On Cultural Appropriation by Julian Warner & Dennis Dieter Kopp

German artists Julian Warner (cultural anthropologist) and Dennis Dieter Kopp (performer/dramaturge) will conduct a workshop during Essence 2.0 - the second edition of Essence International  - an initiative by Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, conceived for dancers with at least 2 years' experience, aimed at providing them with continuous professional development to become accomplished professional artists in the performing arts arena.

In their workshop Julian Warner and Dennis Dieter Kopp examine the issue of cultural appropriation in a German (post)colonial context. They use their extensive research into the field of blackface minstrel shows as well as the German gymnastics movement (Turner Movement) as a point of departure, employing song, dance and exercise to go beyond essentialist notions of culture, gender and race.

Participants will be able to experience both problematic and empowering examples of appropriation in theory and practice and their specific rooting in socio-political struggles.

Workshop details:

February 2 & 3, 2019, 2.00 to 5.00 p.m.
Participation fee: Rs. 4000
Register with: activities@attakkalari.org
*Limited seats*

Julian Warner (*1985) studied Theatre Studies, American Literature and ethnology at Ludwig Maximilians University Munich. His first artistic research took place in the area of futurology for the “Brand Fiction Project” of Audi AG. He curated workshops, performances and urban district projects for Lothringer13 Kunstareal of the City of Munich as well as lecture series in Favorit Bar. Since October 2015, he works as Research Associate at the Institute of Cultural Anthropology of the University of Göttingen. His research focuses on Black Diaspora Studies, Racism and Pop Culture. As ‘Fehler Kuti’ he is part of the experimental band 1115 (Alien Transistor). Since 2015, he works together with Hannah Saar and Oliver Zahn in the association for artistic research Hauptaktion.

Dennis Dieter Kopp (*1986) works since 2012 as a freelance lighting artist, performer and dramaturge at the Münchner Kammerspiele as well as for the independent theatre and performance groups Hauptaktion, Thermoboy FK, christians // schwenk, Henrike Iglesias, Markus & Markus and Hermann Simons. He is also a solo performer and member of cobragianni.cobra responsible for Let Me Be the Object of Your Desire (Hildesheim 2012) and a Little More You Must See or: How I turned into a Butterfly (Flensburg 2017). His artistic practice is primarily concerned with questions of critical masculinity research in search of queer, feminist and intersectional perspectives.