Vasiliki Papapostolou / Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr

Panopticon / Two against Sarcre.

Vasiliki Papapostolou (Tarantism): Panopticon
A body in resistance, caught between rule and reflex, between visibility and control: in "Panopticon", Vasiliki Papapostolou alias Tarantism transforms the philosophical concept of the surveillance room into a vibrant, physical experiment. What Jeremy Bentham designed as a prison model and Michel Foucault described as the structure of modern society becomes a choreographic focal point here: a body, observed by us and by itself, struggles with the idea of being free.

Papapostolou begins to the rhythm of a metronome - a clock that becomes a system. The body follows, precisely, mechanically, until the impulse tips: Movement becomes resistance. The dancer becomes a machine that tries to be human - or vice versa. Her hands, bathed in red light, are both symbol and compulsion: control, counting, power. But beneath the surface, another drama is raging - the struggle between ego, superego and subconscious, between order and chaos, conformity and rebellion.

The Greek-born choreographer and performer is an internationally active artist of experimental dance. Her movement language - a hybrid of physical theater, ballroom Latin and urban street styles - combines complex physicality with psychological depth. In "Panopticon" she unfolds this language with gripping clarity: every movement carries meaning, every stillness a risk. The music by Christopher Nas and the precise lighting design by Emma Gasson create a space in which perception itself becomes a stage. Klaus Shehaj's camera captures what is beyond our control.

The multi-award-winning solo - honored at 29MASDANZA, Tanztheater Erfurt and the Philly Fringe Festival, among others - shows an artist who translates mechanisms of power into movement. "A brilliantly grotesque solo", was the verdict of the British press, getting to the heart of the matter: a dance about being human in a world that is constantly watching us.

Choreography, performance, text: Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism
Music & Sound Design: Christopher Nas
Lighting designer: Emma Gasson
Videographer: Klaus Shehaj

Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr: Two against Sacre (world premiere)
And once again Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr is a guest at the Posthof - this time with a world premiere! The starting point is Stravinsky's work of the century "Le Sacre du Printemps", which once sparked a theater scandal and is still considered the big bang of modernism today. But here it is not danced anew, but questioned anew. What happens when the energy of hip hop meets the ecstasy of the Sacre? When rebellion, rhythm and ritual meet? The ensemble turns the score into a resonance chamber - between departure and resistance, control and devotion.

At the center are two personalities who have shaped European urban dance: Kalli Tarasidou with her flowing, poetic body language that combines waving, tutting and contemporary into a breathing whole - and Christian "Robozee" Zacharas, master of isolations, precise, pulsating, almost machinic and yet deeply human. With the support of Rauf "RubberLegz" Yasit, they condense movement into energy, energy into ritual. Light and sound take over the dramaturgy, the stage remains naked, the bodies speak. Stravinsky's scandal becomes a duet of forces - raw, concentrated, electrifying.

Every movement, every tension, every dynamic is deliberately composed. The music from Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps" is not accompanied, but physically explored and translated into urban aesthetics. Musical director Michael Lohmann, who already opened up new auditory perspectives with the production "MC Messer", edits Stravinsky's score for "Zwei gegen Sacre" into a surround experience that opens up the sound space and draws the audience into the middle of the action.

Artistic director, networker, facilitator: Zekai Fenerci transforms hip-hop culture into a stage for today. With the Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr - Germany's first permanently funded ensemble from the urban scene - he builds bridges between subculture and high culture, studio and theater, street and institution. His vision: not just to show hip-hop, but to take it seriously - as an art form with attitude, depth and a future.

Two against Sacre
Premiere: April 29, 2026, Posthof - Zeitkultur am Hafen, Linz/A
Artistic direction: Zekai Fenerci
Dance and choreography: Kalli Tarasidou and Christian "Robozee" Zacharas
Choreographic collaboration: Rauf Yasit (RubberLegz)
Musical direction: Michael Lohmann

The Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the "Neue Künste Ruhr" program and by the City of Herne.