Dancing plates, a hiccup that moves down to the feet, chewing bodies, talkative dishes, a singing spoon, a delicate egg dance; our tummies are melting with delight. After the huge success of the play “Headwalker”, Barbara Fuchs and her team study now the theme “the meal and its rituals”. The actors invite us around the table: everything that is presented on the table will be swallowed, savoured, consumed, chewed on, listened to and digested by the actors and their audience. During this eating concert, live-produced sounds will be flown from some microphones and will be mixed with pre-recorded sounds. An experimental and respectful way of treating food and drinks allows a sensory experience of a particular genre. At the end of the play, the children are invited to discover the stage and will be tested on their ability to recognize different tastes. The premiere of “MUNCH!” took place on 16. September 2012 at tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf.

TEAM

Artistic direction/Choreography/Concept: Barbara Fuchs
Dance/Choreography: Emily Welther, Odile Foehl
Sound/Music: Jörg Ritzenhoff
Costumes: Sabine Kreiter
Photo: MEYER ORIGINALS

Co-produced by: tanzhaus nrw, Düsseldorf, BARNES CROSSING – Freiraum für TanzPerformanceKunst
Supported by: Kulturamt der Stadt Köln, NRW Landesbüro freie Kultur, Landschaftsverband Rheinland

PRESS QUOTES

Melanie Suchy, Rheinische Post (Düsseldorf), 18. 09. 2012

Munch dance for the very youngest

[…] It consists of a huge tablecloth, plates and cutlery on the floor in the middle of two audience rows. At the end of the fake table, the choreographer peels carrots, bakes waffles and controls the volume of Jörg Ritzenhoff’s lively music. Once she smacks into her microphone and gives the dancers a beat and a way of moving: fast and rakishly twitching their bones or banana-like curving. Munch dance.

It is beautiful when things themselves make sound, almost music: the dancers drop spoons, gather them together, spread them out on the floor again. A varied, semi-ordered sound of sounds is created. Dance? The two of them move nimbly in a squatting position, get caught and roll around, push plates and eggs away with their toes without breaking, and swing and slide elegantly on their knees on the finally flour-stained playing surface.

The children look on eagerly, wondering too. That is good. […]

Dorothea Marcus, akT, the theatre newspaper – October 2012

Sweet egg dance

Barbara Fuchs premiered “Munch!” a dance and sound performance for children aged 0-4 years – and captivates with a beautiful basic idea, which could become even more exuberant in terms of dance and music.

[…] The half-hour performance has an extremely sensual and charming basic idea. It picks up toddlers directly in their living environment, takes up their perceptions and movements, their facial expressions and gestures, alienated through dance, so that they recognize themselves in them. Nevertheless, many scenes are too long (such as the clinking spoon scene), too contemplative, and the attention of the little ones quickly fades. More could easily happen on stage – the potential for this lies in both the choreography and the two dancers. […]