Vasiliki Papapostolou / Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr

Vasiliki Papapostolou (Tarantism): Panopticon
A body in resistance, caught between rule and reflex, between visibility and control: In "Panopticon," Vasiliki Papapostolou, also known as Tarantism, transforms the philosophical concept of the surveillance space into a vibrant, physical experiment. What Jeremy Bentham designed as a prison model and Michel Foucault described as the structure of modern society becomes the choreographic focal point here: A body, observed by us and by itself, grapples with the idea of being free.
Papapostolou begins in the rhythm of a metronome - a timekeeper that becomes the system. The body follows, precisely, mechanically, until the impulse shifts: movement becomes resistance. The dancer becomes a machine trying to be human - or vice versa. Her hands, bathed in red light, are both symbol and compulsion: control, counting, power. Yet beneath the surface, another drama rages - the struggle between ego, superego, and subconscious, between order and chaos, conformity and rebellion.
The choreographer and performer from Greece is an internationally active artist in experimental dance. Her movement language - a hybrid of physical theatre, ballroom Latin, and urban street styles - combines complex physicality with psychological depth. In "Panopticon," she unfolds this language with gripping clarity: every movement carries meaning, every silence a risk. The music by Christopher Nas and the precise lighting design by Emma Gasson create a space where perception itself becomes the stage. The camera of Klaus Shehaj captures what eludes control.
The award-winning solo - among others, honored at the 29MASDANZA, the Tanztheater Erfurt, and the Philly Fringe Festival - showcases an artist who translates mechanisms of power into movement. "A brilliantly grotesque solo," judged the British press, hitting the core: a dance about being human in a world that constantly observes us.
Choreography, Performance, Text: Vasiliki Papapostolou aka Tarantism
Music & Sound Design: Christopher Nas
Lighting Designer: Emma Gasson
Videographer: Klaus Shehaj
Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr: Two Against Sacre (World Premiere)
Once again, the Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr is a guest at Posthof - this time with a world premiere! The starting point is Stravinsky's monumental work "Le Sacre du Printemps," which once sparked a theater scandal and is still considered the Big Bang of modernity. However, it is not reinterpreted through dance but rather re-examined. What happens when the energy of HipHop meets the ecstasy of Sacre? When rebellion, rhythm, and ritual collide? The ensemble transforms the score into a resonance space - between departure and resistance, control and surrender.
At the center are two personalities who have shaped urban dance in Europe: Kalli Tarasidou with her flowing, poetic body language, which connects waving, tutting, and contemporary styles into a breathing whole - and Christian "Robozee" Zacharas, a master of isolations, precise, pulsating, almost mechanical, yet profoundly human. With the support of Rauf "RubberLegz" Yasit, they condense movement into energy, energy into ritual. Light and sound take over the dramaturgy, the stage remains bare, the bodies speak. From Stravinsky's scandal emerges a duet of forces - raw, concentrated, electrifying.
Every movement, every tension, every dynamic is consciously composed. The music from Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du Printemps" is not accompanied but physically explored and translated into urban aesthetics. Musical director Michael Lohmann, who previously opened new auditory perspectives with the production "MC Messer," edits Stravinsky's score for "Two Against Sacre" into a surround experience that opens the sound space and pulls the audience right into the action.
Artistic director, networker, enabler: Zekai Fenerci shapes a stage for today from HipHop culture. With the Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr - Germany's first permanently funded ensemble from the urban scene - he builds bridges between subculture and high culture, studio and theater, street and institution. His vision: to not only showcase HipHop but to take it seriously - as an art form with attitude, depth, and future.
Two Against Sacre
Premiere: April 29, 2026, Posthof - Zeitkultur am Hafen, Linz/A
Artistic Direction: Zekai Fenerci
Dance and Choreography: Kalli Tarasidou and Christian "Robozee" Zacharas
Choreographic Collaboration: Rauf Yasit (RubberLegz)
Musical Direction: Michael Lohmann
The Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr is funded by the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of the "Neue Künste Ruhr" program and by the city of Herne.