Work Body
Michael Turinsky, one of the most notable disabled choreographers in the German-speaking world, is back with a new piece. Work Body was inspired by Pier Paolo Pasolini’s poem Gramsci’s Ashes, which he addressed to the mortal remains of communist thinker Antonio Gramsci, who was physically disabled, too. Turinsky conceives a critical-empathetic response to the masculinist shift to the right among workers, which is evident across national borders.
How do things stand with the ‘authentic core’ of the proletarian experience, as emphasised by Gramsci? What about the wish to perceive oneself as autonomous and in contact with one’s peers? What about the erotic yet narcissistic undertones of camaraderie and brotherhood? And how does communist desire relate to sexual desire?
Building, singing, speaking and dancing, Turinsky not only undermines the separation between mental work and manual labour – he also subverts the boundaries between performative intervention, concert and political agitation. Work Body thus resonates between the ‘disabled’ and the ‘working body’ and puts the focus on physicalities that are otherwise pushed to the edges of representation.
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is a physically disabled artist and theorist based in Vienna. He works at the intersection of contemporary dance and performance, disability, and political and aesthetic theory. After studying philosophy at the University of Vienna, Turinsky began to immerse himself in the world of inclusive dance in 2006. He then went on to challenge the concept of inclusion and referred to his artistic practice, which, among other things, examines the resistant materiality of the body in processes of subversion, as ‘crip choreography’. His solo Precarious Moves was awarded the Nestroy Prize for Best Off Production in 2021. In 2023, he won the Outstanding Artist Award of the Federal Ministry of the Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sport.
Credits
Idea, choreography, text, performance Michael Turinsky Music, lyrics, performance Tian Rotteveel Stage, costume Jenny Schleif Light design Max Rux Dramaturgical advice Chris Standfest Artistic collaboration Liv Schellander Production management Anna Gräsel Production Verein für philosophische Praxis Coproduced by Tanzquartier Wien, Theater RAMPE , Stuttgart Supported by the Municipal Department of Cultural Affairs, Vienna, and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, the Civil Service and Sports
In English and Italian with English and German surtitles
There is no designated seating for the audience; you are free to move around and sit wherever you like. If you need a fixed seat, please book in advance at tanzquartier@tqw.at, and we will be happy to accommodate your request.