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Tickets

Door opening: 

THU, 13.2.25 19:00 with Fotokarussell*
from 21:00 Premiere-Party with DJ AfroLotus
FRI, 14.2.25 19:00 with Fotokarussell*
After the performance: discussion**
SAT, 15.2.25 18:00 with Beauty-Market*** and Fotokarussell*
during Beauty-Market with a DJ set by DJ AfroLotus

Start performance: 20:00
Age: ages 10 and up
Language: German, French, Lingala, …, with English Subtitles
Duration: 60 minutes

*From 19.00 prior to each showing of  «Beautysalon», we invite you to be photographed by Binta Kopp and Johannes Paula with the motto ‘Show your head’. Put your head, your hairstyles and your stories in the right light, become part of our play and take your 360° portrait home with you.

**After the performance, we will talk to the ‘Beautysalon’ team about what we have seen and experienced, unanswered questions and the relevance of the topic addressed. Get to know the artists, their ideas, working methods and concerns and engage directly with them. Moderation: Anita Maïmouna Neuhaus
Duration: 40 minutes ⎥ Language: German / English ⎥ Application: none ⎥ Price: free of charge

***On Saturday 15.2.25 we will open the doors from 18:00 for our Beauty-Market in our foyer at Dampfzentrale Berne! Here you may expect unique Afro hair products, flash hairstyles, care tips and artworks that celebrate the beauty and creativity of the Black community.

Rollstuhlfahrer*innen

For generations, Black people have been meeting in beauty salons to get their hair done, buy hair products and talk about past and current events. In «Beautysalon», four Black people gather in a hair salon and transform it into a safe space, a news spot, a political platform and a place of counseling and escape from racism. While new hairstyles are being made, stories about Black Switzerland that are on their minds and close to their hearts are told freely. This is their space, these are their stories, and the audience is invited to listen.

«Beautysalon» is a dance theater piece produced by a majority Black team that focuses on the diversity, beauty and experiences of the Black community. Inspired by the cultural significance of beauty salons as safer spaces, the piece tells stories of identity, empowerment and resistance, embedded in an interdisciplinary stage format.

The play addresses themes such as microaggressions, cultural appropriation and the deconstruction of beauty standards. It offers a counter-narrative to the prevailing Eurocentric ideals of beauty and focuses on Afrocentric perspectives.

Text by Mohamed Wa Baile, staging by Kapi Kapinga Grab, and choreography by Bheki Ndlovu.

Credits

Director: Kapi Kapinga Grab
Text: Mohamed Wa Baile
Choreography and music: Bheki Ndlovu
Dance & acting: Baba Altenburger, Steffi Lobréau, Doris Niragire Nirere, Martha Mutapay
Mixing, mastering and sound engineering: Tjefin Fankhauser
Lighting: Viktorio Jacobs
Set and costume design: Zainab J Lascandri
Graphic stage design: Nicolas Paulo Walker da Silva
Assistant director: Shanice Trustfull
Bookkeeping: Nina Sautter
Person of trust: Maneva Tafanalo Salaam
Dramaturgy: Luisa Wolf
Fundraising: Chantal Calame
Production management: Joëlle Antonie Gbeassor
Supporting program: Anita Maïmouna Neuhaus

Supporters:
Kanton Bern, Stadt Bern, Burgergemeinde, Migros Aare Kulturprozent, BEKB Förderfonds, Fachstelle für Rassismusbekämpfung, Co-production: Dampfzentrale Bern

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