Dance ambassador Celine

Matta Matta 2.0

A playful journey where mats are not just for lying down

Our dance ambassador Céline experienced the PURPLE Dance Festival 2023. In the Uferstudios she participated in the performance “Matta Matta 2.0”.

MATTA MATTA 2.0

An anteroom: Gesturing and a voice from the loudspeakers tells us what to do. We are part of this performance. We all end up connected to our hands as a great serpent. The journey behind the black curtain can begin.

White dance carpet and various blue mats are waiting for us.

We go as an entire group into a limited space of mats. When we get the sign to sit down, the excitement rises. There is a wall of mats around us. Standing up is not allowed. Nervousness and fascination spread. The children's big eyes clearly show how much they are focused on what is happening. What will happen next?

Around us behind the blue wall of mats starts the first performer. Again and again we see individual body parts glide over the wall. Sometimes a foot, sometimes the legs and then more and more until you finally see the head. He is destroying his wall and the space around us is getting bigger and more open again. We're getting new seats again.

This time we are sitting in a rectangle, the stage is in between. The performers begin and there is an interplay of man and mat. It's amazing what you can do with a mat. Many floor elements and heavy and light movements show the difference. A body can be heavy and fall to the ground, but also very easily . It's getting wilder and there's a way to communicate. Sometimes they lie down, sometimes one sits on the other or they just do nothing. The mat is always represented.

Suddenly a bang. The big heavy mat falls over and reveals to us the 3. Performer. It changes the room again. She seems so light in her movement as she clings to the mats for a long time. It almost looks like she has no ground under her and would climb somewhere high up in the air.

In the further course, the performers act as a group and constantly create new situations. Optical illusions, the mats become the tower. There is a kind of Ninja Warrior wall where the performer pulls up with all her strength and the enthusiasm of the children on her side.

Why is it difficult to touch the mats in physical education? Why are they such a sanctuary in school? This piece proves that mats can do more than just one thing – lie on the floor and protect us from the hard floor.

Finally, we all sit around a big mat and the performers merge with the audience. A great interplay of power and letting go that shows us that both women and men have the same power and can do anything.

It all ends with a workshop for the kids. Happy and full of energy it goes through the course. In the end, the children are sweaty and exhausted, but rich in new impressions. A successful piece, which invites you to try out and participate.