Christine Matschke
Dance Journalist
Lois Alexander explores the figure of the Black Madonna for her performance "Yeye", starting, among other things, with the aesthetics of Afrofuturism – an intellectual movement of Black science fiction authors who portrayed distant futures and alien civilisations in an anti-racist way. What is the Black Madonna all about? Black goddesses are mainly associated with pre-Christian times and other cultures, such as the goddess Kali or the Celtic Black Annis. They can be interpreted as symbols of pre-patriarchal times. The color black also originally represented transformation and a new beginning. What paradigm shifts are we facing in the 21st century? Can we still bear the consequences of colonialism and capitalism, which essentially shaped the development of the modern world? Lois Alexander already questioned conventional, marginalizing world orders with her solo "Neptune" at Tanztage 2020. This year‘s edition of the festival for up-and-coming choreographers, which aims to stimulate a damage-reducing and healthier global coexistence, kicked off digitally in January. An analog continuation will take place in June at the soonest, "Yeye" might be screened online as a film.