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Performance

Wayward Chant

Ligia Lewis

World premiere

The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... The performer is seated on a pedestal in the center of the visitors.

Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025 © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

Artist and choreographer Ligia Lewis’s new work “Wayward Chant” explores the intersections of despair and beauty through the mobilization of the chorus. A pared-down score unfolds, featuring moving, chanting bodies arranged in detailed formations. This choreography is akin to a hummed hymn, performed in delay, creating a sonic and physical play of dissonance and reverberation. Early Western liturgical sounds intertwine with blues-like melodic and harmonic details, serving as an evocative response to a lingering past.

Coinciding with the exhibition “Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…” at Gropius Bau
16 October 2025 to 18 January 2026

Ligia Lewis in conversation with Nora-Swantje Almes
Tothe interview in the Berliner Festspiele Media Library

We will inform you about any indications of sensitive and/or health-relevant content here. Please visit our website again shortly before the premiere date.

ProgrammeBooklet

With her expansive interdisciplinary practice, Ligia Lewis is a central figure in redefining performance within the context of the visual arts. As an Artist in Focus of the Berliner Festspiele in 2025, she has been represented with a concert performance at MaerzMusik, an exhibition at the Gropius Bau as well as with her new commissioned work “Wayward Chant”, which will be premiered on 28 and 29 November as part of the Performing Arts Season.

Artistic Team

Ligia Lewis – Concept, Choreography, Artistic Direction, Text
George Lewis Jr. aka Twin Shadow, Wynne Bennett – Original Musical Composition
Sandra Blatterer, Joseph Wegmann – Lighting Design
Neda Sanai – Sound Design
Moritz Freudenberg, Ligia Lewis – Video
Boglárka Börcsök – Outside Eye
SADAK – Costume Design
Godlive Lawani (Stane Performing Arts Management) – Production Management

Performers

Navild Acosta, La Uyi Ihasee, Justin Francis Kennedy, Nasheeka Nedsreal, Cíntia Rangel, Corey Scott-Gilbert, Nima Aida Séne

  • The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... The performer is seated on a pedestal in the center of the visitors.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in a silver dress stands on the steps of Gropius Bau foyer, appearing to sing.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... A performing person stands at the center of the visitors.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in shorts and blazer stands on the steps of Gropius Bau atrium.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in a silver dress lies on the steps of the atrium of Gropius Bau and performs.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... The performer is seated on a pedestal in the center of the visitors.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in a silver dress stands on the steps of Gropius Bau foyer, appearing to sing.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... A performing person stands at the center of the visitors.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in shorts and blazer stands on the steps of Gropius Bau atrium.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in a silver dress lies on the steps of the atrium of Gropius Bau and performs.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... The performer is seated on a pedestal in the center of the visitors.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in a silver dress stands on the steps of Gropius Bau foyer, appearing to sing.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • The full atrium of the Gropius Bau during the opening of the exhibition Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR... A performing person stands at the center of the visitors.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in shorts and blazer stands on the steps of Gropius Bau atrium.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk

  • A female-presenting person in a silver dress lies on the steps of the atrium of Gropius Bau and performs.

    Ligia Lewis, Wayward Chant, live performance, Ligia Lewis: I’M NOT HERE FORRRRR…, Gropius Bau, 2025

    © Gropius Bau, photo: Rosa Merk