PIT STOP OR THE LOLLIPOP MAN
"Inexplicable feelings are hidden under my helmet". This quote by race driver Michael Schumacher typifies Pit Stop like no other.
While the tire change in Formula 1 is a precisely choreographed performance - a highlight in every car race - we only know very little about what is happening at the pit stop before the arrival of the race car.
For ROTES VELO, choreographer Exequiel Barreras made this period visible. Four dancers from different nations form the team of mechanics that is supporting the driver who - however - will never appear. Those four know only too well what this means. Their love for fast cars could be fatal. The facade starts to crumble and vulnerable beings appear behind the helmet visors.
A dance piece with many words in many languages, with a lot of physical masculinity and very much sensitivity.
About the piece
Choreographer Exequiel Barreras is a fan of Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna who was killed in an accident during the Grand Prix of San Marino in 1994, while Michael Schumacher won the race. Also the four mechanics in the pit lane - in one cast also three men and a woman - are exposed to this tension between ecstasy and mortal agony and they are giving deep insights into their souls that are burning with will to win and the frenzy for speed.
Information
ARTISTIC DIRECTION:
Exequiel Barreras
DRAMATURGY: Emilio H. Díaz Abregú
PERFORMANCE: Hoang Anh Ta Hong / Hella Immler, Tobias Spori / Exequiel Barreras, Yannick Badier/ Petr Nedbal,
Jack Widdowson
COSTUME: Flavia Somalvico
STAGE: Ralph Dünner
LIGHT: Emilio H. Díaz Abregú
GRAPHIC DESIGN: Emilio H. Díaz Abregú
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT:
Hella Immler
DURATION: 60 Minuten
Performances
Premiere:
12. April 2015, Grabenhalle St.Gallen
Weitere Vorstellungen:
14., 19. April 2015, Grabenhalle St.Gallen
2. May 2015, Lokremise St.Gallen
Tournee 2016, Argentinien:
Centro Cultural Rojas, Buenos Aires,
Espacio Ramona, Cordoba
Tournee 2016, Schweiz
27. August, Brückenpfeiler Bern
12. September, TanzRaum Herisau
11. December, TaG Winterthur
5. February 2017, Grabenhalle St.Gallen
10. November 2018, Theater Chur
Media reports
Male feelings under the helmet (…)
St.Galler Tagblatt, 7th April 2015
The powerful race driver is the same person who - at one time – had big dreams while playing with his toy cars (…)
(...) a bewildered choir of men that makes the minimal and hard-rock dance sequences seem even more powerful and tougher, and the duet with Bach arias even more delicate and more vulnerable: in a floating state between soul and machine.
Technik
Supported by
Stadt St.Gallen
Kulturförderung Kanton St.Gallen
Migros Kulturprozent
Avina Stiftung
Arnold Billwiller Stiftung
Sophie und Karl Binding Stiftung
Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung
Kanton Appenzell Ausserrhoden
Stiftung Casty-Buchmann
Theater am Gleis Winterthur
Theater Chur
Company members
- EMILIO H. DÍAZ ABREGÚ
EMILIO H. DÍAZ ABREGÚ
Artistic direction / Dramaturgy / Sett design / Light design / Performer
Studied theatre at the National University of Córdoba and soon started working in the theatre lighting field. This allowed him to collaborate with theatre directors such as Eugenio Barba, Diego Aramburo, Diqui James and Philipp Stölzl. In 2005 his second work as a director and playwright, Estocolmo, La Primavera de los Llorones won the Young Creators Fund Award from the Culture Ministry of Cordoba. Since then he has participated in more than 100 theatrical productions as director, playwright, performer, light, set designer and rigger. In 2010 he directed Slaughter by Sergio Blanco, which received wide recognition. At the end of 2010 the Culture Ministry of Spain awarded him a scholarship for Advanced Studies at the Centro de Tecnologías del Espectáculo. In 2011 he founded the ROTES VELO Kompanie with the need to bring artists from different fields together. He develops and explores innovative ways to blur the boundaries of dance, music and theatre. Since then the company has put on over 100 performances and creates one or two new productions every year. In 2016 the company was awarded "for the development and realisation of new, ambitious and high-quality projects" by the city of St. Gallen. At the end of 2012 he started working for the Argentinian theatre company Fuerza Bruta joining both national and international tours (Argentina 2012, China 2013, Korea 2013, 300 Tour China 2014). In 2015 he started working with the UK company Wired Aerial Theatre. This collaboration opened the doors to new exiting opportunities, such us Peter Pan at the Open Air Theatre in Regents Park London, and his participation as Head Rigger and Production Manager for the show As the World Tipped. Currently his work is divided between developing his own projects with the ROTES VELO Kompanie and his involvement in big scale productions such as the operas Carmen and Rigolleto produced by the Bregenzer Festspiele (Austria). - EXEQUIEL BARRERAS
EXEQUIEL BARRERAS
Artistic director / Choreographer / Performer
Was born in Cordoba/Argentina in 1984 and received his first dance and theatre lessons there. In 2001 the Julio Bocca and Chet Walker Foundation awarded him with a scholarship and one year later he became a member of the Ballet Contemporáneo del Teatro San Martín in Buenos Aires where he danced for 7 years. Since 2005 he has been working on his own pieces, which have been shown in Argentina, Germany, Switzerland, Poland and the USA. He works in Europe since 2009. After one season as a dancer at the Landestheater Coburg, he joined the Dance Company of the Theater St. Gallen, where he was engaged as a dancer, and temporarily as assistant to the company, from 2010 to 2014 under the direction of Marco Santi and from 2014 to 2017 under the direction of Beate Vollack. From 2017-22 he was the choreographic assistant and movement dramaturge of the Dance Company Konzert Theater Bern alongside Estefania Miranda and later Isabelle Bischof. There he worked with world-renowned choreographers such as Sharon Eyal, Jo Strømgren, Eduard Clug, Cathy Marston, Bryan Arias, Ihsan Rustem, Felix Landerer among others. In 2011 he founded the ROTES VELO Kompanie with the need to bring artists from different fields together. He develops and explores innovative ways to blur the boundaries of dance, music and theatre. Since then the company has put on over 100 performances and creates one or two new productions every year. In 2016 the company was awarded "for the development and realisation of new, ambitious and high-quality projects" by the city of St. Gallen. As artistic director and choreographer in Switzerland he collaborates and creates for productions in the independent scene and at theatres such as Theater St. Gallen, Theater Chur, Konzert Theater Bern and Luzerner Theater among others. - FLAVIA SOMALVICO
FLAVIA SOMALVICO
Costume design / Setting
was born in Chur in 1988. After the preparatory design course in Aarau, she completed an apprenticeship as a theatre painter at the Theater St.Gallen. Through an assistant position with the costume designer Filippia Elísdóttir in the costume painting department at the Theater St.Gallen, she was able to gain important experience. Afterwards she got a job in the painting hall of the Theater Bern and Theater Zürich. In 2011 she worked for the first time with Exequiel Barreras for his dance piece "thirty-three", followed by a collaboration with ROTES VELO for many productions. http://flaviasomalvico.blogspot.com - HELLA IMMLER
HELLA IMMLER
Performer / Artistic director / Production manager
Born in 1983 in Massat/France. She studied dance in Berlin and at the University of the Arts "ArtEZ" in Arnhem/Netherlands. In 2008 she became a company member at the Tanztheater Osnabrück/DE and from 2009 to 2014 at the Theater St. Gallen/CH. Amongst others she danced for the choreographers Anton Lachky, Jossi Berg & Oded Graf, Jozef Frucek & Linda Kapetanea. She teaches contemporary dance and leads the professional training in St.Gallen, Basel, Dornbirn and Cologne on a regular basis. She is also a teacher at the Conservatoire de Fribourg. Since 2009 she is leading courses in dance improvisation for people aged over 50. In 2011 she co-founded the ROTES VELO Kompanie and accomplished several productions as production manager and performer. She also produced the documentary "Tanz im Alter". From 2015 to 2017 she was responsible for the general management of the Tanzfest St.Gallen. She is as well a certified Yoga teacher. She works as a freelance dancer, project manager, dance and yoga teacher and as a hospital clown for the Theodora Foundation. https://www.hellaimmler.com - HOANG ANH TA HONG
HOANG ANH TA HONG
Performer
was born in Vietnam in 1991 and studied at the Hanoi College of Dance from 2002 to 2009. From 2009 he danced for the Vietnam National Opera & Ballet Theatre (VNOB). In the season 2012/13 he was engaged by the Cinevox Junior Company under the direction of Malou Fenaroli Leclerc. From 2014 to 2018 Hoang Anh was engaged at the Theater "St. Gallen" and started working with the ROTES VELO Kompanie. Since August 2019 he is member of the ensemble Tanz am Pfalztheater in Klagenfurt/DE. - JACK WIDDOWSON
JACK WIDDOWSON
Performer
was born in Bath in 1992 and completed his education in 2011 at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. From 2011 to 2013 he completed a Masters course at the London Contemporary Dance School parallel to his engagement with Bern Ballet. Afterwards he danced for one year at the Staatstheater Darmstadt and from 2014-2016 at the Theater St. Gallen. He now works as a freelance dancer throughout Europe. He enjoys working as a teachers assistant and rehearsal director when the opportunities arise and has just begun training to become a Pilates Instructor. He performed in following productions of ROTES VELO company: Alles Gueti, Pit Stop or the Lollipop Man, Ich bin ... Punk?, Revolution DADA and co-directed the production Kinderaugen in 2021. http://jackwiddowson.com - PETR NEDBAL
PETR NEDBAL
Performer
was born in 1992 in the Czech Republic and danced from early on at the conservatory Duncan Center in Prague. He completed his studies at the conservatory with the CiS (Certified Specialist). Already at that time he was invited to the Pillole Festival in Milan with his own piece. In 2013, he was accepted by the Jose Limon Institute in New York, where he gained his first extended experience as a professional dancer abroad. He then studied at the Art Academy in the Netherlands and graduated as a dancer and choreographer with a bachelor's degree. As a representative of the Czech Republic, he traveled to China and to the East European Summer Dance Camp, where he represented his country in a dance-like manner from traditional to contemporary dance. In the season 2017-18 he was a stagiaire at the Tanzkompagnie Konzert Theater Bern. Lively in Bern, he works as a freelance dancer with choreographers such as Marcel Leemann, Joshua Monten Dance Company and for the ROTES VELO Kompanie. - TOBIAS SPORI
TOBIAS SPORI
Guest performer
was born in 1983 in Zollikofen near Bern. He studied dance and dance pedagogy at the Iwanson School in Munich and was a member of the dance company of the Theater St. Gallen. He founded the company Panorama Dance Theater. https://panorama-dancetheater.com - YANNICK BADIER
YANNICK BADIER
Performer / singer
was born in Marseille/France in 1981 and received his dance training at the Conservatoire de Danse in Avignon. He received his first engagement at the Graz Opera. This was followed by the Metros Company in Barcelona, and a period in Berlin where he worked as a freelance dancer. In 2008 and 2009 he participated in the coaching project for choreographers Siwic in Zurich under the direction of Jochen Heckmann and Philippe Saire. From 2009 to 2012 he was a member of the dance company at the Theater St. Gallen. During this time he began his vocal training, among others with Scot Weir (ZhdK Zurich). Yannick left St.Gallen in 2012 and moved to Basel, where he continued his career as a classical singer and dancer. He is currently receiving vocal advice from Heidi Brunner and can be heard on opera stages (Avenches Opéra, Free Opera Company Zurich, Opéra de Fribourg, Schlosstheater Schönnbrunn in Vienna, Opéra Eclaté/FR...) and in sacred music concerts (Ensemble Orlando, Vokalensemble Voce Basel...), as a chorist as well as a soloist. Yannick likes to go beyond the scope of the theatre stage with performances he did in the Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, Lokremise St Gallen, Kunstverein Freiburg/DE, Fondation Beyeler Basel... Yannick has appeared in works by choreographers such as Darrel Toulon, Francesca Harper, Gideon Oberzanek, Tamas Topolansky, Ramon Oller, Joshua Monten, Vanessa Lopez, Marco Santi, Andrea Boll, Jossi Berg/Oded Graf, Patricia Rotondaro, Marcel Leemann, Zaida Ballesteros, Exequiel Barreras, Jitti Chompee, and others.
