Dengbêj in the Disco

• Theatre

HÊJA NETIRK

What happens to the voice when it moves between languages? What happens when the language of thought is different from the language of feeling? How do you sing when you live between two realities? These questions are at the heart of the singing and storytelling performance Dengbej in the Disco, which combines traditional Kurdish singing with the story of a singer living in exile. Singer Heja Netirk and dancer Melisa Diktas use music, dance and text to show what could happen if a woman became a professional Kurdish Dengbej - a role that is actually reserved exclusively for men.

"Deng" means "sound" and "bêj" means "to tell" in Kurdish. But how do you tell a story when your voice is trapped in another language? Heja Netirk says: "When I speak to my people, I say: 'I am in exile.' When I speak to the others, I say: 'I am a refugee.' Let's talk about it."

Do you want to understand?
My situation.
If I tell you I will turn into an explanation.
But a Dengbêj never explains.
We sing and tell stories
To remember
Herstory
We sing in the absence of everyone and everywhere that we know
As Elbphilharmonie is too philharmonic
A Disco welcomes us to forget what we have remembered.
We dance in our melting memory.
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Duration: approx. 60 minutes
Language: German, Kurdish
English version below
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Concept, artistic direction, performance: Hêja Netirk / Choreography, performance: Melisa Dikta / Technical direction, Outside Eye: Alan Ciwan / Dramaturgy: Mesut Alp / Direction advice: Hüseyin Umaysiz / Scenography: Yi-Jou Chuang / Music: Carlos Andrés Rico / Photo & Video: Bora Uluç
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Supported by the Claussen-Simon Foundation, the Hamburg Cultural Foundation, the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS, the Church Development Service of the North Church (KED) and the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg, Authority for Culture and Media.

Supported by: Probebühne im Gängeviertel and DfdK