Crossing the Pale River

AUDIO WALK · PERFORMANCE by Nicola van Straaten and Coila-Leah Enderstein. Created and performed by white South African artists Coila-Leah Enderstein and Nicola van Straaten, the site-specific work engages with a street in Berlin named after a province in South Africa that no longer exists. Transvaalstraße cuts through the so-called “African Quarter" of Wedding. When the British took control of the Cape in the early 19th century, descendants of Dutch settlers traveled north-eastwards with the hopes of establishing a homeland. In 1852, the territory north of the Vaal River was demarcated as the Afrikaner nation, “Transvaal.” Starting from their perspectives as descendants of European settlers, the two artists interweave lesser-known histories and their personal narratives to critically reflect on coloniality through the frame of Transvaalstraße. Coila-Leah Enderstein and Nicola van Straaten have been collaborating closely for over eight years and through their (k)intimacy, they nourish their shared creative praxis with conflict and conversation, research and reading, play and improvisation, story-telling and performance-making. Nicola van Straaten is an artist, writer and performer with a background in Western classical and contemporary dance. She focuses on the body and spirituality as sites of political and social transformation. In 2019, she graduated from a Masters in Solo / Dance / Authorship at the University of the Arts in Berlin and currently works as a freelance artist in Berlin. Coila-Leah Enderstein is a pianist, artist and performer with a background in Western classical music whose experimental practice spans across interdisciplinary mediums. She works as a freelance artist in Berlin and is studying a Masters in Sound Studies at the University of the Arts in Berlin. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT IN PARTS OF THE AUDIO-WALK, WE INVITE THE AUDIENCE TO PARTICIPATE IN PERCEPTUAL EXERCISES. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS AUDIO-WALK IS NOT FULLY WHEEL-CHAIR ACCESSIBLE. WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE CONTACT US IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS OR QUESTIONS AROUND ACCESSIBILITY. THE WALK IS LIMITED TO TEN PEOPLE. PARTICIPATION FREE OF CHARGE REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED AT ANMELDUNG@TANZFABRIK-BERLIN.DE DETAILED INFORMATION ON THE MEETING POINT WILL BE SENT WITH THE REGISTRATION BY E-MAIL. FRIDAY
17.09.2021
 15:00 SATURDAY
18.09.2021
 15:00 FRIDAY
24.09.2021
1 5:00 SATURDAY
25.09.2021 
15:00 Kreation & performance: Coila-Leah Enderstein, Nicola van Straaten | Assistant/Guide: Vilja Mihalovsky | Voice Actor: Lena Astarte Posch, Mmakgosi Kgabi, Daniella Mooney, Ndinomholo Ndilula | Dramaturgy: Hans Peter Kuhn, Mey Seifan, Scarlet Yu | Musik composition, mixing, mastering: Coila-Leah Enderstein | Script & editing : Coila-Leah Enderstein & Nicola van Straaten | Translation into German: Lena Astarte Posch. Supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK - STEPPING OUT, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative NEUSTART KULTUR. Assistance Program for Dance. tanzfabrik-berlin.de