Rave:Turnaround
Mandy Unger
In the dance solo Rave:Turnaround, choreographer and dancer Mandy Unger aka. M.over focuses on the East German transformation process of the 1990s. Characterized by the overlapping of new beginnings and demise, losses and opportunities, a lot was demanded of people during the reunification. The celebratory mood of reunification was preserved in underground raves, especially in Berlin, and fears of the future were allowed to be postponed.
Mandy Unger was awarded a residency in 2022 as part of the interdisciplinary residency program of the Thuringian Theatre Association. There she began research for the dance solo Rave:Turnaround. In this solo, she juxtaposes the ambivalent mood of the time between intoxication and fear. It takes us through the experiences of the 1990s. Interactive moments are explored as well as the purely physical experience of a rave – the raving, dancing, noise, bouncing, letting go. The phenomenon of the turnaround is not only viewed historically, but also taken literally and examined choreographically.
Duration: ca. 1 h
Language: German
DJ set afterwards
Mandy Unger aka M.over is a choreographer, dancer, soundscaper and networker. She creates choreographies and social situations in which she focuses on autobiographical experiences and the stigmatization of an East German post-reunification biography in relation to her own body. Her interdisciplinary approach combines art with field research methods. She studied media art, dance studies, dance and choreography in Germany, Portugal and Switzerland. Mandy Unger’s stage productions are a conglomerate of performance art and sociological field research. She investigates urban and subcultural spaces – from prefabricated housing estates to clubs and raves. Musical landscapes from house, techno and hip-hop serve her as a source of inspiration and an expression of social movements. Her focus is on the transfer of musical structures into dance – through sampling, looping, groove patterns and the contextualization of Afro-diasporic dance history. In workshops, she teaches dance as a material and social process.
Her most influential works include the CARE series (2018-2021), PLATTE (2022), RAVE:TURNAROUND (2023) and NO TOMORROW (2024). Her works have been presented at numerous theaters and festivals, including Schauspiel Leipzig, LOFFT – DAS THEATER, PHÖNIX Theaterfestival Erfurt and Theater Bernburg. She has received funding from Tanzpakt in Residence, the Kulturstiftung Sachsen and the Fonds Darstellende Künste, among others. In 2024 she was awarded a prize for her solo RAVE:TURNAROUND at the Avant Art Festival Thüringen.
Choreography & Performance: Mandy Unger
Scenography, Light & Video: Chiara Stuto
Styling: Camille Le Lous
Sound design: Mandy Unger
Technical management: Benjamin Hannemann
Artistic collaboration: Clara Kirsch
Mentoring: Cindy Hammer
Speech training: Katja Körber
Photos: Alexander Mutzschke & Thomas Puschmann
A production by M.over Company in collaboration with Werkstattmacher e.V. and LOFFT – DAS THEATER. Funded by the City of Leipzig, Department of Culture and the LEIPZIGSTIFTUNG. With the kind support of the residency program of the Thüringer Theater- verband (2022) as well as ‘TANZPAKT in residence’ and Fonds Darstellende Künste (2023).
