guiseppe.
Verdi is „used“ for the soundtrack. His „La Forza del Destino“ is coupled up with Japanese Jazz and Pop and merges with the events on the dance floor. A sensual web of sound surrounds performers and audience.
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Crossing borders.
There is no stage in the classic sense. It's just a black line that divides the ART SPACE audience from the dancing bodies. In the end these borders turn out to be unnecessary. The often insurmountable barrier between performance and audience space playfully blurs out. The audience is „taken“ literally. What remains is a room full of people and a space for talks and discussions.
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„HERE AND NOW“ is multi-layered, but it is not simple, even if Andrea K. Schlehwein says in the video clip by B. Preuer (http://schickenhof-studios.com), that it investigates „simple questions“. You have to be able to engage. „HERE AND NOW“ asks for that; art asks for that.
Die Kritik im Original: „HERE AND NOW“ – NETZWERK AKS