Teddy Bear explores the relationship between captive animals, gentrification, body politics, and the commodification of female artists. The piece exposes a culture that only loves wild femininity when it remains behind bars. On stage, this cage is gilded: Tess resists the objectifying gaze while simultaneously having to turn herself into an object in order to master her craft. By reclaiming what the world labels crazy, she transforms labels and judgments into strength, liberating her emotional body. As part of Act III, Nowhere Will World Be, But Within, of the artistic live programme at the Bärenzwinger, the work marks a gentle return to her own wildness.
Tess Voelker is an American dancer and choreographer whose work moves between the deeply personal and an uncompromising physicality. Following her time at Nederlands Dans Theater and collaborations with Crystal Pite, Paul Lightfoot, Marco Goecke, and Johan Inger, she became the youngest choreographer ever to create a work for the Paris Opera Ballet at the age of 23. Since 2023, she has worked independently, presenting solo works at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, the Musée National Picasso-Paris, and the Guggenheim Bilbao. She has also created works for Ballett Dortmund.
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More Infos about the Artistic Programme here: www.bärenzwinger.berlin.de
Bärenzwinger Berlin,
Rungestraße 30, 10179 Berlin
Opening hours: Tue–Sun, 11am–7pm
www.baerenzwinger.berlin