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An immersive tribute to Marlene Dietrich

An interdisciplinary ballet production opens the 2nd Dokumentale Berlin in the Atelier Gardens. How can one tell the story of an icon like Marlene Dietrich today without falling into nostalgia or biographical clichés? The Berlin Ballet Company has found a bold, sensual and unusual answer: with ‘GLANZ & WIDERSTAND’ (GLAMOUR & RESISTANCE), it is venturing an immersive ballet performance that sheds new light on the life, work and, above all, the attitude of the German-American artist from a contemporary perspective.


From 11 to 14 June 2025, the production will premiere at the Atelier Gardens in Berlin-Tempelhof, opening the second edition of Dokumentale Berlin, the festival for cross-media documentary storytelling.

What can be seen there deliberately breaks down classic genre boundaries. The production – conceived by choreographers Arshak Ghalumyan and Alexander Abdukarimov – sees itself as performative research: it allows dance, film, music and text to enter into a flowing dialogue, and the audience is invited to move around in the middle of it.

The performance plays with proximity. A direct, physical presence develops between the performers and the audience, unfolding across four scenes – in historic studio halls such as TON 1 and TON 3 as well as in the open air.

Archival material and historical sound documents meet live music, improvisation and deliberately placed breaks. Instead of a chronological biography, an emotional topography is created that reflects Dietrich's many facets: icon and mother, lover and political figure, style icon and uncompromising opponent of the Nazi regime.

The choice of location is more than just a backdrop: the Atelier Gardens, once legendary film studios during the Weimar era and later television locations, are now a creative place of the future.
Their architectural complexity becomes a resonance chamber for the theme: memory, change, new beginnings.

‘GLANZ & WIDERSTAND’ not only breaks down the boundaries between stage and auditorium, but also between the arts. It is an experimental act of approaching a woman whose life stands for artistic independence, personal freedom and political resistance. No nostalgic idealisation, but an impressive plea for attitude – carried by movement, sound and space. A daring venture that touches the heart. And all this in a format that deliberately remains open to the unpredictable. For that is precisely where its power lies.


With:
Anna Freedman-Okuneva, Lucio Vidal, Miguel Angel Collado, Olaf Kollmansperger, Lisa Pavlov, Mihael Belilov, Alexej Orlenco, Naoya Homan, Mariana Gasperin, Javier Pena Vazquez, Mami Fujii, Anastasia Kurkova, Andrej Lakisev
  • Choreography: Arshak Ghalumyan & Alexander Abdukarimov
  • Music: Marlene Dietrich, Lars Danielsson & Leszek Możdżer, Veljo Tormis, Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff, Hrachya Harutyunian, and others
  • Costumes: Franziska Wacke
  • Dramaturgy: Nicole Kohlmann
  • Technical direction & lighting design: Joachim Barth
  • Production & executive director: Oleksandr Shpak
  • A production of the Berlin Ballet Company,
  • co-production The Good Media Network GMN GmbH.

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Additional information
Dates
June 2025
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