Claire Vivianne Sobottke: “Velvet”

“For me, the idea of the wilderness is very important: I see it as an expression of an unknown territory that doesn’t follow human rules and where non-human forces and beings are at play. And this territory may not only be found outside in nature – it also exists within the mind.” Claire Vivianne Sobottke sees her work as a place of resistance which makes it possible to change normative patterns of thinking and seeing. She is fascinated by the becoming of the body in sensual, choreographic processes. Her work “Velvet”, which she will present in the context of “Down to Earth”, follows these stipulations – the rhythmic choreography unfolds in a garden, a landscape of earth, stones and plants with live music by Tian Rotteveel. Here, Sobottke embarks on a passionate exploration of the turbulent history of the female body and deconstructs alienating notions of female identity and sexuality. With “Velvet”, which premiered at the 2019 issue of Tanz im August at HAU Hebbel am Ufer, the Berlin choreographer uses a series of hybrid portraits to search for the poetic and irrational, which eludes fixed categorizations due to its ambivalent nature.

Choreography / Performance / Concept Claire Vivianne Sobottke
Composition / Music Tian Rotteveel
Arrangement / Répétiteur Ignacio Jarquin
Trombone / Trumpet Hilary Jeffrey
Horn / Trumpet Abigail Sanders
Percussion Almut Lustig, Sabrina Ma
Spinet / Harmonium Tian Rotteveel
Room Clementine Pohl, Claire Vivianne Sobottke
Production Simone Graf

Velvet – Branches and fire – Improvisation:
With Maria F. Scaroni, Moss Beynon Juckes, Angela Munoz Martinez, Claire Vivianne Sobottke, Hillary Jeffrey, Sabrina Ma, Abigail Sanders, Tian Rotteveel and Almut Lustig