OPEN WA~TER

In 2024, OPEN WA~TER launched a monthly series at Studio Hammer Deich. On the last Saturday of each month, artists from SHD and invited guests shared a mix of try-outs, showings, works in progress, lectures, and improvisational performances.

Colleagues, friends, and enthusiasts were invited to explore this raw format, join in discussions, and draw inspiration from the diverse and refreshingly open material.

Reflections on the 2024 Series

With this format, our aim was twofold: to give Studio members the chance to present their work to the Hamburg scene, and to invite guests to share their own projects and connect with Studio Hammer Deich. We intentionally kept the series uncurated and open, without rules about what or how things should take place on stage.

The series ran as a one-year experiment: every last Saturday of the month, we hosted a show at the studio with contributions from SHD artists and guests. This uncurated approach was meant as a counterpoint to the strong curation in most theatres and venues. We wanted to create a space for exchange among colleagues—one that didn’t depend on being selected by directors, institutions, or gatekeepers of the cultural landscape.

Over time, we noticed that it wasn’t easy to attract audiences to the studio. While we didn’t reach the numbers we had hoped for, the events often brought together small, intimate groups, which created its own special moments. At the same time, we observed that the lack of a clear program or structure sometimes made it harder for audiences to engage.

Still, as an experiment, it was valuable for both artists and audiences. Hamburg already has a rich cultural scene, but opportunities for exchange among freelance artists remain limited. Many work independently on short-term, project-based funding, often under time pressure, which leaves little space for dialogue. This series was an attempt to create such a space for exchange and sharing.

Looking ahead, we would like to try a different approach—perhaps a more curated format with a clearer throughline. This would be a kind of counter-model to the openness of OPEN WA~TER, providing a platform that is slightly more selective while still encouraging dialogue and collaboration. How exactly this will take shape is still in discussion—so stay tuned.

OPEN WA~TER 2024 (Archive)

#1—TRYOUT—Combustion, Dance, Sound

Jascha Viehstädt

As part of the research project “so soft and the sun”, the tryout explores the connections between movement, energy and code in an improvisational setup.

www.jaschaviehstaedt.com
sosoft.jaschaviehstaedt.com

#2—TRYOUT—Solotus

Raymond Liew Jin Pin

A solo tryout of the Lotus Fight Club project. It refers to a sodomy law dating back to the colonial era of the 1980s, which is still in force in Malaysia and provides for corporal punishment in the form of flogging.

www.raymondliewjinpin.com

#3—MOVIE—Waterdances/Yes Poems

Maria Zimpel

The leading idea of the film oscillates around the vision of a dancing body as a transmitter and an embodied nature. The camera’s eye shows the non-linear story of the dancing body interacting with the powerful natural forces.

Read more about the film at www.mariazimpel.pl

Supported by NPN – Stepping Out, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative Neustart Kultur, Muzeum Susch/Art Station Foundation PL, CH by Grażyna Kulczyk. In Cooperation with Muzeum Susch, K3 and Kampnagel Hamburg

#4—GUEST, IMPROVISATION—Ima Koko Watashi

Chikako Kaido, JP/NRW

Ima Koko Watashi is an improvisation dance and music series by Düsseldorf-based choreographer Chikako Kaido (JP/NRW). The series travels to different cities and countries and invites local guest artists to collaborate with some of Kaido’s long-time collaborators.

www.chikakokaido.com

With Chikako Kaido, Antonio Stellar, Kristin Schuster, Raymond Liew Jin Pin, Maria Zimpel, Jascha Viehstädt, Janis Müller and more

#5.1—READING—A POEM TO EVERYONE I FUCKED BEFORE AND ONE FOR MYSELF

Cody Ellis Kluge (they/them)

The poetry collection A POEM TO EVERYONE I FUCKED BEFORE AND ONE FOR MYSELF was created as part of a research project on sexual self-empowerment at Pathos Theater (Munich). It sees itself as a feminist reappraisal of a spectrum of personal experiences, juxtaposing stories of falling in love, trauma and desire. By retrospectively looking back on growing up in a patriarchal society, the question arises as to how an expression of one’s own queer identity can be found if one has not been taught to formulate it. In this sense, it is also meant as a way of saying goodbye to the norms and ideas associated with female socialization.

With and from Cody Ellis Kluge

#5.2—PERFORMANCE—Moon Playlist /外国的月亮比较圆吗？

Kai Er Eng, Goh Shou Yi and Raymond Liew

Three dancers collect moon songs and open a discussion about whether the moon is rounder on the other side. They bring personal items to the studio and puzzle over what has been absorbed through their bodies. The discussion revolves around their artistic paths, which include dance education, games, cultural differences, and yin-yang energy.

Both Kai Er Eng and Raymond Liew live in Hamburg and were part of the residency program at K3|Tanzplan Hamburg in 22/23 and 18/19.
Kai Er opens a Lollipop Club – a dance/circus apparatus which consists of a hoop on top of a pole. https://kaifishfish.tumblr.com 
Raymond is working on his new project called Lotus Fight Club. www.raymondliewjinpin.com
Goh Shou Yi is an artist/visitor from Singapore and currently is a full time dance educator at NanYang Academy of Fine Arts. https://www.gohshouyi.com

#6—SHOWING—Ich sehe was du nicht siehst

Guy Marsan

Ich sehe was du nicht siehst is based on 7 steel plates (actually six, as one is in storage due to construction work at Deichtorplatz) by Franz-Erhardt Walther, which are laid out in the city center. In the summer of 2021, we worked with the plates, their surroundings and the urban space to shoot 6 dance videos. The website and the video results can be found here: www.IchSeheWasDuNichtSiehst.com

With and from Guy Marsan

#7—TRYOUT—Touch ID /ɪd/ – eine Bäckerei mit und ohne Berührung

Linda Lou Dierich-Matzke

In der kulinarischen Performance wird eine neue Haut gebacken und die Frage gestellt: Wieso sind eigentlich immer alle nackt? Wir Kneten Teig, formen ihn zu Gebäck und belegen es mit frischen Berührungen. Dem Publikum wird die Backofentür geöffnet, um dort formbare Masse zu Körperteilchen zu verarbeiten.
Es ist der erste Durchlauf der partizipativen Performance mit Publikum, die am 11.10.2024 im Erotic Art Museum Premiere feiern wird. Sie findet auf Deutsch statt.

–> The performance is in German. Nevertheless, we recommend attending it, as there is haptic and visual material and the audience size makes it possible to cater to individual needs.

Von und mit: Linda Lou Dierich-Matzke (Konzept, Performance, Dramaturgie, Musik, Produktion) und Sylvester Röpcke (Konzept, Performance, Dramaturgie, Bühnenbild, Kostüm) Barbara Schmidt-Rohr (Dramaturgische Beratung), Ekkehard Opitz (Technik, Raum), Rosangela Nunes (Musik), Illustrationen.jetzt (Illustration), Reyhaneh Scharifi (Video-Dokumentation)
Gefördert durch die Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg , Behörde für Kultur und Medien.

#8—DOUBLE BILL

tables, chairs, bodies
Instant Composition Performance
> Natascha Golubtsova
> Christos Litsios

Sharp edges, angular shapes, and static structures – the bodies stiffen, the breath becomes shallow. Fleeting bursts of enthusiasm vainly search for refuge in bodies shaped to harbor fear. Creation means conforming, and discipline replaces passion.

In the piece, as in their real lives, the dancers grapple with the question of how to reconcile their living, vulnerable bodies with the vast external structures. Structures that once were created by the mind and today, with the greatest of ease, shape the bodies and subtly guide the spirit.

Dukkha
Solo Butoh Performance
> Reimar Wen Shen

Birth, aging, illness, and death. Buddha recognized that Dukkha, suffering, is a part of existence. There is happiness, joy, and peace; there is hunger, pain, and sorrow; there is greed, anger, and hatred; there is clarity, wisdom, and compassion. How do we live with suffering in this world, within ourselves? How do we not separate  inside and outside?

Butoh, a form of Japanese dance theatre that emerged after World War II, is also called the “dance between life and death.” It arises where sensation, form, and imagination meet.

The piece is improvised. The presence of the audience co-creates the performance.