(headbang)

In (headbang), a drummer and two dancers challenge each other in a transparent cube. In a physical battle of attrition, where live percussion, whispers, loops and screams merge with the hypnotic headbang cadence, the dancers surrender to the rhythmic energy. In one fluid movement, they transform into slimy slugs, gentle lashers or mopheads, challenging just about all traditional notions of physicality and expression.

The performance toys with references to witches, vulnerability and masculinity, and uses headbanging to explore these notions. The movement, often associated with the heavy metal scene, usually represents strength and aggression. By playing precisely with these contrasts, (headbang) invites reflection on the neglected focus on caring in a harsh, rough world. The physicality of headbanging catapults the audience into an ecstatic, collective experience in which surrender and resistance, chaos and control, collide and merge.
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Charlie Laban Trier was born in 1987 in Copenhagen and lives in Amsterdam. His dance background is in the house scene, which infuses his movement style with rhythmic freedom. As a transperson, his identity influences his work, in which he breaks conventions and approaches dance as an ever-changing, fluid phenomenon.

Choreographer and multidisciplinary artist Eli Eli, or Elisabeth Raymond, works at the intersection of movement and connectedness. Eli's work explores how bodies - be they people, landscapes or matter - are always interacting with each other.

Josefin Runsteen is a Swedish musician, producer, composer and arranger. She began her musical career as a classical violinist, but discovered other instruments, such as percussion, in her teens. She has toured with international artists such as Damien Rice, Feist and Frank Ocean, and in 2019 was named Newcomer of the Year by Sweden's national broadcaster.

choreography, concept and dancers eli eli raymond and Charlie Laban Trier
composer and musician Josefin Runsteen
technician Felix Noble Andreasson
light design Peter Widell
costume designer Kristin Bergman

-|-set designer Oskar Gustafsson
support SKOGEN-Masthuggsterrassen, Swedish Arts Grant, Gothenburg City Culture Fund, Svensk-Danska fonden, Fylkingen, Glada sprutan, Jacuzzi studio, Konstepidemin
premiere SKOGEN, Gothenburg, September 2021
special thanks to Niklas Niki Blomberg, Raoni Muzho Saleh