JULIO (2006)

A piece about longing, ageing and the music of Julio Iglesias

JULIO is a patchwork project. It has been presented internationally in different versions and lengths. The two solos can also stand for themselves and have been performed independently. The group version with guest lecturer and singer is at the moment only available in German language. The guest appearance of Julio Iglesias unfortunately had to be cancelled for budget reasons.

Supported by: Berlin – Senatskanzlei – Kulturelle Angelegenheiten, Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V., Tanzfabrik Berlin

Group Version – 90 min – German language (English/ Spanish):
premiered in Tanzfabrik Berlin, April 2006, with Eliane Hutmacher, Olaf Stuve, AnnA Stein, Susanne Martin and a film by Andrea Keiz and Susanne
Solo Version – 60 min – English or German (Spanish):
premiered during Notafe Dancefestival Viljandi, Estonia, July 2006, with Susanne Martin and a film by Andrea Keiz and Susanne

Press: “ein kurzweiliges und herzwarmes Stück über die verschwommenen Wahrheiten der Unterhaltungsmusik, über Sehnsüchte und Selbstfindung und darüber, dass man für letzteres doch nie zu alt ist.“
“The overall effect resonated ambiguously and intriguingly between blunt comedy and poignant character study”
“Martin hits the right note. The result is tenderly comical, smilingly human. A Chaplin for the 21^st Century.”

Group Version:
Old Herr K. Müh talks silently about his outset for a more sensuous life. The elderly Claudia shows talkative her ever concealed desires. The referee opens the possibility to think gender anew, while the kitsch singer next to him counterpoints him. A documentary film about old tourists in Mallorca hopes to find the individual fragility, oddness and claims to love inside the stereotyped mass concept of a controlled “luxury of the minimum” for pensioners on the “German island”. During a jazz dance duet with a friend (Amigos) Herr Müh twists around again every clarity on identity, and the evening is framed by a silent observing view on a hotel swimming pool in the photos of AnnA Stein. During all this appears again and again the music of Julio Iglesias as Leitmotiv.

Gruppenversion:
Der alte Herr K. Müh erzählt stumm von seinem Aufbrechen in ein sinnlicheres Leben, die alternde Claudia zeigt wortreich die verhinderten Begehren, ein Bildungsreferent eröffnet die Möglichkeit Geschlechtlichkeit neu zu denken, während die Schnulzensängerin ihn konterkariert. Der Film Golden Playa über Seniorenpaare und Singles auf Mallorca hofft in der stereotypen Massenhoffnung vom kontrollierten Mindestluxus für Rentner auf der „deutschen Insel“ die individuellen Brüche, Verschrobenheiten, Liebesansprüche und –erinnerungen ans Licht zu holen. Im Jazztanzduett mit einem Freund verdreht Herr Müh noch mal alle Klarheiten von Identität. Der Abend wird eingerahmt von der still beobachtenden Aufsicht eines Hotelswimmingpools in den Fotos von AnnA Stein. Zu all dem taucht leitmotivisch immer wieder die Musik von Julio Iglesias auf.

Solo Version:
Old Herr K. Müh talks silently about his outset for a more sensuous life.
The elderly Claudia shows talkative her ever-concealed desires and invites the audience for a kissing experiment.
The film Golden Playa, about winter tourists in Mallorca, hopes to find the individual fragility, oddity and claims to love inside the stereotyped concept of a Mediterranean holiday island.
In between we see the very personal music video Music For Lovers.  
During all this appears again and again the music of Julio Iglesias as Leitmotiv.