Guest Lecture + Talking Cypher

Where my language ends, my dance only begins

Kadir ‘Amigo’ Memiş is a dancer, choreographer and artist whose creative roots lie in his childhood in Anatolia. After arriving in Berlin in 1984, he discovered hip hop culture and breakdancing. As an urban nomad, he was inspired by the city and developed new forms of movement. He is particularly well known as the founder of Flying Steps and as one of the first in Germany to combine hip hop with other styles. One example is Zeybreak, a mixture of the traditional Turkish dance Zeybek and breakdance. Alongside his dancing career, Amigo worked as a technical draughtsman, which is reflected in his precise movement language and calligraphy. His art is a fusion of dance, performance and visual art. His art and his dance are an expression of his identity. He last presented his dance performance Opferschicht at tanzhaus nrw in 2021, in which he combined the urban cultural practice of scratchiti - scratching lettering into the interstices of the city - with popping techniques.

Professionalisation of dancers from urban dance cultures

Takao Baba was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1974, grew up in Germany and lives in Dusseldorf. The roots of his work lie in urban dance, which he combines with the expressive forms of contemporary dance. In 2003, he founded the dance company E-Motion, which regularly develops dance theatre productions. With the production 2nd ID, it was the first urban dance company to be invited to the German Dance Platform in 2008. The production Boys don't dance was presented at the Augenblick Mal- und Westwind-Festival. From 2010 to 2019, he also worked as a choreographer for Urbanatix, a project that brings young street art talents together with international artists every year. Takao Baba has worked as a choreographer and dancer at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, including Robert Wilson's production of Das Dschungelbuch and in the productions Gilgamesh and Das Rheingold. Another story directed by Roger Vontobel. At the Asphalt Festival in 2022, he staged the music theatre piece LOST together with the composer Mischa Tangian. He staged the dance theatre piece Time to Shine at the Junges Schauspielhaus Düsseldorf and choreographed the opera Amerika at the Zurich Opera in early 2024.

At tanzhaus nrw, Takao Baba co-directs the youth company together with Nora Pfahl and regularly hosts the Performance Session - an open platform that gives dancers from the urban scene the opportunity to express themselves on the tanzhaus nrw stage. In addition, his own stage works, including Boys don't dance and most recently Die Gelbe Seite, were premiered at tanzhaus nrw and realised in co-production with the theatre.

In addition to his work as a choreographer, Takao Baba has organised numerous dance festivals and battles, including Funkin' Stylez, Juste Debout Germany, Dance Delight Germany and KOD.

On the importance of places and platforms like tanzhaus nrw that offer dancers space for development, fulfilment and artistic expression

Christian ‘Robozee’ Zacharas is known for his uniqueness in the fields of dance and improvisation. But it all started very differently in 1993. Robozee first spent a few years as a ballroom dancer before finally discovering hip hop culture and popping in particular in 1998. Suddenly he was able to express himself much better. From then on, everything happened very quickly: Robozee was a member of several crews, including the legendary Battle Bunch, winning Juste Debout, Funkin Stylez and other well-known battles. He still represents the hip hop and popping scene throughout Germany today. ‘Dance matures like a good wine,’ says the dancer, who also performs on stage with Flying Illusion. Unfortunately, he will not be able to take part in Guest Lecture + Talking Cypher in person, but via video message.

On different ways of working with and in urban dance

Frieda Frost, breaker, choreographer and dance scholar, reflects on the various forms, challenges and possibilities of her work with and in urban dance. These include, for example, her jury work at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, her work as a choreographer for the Cie Chara dance company in Morocco and what it is like to be a dancer from an Afro-diasporic dance culture in the white academic world. Frieda Frost shows the various possibilities of involvement and why activism and the search for the good of the dance community are always necessary. Frieda Frost was a Factory Artist at tanzhaus nrw with the collective nutrospektif from 2020 to 2022.

Chanti is a member of the Dirty Mamaz Crew which exists for more than 20 years. She started breaking in the early 90s and has travelled at events internationally. Chanti passes on her knowledge to the younger generation among other things through workshops and events. In 2023 she launched her hip hop talk Talking Cypher, which will also be part of the Guest Lecture + Talking Cypher format.