We, 11.2.2026

Th, 12.2.2026

Fr, 13.2.2026

Sa, 14.2.2026

20:30—21:40 Show

Vidmar 1

Tiran Willemse

Untitled (Nostalgia, Act 3)
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Ianne Kenfack

Multiple dance and body stories.
Black ghosts of ballet.
Invisibility.
Giving and claiming space.

In «Untitled (Nostalgia, Act 3)» the South-African born, Europe-based choreographer Tiran Willemse invokes his own multiple histories of dance through a kaleidoscope of the 19th century ballet classic «Giselle», the «Kuduro» from Angola, and the Nigerian genre «Alanta». The ghost story of Giselle becomes the primary vehicle through which Willemse gives his past selves space to be as they are – ghosts, not dead, who have not left fully, though they may have been asked to. Both an exercise and an exorcism, «Untitled (Nostalgia, Act 3)» is an evocation of Black experience within European contexts, and a thinly veiled masquerade of its absurdities. As differently gendered bodies claim space for expression, their haunting simultaneously haunts cisnormativity. In limbo between presence and absence, these bodies – rendered invisible, suppressed, (as certain histories often are) invited, or not – have nevertheless come back to reclaim Willemse’s body.

Biography

Tiran Willemse is an interdisciplinary collaborative artist working in the field of dance, theatre, video and performance. He studied at P.A.R.T.S in Brussels and at the Berne Academy of the Arts. In his performance-based practice, he examines the relation between race and gender, how these are performed, communicated and questioned. Willemse has collaborated with renowned choreographers, such as Trajal Harrell, Jérôme Bel, Wu-Tsang, Ligia Lewis, Meg Stuart, Andros Zins-Browne, Eszter Salamon and Deborah Hay. His works have been presented at the Palais de Tokyo Paris, the Cantonal Museum of Fine Arts in Lausanne, at Impulstanz Wien and the Santarcangelo Festival in Italy, amongst others. In 2023, he won the Swiss Performance Art Award.

Accessibility

The performance spaces and toilets at Vidmarhallen are accessible to wheelchair users and there are nearby, signposted parking spaces for visitors with reduced mobility.

FM receivers with inductive neck loops are available at the box office for use with our hearing system. Headphones are also available.

Others pieces available for touring

When the calabash breaks (2025) – 1 dancer (Tiran Willemse), 1 live musician (Melika Ngombe Kolongo (Nkisi), 45 min, inside or outside

Booking contact – tbd

Credits

Concept, Artistic Direction & Performance Tiran Willemse

Dramaturgy Andros Zins-Browne

Music Tobias Koch

Choreographic Advice Laurent Chétouane

Light design Fudetani Ryoya

Production Paelden Tamnyen, Rabea Grand

Touring Tristan Barani

Co-production Gessnerallee Zürich, Arsenic – Contemporary Performing Arts Center, Lausanne

Support Stadt Zürich Kultur, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich, Pro Helvetia, Schweizerische Interpretenstiftung SIS, Migros-Kulturprozent

Venue

Vidmar 1
Könizstrasse 111, 3008 Bern
Google Maps

Tickets

14.2.2026, 20:30—21:40
Vidmar 1