Jao Moon: Everybody Can Be Everybody Can Not Be

When the magnificent Martini Cherry Furter opens the door to the main stage of Ballhaus Naunynstraße to welcome you in, you know you’re in for a treat. What awaits you inside is a feast for the eye thought up by dancer and choreographer Jao Moon and his team. “Everybody Can Be Everybody Can Not Be” is the fourth work of the young performer, but his debut as a choreographer of an ensemble.

Following the strong aesthetics of his previous solo piece Memory of Dislocation, Jao is once again presenting a piece that is visually stunning – not only because of the beautiful stage design by Michi Muchina with light by Emilio Cordero Checa, or the costumes by Billi Lobos, but also because of the unique and talented cast, including the aforementioned Martini, as well as Amada Tinoco, Natasha Vergilio, Francisco Bejarano Montes de Oca and, of course, Jao himself.

 

 

Once you follow Martini into the main stage you will be surrounded by white, translucent curtains and nets, some of them illuminated by eclectic 3D projections. There is not the typical divide between audience and stage as you can move around freely and see the performance from all sides. It creates an intimate atmosphere that seems to be recurring for Jao as his solo piece was set up in a similar way. But it also creates a certain kind of suspense – the type that makes a visit at the theater even more delicious.

 

  

 

Jao describes his piece as “a danced queer performance about exoticization, energies of resistance and self-determined visibilities.” It explores the paradox between the assumed freedom we live in and the effort of queer bodies to pretend to fit in and be safe. Each of the performers tells their own stories about these efforts and struggles in their own language or even without words.

You will see pride and bitterness, hope and disappointment, pretend masculinity and vulnerability. It’s an interplay of strength and weakness that seems to be caught in an eternal loop.

 

  

 

It’s great to see a piece like this that embraces queerness and cultural diversity in such an honest and authentic way and I’m glad that Baullhaus Naunynstraße gives their space to such unique and daring projects by young international artists. You should definitely keep an eye out on their program as they have quite a lot of interesting pieces made by queer, PoC and international theater-makers.

“Everyone Can Be Everyone Can Not Be” premieres tonight at Ballhaus Naunynstraße in Kreuzberg at 20h with encore performances running every night until Wednesday, October 23, 2019 (all shows are at 20h, except on Sunday, October 20th, at 19h).

 

  

  

 

EVERYBODY CAN BE EVERYBODY CAN NOT BE

A Performance by Jao Moon

Premiere October 19, 2019, 20:00h

Encore shows on October 20, 19:00h and October 21 – 23, 20:00h

Concept and choreography: Jao Moon, Assistant choreographer: Kysy Fischer,
Light design: Emilio Cordero Checa, Video: Juan Saez,
Stage: Michi Muchina, Stage assistant: Cheng-Ting Ten,
Costumes: Billy Lobos, Music: Tobias Lee, Dramaturgy: Lalo Gomes,
Performance: Francisco Bejarano Montes de Oca, Martini Cherry Furter, Jao Moon, Amada Tinoco, Natasha Vergilio

Ballhaus Naunynstraße, Naunynstraße 27, 10997 Berlin-Kreuzberg

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Frank

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Frank is the founder and editor-in-chief of iHeartBerlin. He takes photos, makes videos, and writes texts mostly about what's going on in Berlin. His vision and interests have shaped iHeartBerlin since its conception back in 2007 - and he hopes to continue bringing you the best of Berlin for many years to come.