About presence and absence, proximity and distance:
Through the collaboration of the
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the
Goethe-Institut Montreal and
fabrik Potsdam – Internationales Zentrum für Tanz und Bewegungskunst, artists Joy Alpuerto Ritter and Lukas Steltner received in the fall of 2019 a residency in the studios of
Circuit-Est centre chorégraphique and worked on a duet entitled
Heimkehr (Homecoming). In this project, they explored the consequences of a forced separation on a couple, inspired by stories and ordeals experienced by their family members during World War II.
Joy Alpuerto Ritter
Joy Alpuerto Ritter was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. In her youth she was trained in Jazz and Ballett (RAD - Royal Academy of Dancing). Besides of that she learned Philippine and Polynesian Folk Dance in the cultural dance group led by her mother. In 2004 Joy graduated at the
Palucca School in Dresden, Germany with a dance diploma. After that she started working as a freelance dancer with choreographers like Christoph Winkler, Anja Kozik, Constanza Macras, Milan Gervais, Heike Hennig and Yui Kawaguchi. During this time she expanded her repertory in Hip Hop/New Style, Breakdance and Voguing and was active in the urban dance scene in Europe. In 2011 she joined
Cirque du Soleil as a dancer and aerial artist for the
Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour. Since 2013 she has been a dancer and rehearsal director of the
Akram Khan Dance Company and the company
Wangramirez where she continues her touring life all around the world. She has been nominated as "outstanding female dancer" (modern) in the Performance Until the Lions by the National Dance Awards UK.
With her own solo work
Babae (2016) she has found international response as a Choreographer. Joy has been collaborating as an associate choreographer with Akram Khan, Chen Shi-Zheng, Florence and the machine and created performances for the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD), Dance Arts Faculty Rome (DAF) and Beijing dance academy.
Lukas Steltner
Lukas Steltner is a German Dancer and Actor. He found his roots in the Hip Hop culture and started with Breaking in the age of 14. In his dance he likes to explore different movement patterns, especially inspired by contemporary dance and popping. Lukas has worked with choreographers such as Heike Hennig, Johann Kresnik, Hong Nguyen Thai or Kadir “Amigo” Memis. His interest in different fields of artistic expression led him to perform in various contexts like Theater, Dancetheater, Cabaret, Circus, Cinema- and TV-productions. For the future his aim is to deepen his artistic collaboration with Joy Alpuerto Ritter as choreographers and dancers.
residency Programme - Contemporary Dance
The choreography residency in Montreal has been supporting German-Canadian exchange for years. In cooperation with fabrik Potsdam, artists from Germany and Canada each have the opportunity to get to know the local scene of the host country and to work actively in it.
More information here.
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