Dance Ambassador Nele

The question of which group to fit into

Dance piece “Follow Me!” at the moment! Festival 2025

Follow Me! (tanzmainz) by choreographer Felix Berner at the moment Mal! Festival 2025.

At the entrance of the Theater an der Parkaue I received a large banner ‘Augenblick Mal - Das Festivals des Theaters für junge Leute’. In front of the theater were several groups of people. But not just young people. The audience was mixed. After I got the tickets and a drink at the bar, the gong sounded and we all went to our seats. I was really curious, because even though I had read about the dance piece in the brochure, I wondered how the topic of ‘follow me’ will be presented in the dance.

The process opened and a canvas showed people in various poses and slow movements. The room was dark and the music dramatic. When the screen went up, six people stood on stage. They watched each other's movements closely and carefully imitated them or tried to develop their own versions. From the movements, new ones were formed until a person with his arms stretched stopped. Another followed. Another one. After all, everyone stood in a circle with their arms stretched out.

The choreography lived from the fact that usually a person interrupted this uniformity and began his own movement. Often another person was encouraged to participate, because you did not want to be an outsider. Again and again different groups formed only rarely all danced synchronously.

Participate and do your own thing

Suddenly, a microphone was lowered from the stage ceiling. ‘Political or non-political?’, ‘What is your name?’, ‘Are you vegetarian?’, ‘Are you playing us something?’ They pushed each other with the microphone, but everyone evaded and did not answer.

I found it really impressive how many scenes I knew from everyday life and although, except for the questions, only danced, you could understand each scene well and put yourself in the situations. Especially for me, as a teenager, the role of trends was presented very empathetically. The conflict between participating and doing your own thing, but also the question of which group you fit into.

In the follow-up discussion, we did interactive exercises to warm up, met new groups and exchanged ideas about the piece. This was really interesting for me to hear the opinions and questions of others. Suddenly there was a knock and two of the dancers inside came in. They had moved quickly in the meantime. After another big applause, we were all able to ask questions directly to the choreographer and the dancers inside. For example, whether it is different to perform in the morning in front of a young audience or in the evening in front of a mixed audience. Or whether there were improvised parts in the choreography. And in fact, individual spots were improvised. Nevertheless, each scene followed a clear structure and the improvised places should also fit the rhythm of the music. Finally, we could even wish for poses from the choreography, which we then tried out for music and put together for our own little choreo.

Finally, we all thanked each other for the beautiful evening and said goodbye. With the pictures and the questions in my head, I was already riding my bike home in the dark.