Everyone is talking about TikTok

TikTok world theatre: After authentic authenticity - show-down of brands on global stages

In her input, media scientist Martina Leeker develops TikTok as world theatre and highlights differences to traditional forms of theatre/performance. The focus is on the creation of authenticity, knowledge and community. She outlines the spectrum of virtual world theatre, from self-proclaimed families mercilessly fighting each other in shitstorms and hate speech, to performances by self-proclaimed ‘cripples’ and highly philosophical etudes about the hardships of existence. This multiplicity makes world theatre complex and problematic in an unprecedented way, so that traditional forms of theatre and performance almost seem like a desirable and worthy safe space.

TikTok
@nettheatrechannel
@lotteleaker

TikTok as an intimate practice

We lie in bed, stand in the kitchen, go for a walk or get ready in the bathroom. And on TikTok, we see people lying in bed, standing in the kitchen, going for a walk or getting ready in the bathroom. The similarity and closeness of the creators creates a peculiar intimacy with the viewers. How much staging and projection is involved? How seductive are the so-called parasocial relationships on TikTok? What communities do they create?

TikTok
@oleliebl

Instagram
@oleliebl

Remixing Movement and Identity: How TikTok Transforms Dance, Gender, and Body Politics

As a Post digital dance maker, Brig Huezo uses this platform to challenge conventional ideas of movement, gender, and body politics through radical and experimental performances. Huezo’s choreography blends contemporary dance with performance art, gaming, and queer culture, often exploring themes of identity, vulnerability, and societal norms. By embracing non-linear, improvisational movements, they aim to disrupt traditional aesthetics and provoke reflection on the body and identity. TikTok amplifies this impact, allowing creators to redefine beauty standards and visibility through expressive, viral content. Creating marginalized voices, a platform to challenge norms and reshape representation in the digital age.

Brig Huezo is a post-digital choreographer, dancer and performer. They work at the intersection of technology, gaming, 3D design, film and fashion. Huezo studied Contemporary Dance at the Cologne University of Music and Dance and received support from the DAAD and other foundations. 

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@_brig_hz

Klaas Werner works as deputy director and project manager at medienwerk.nrw. He is a member of the performance collective Anna Kpok, which has produced and shown performative artworks at the Ruhrtriennale, the Ringlokschuppen.Ruhr, the Dortmund Theatre and the Schaubude Berlin, among others. He has worked as a media dramaturge and production manager for Mats Staub (CH), Bern Retour (CH) and in various positions at different festivals, e.g. Theaterformen Hannover/Braunschweig, Theater der Welt and favoriten Festival. He graduated in theatre studies at the Ruhr University Bochum.

Ale Bachlechner (*1984 in Brixlegg, Austria) is an artist working with performance and video, she lives in Cologne and Vienna. She investigates communication and affect, ways of relating and the pitfalls of neoliberalism. Central aspects of her work are the examination of theory, literature, text and language, as well as physicality, gender and performance for the camera, i.e. the staging of the self in media as well as in everyday life. Her works vary in size from solo pieces to working with a team of several performers, artists, musicians and technicians. She has studied Comparative Literature in Innsbruck and the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne. Her monograph "I'm Sure Everybody's Doing Their Best" was published by DISTANZ.