• 1

• Dance + Audience Talk/ Biographical Performance
• Black Life
• Police Violence

• Fr., 07.06.2024, 20:00

Audience Talk following 'Have A Safe Travel' by Eli Mathieu-Bustos

Join Eli Mathieu-Bustos as he confronts his first racial profiling encounter. Through immersive storytelling and unique choreography, delve into the oppressive systems at play. And stay afterwards for an audience talk.

• 1Photo © Pauline Arnould. Eli Mathieu-Bustos, a young black man, with arms raised in a V-shape, maintaining a composed expression while facing the camera, his confrontational, stoic facial expression adding intensity to the scene.

In this talk we set the aim of sharing experiences connected to the topic of the performance while creating a safe space for everyone. For this reason at the beginning of the talk the audience will be divided into two groups: POCs and white spectators. In this first part experienced will be shared in the small, more omogeneus group. After gathering the thoughts together, the two groups will reunite and confront their experiences starting from the inherent difference of their perspective.

About the venue

TATWERK | PERFORMATIVE FORSCHUNG

TATWERK focuses on accompanying artistic creation and making it accessible to the public. A network has grown up around the multifunctional space, an ecosystem of players from the independent scene who work together on ideas and projects.
TATWERK offers the public an accessible and intensive access to the world of the independent scene. In addition to the program in its own rooms, consisting of work shows, public rehearsals, installations, premieres and guest performances, TATWERK opens up to the public space and other unusual venues, becomes a nomadic venue and, together with the artists, explores new and unexpected possibilities for the impact of its own work and new forms of opening up to the audience. 

https://tatwerk-berlin.de/en/

About the piece

Have A Safe Travel

Have a Safe Travel tells the story of a train ride. It could have been an ordinary trip, until three police officers stopped Eli Mathieu-Bustos and subjected him to his first racial profiling. Immersed in the memory of this event, which is as banal as it is violent, we discover what the first procedures of an oppressive system are all about.
In this first solo, the choreographer was able to transform the systemic violence he experienced into a strong and unique performative material developed with the help of the De Caelo technique. This technique, conceptualized by the artist himself, consists in leaving an important place to emotional intelligence, situated knowledge and improvisation. But it also calls on the tools of astrology, the sky charts and to perceive how the stars can inform us about our bodies. 

About the artist

Eli Mathieu-Bustos

Eli Mathieu-Bustos (b. 1998) is a versatile dancer whose performances transcend his political identities. He blends trained techniques with self-taught skills, mastering ballet, jazz, breakdance, and contemporary styles. Inspired by diverse influences from German expressionist dance to dancehall, he explores improvisation passionately. His academic journey includes studies in Performing Arts and choreography, culminating in a Master's from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Brussels. Combining astrology with dance, he pioneers a new improvisation technique called De Caelo, emphasizing emotional transmission over style hierarchy. Eli collaborates with various artists and institutions, showcasing his work globally. Notably, his solo performances at queer and FUBU events in Brussels garner acclaim. His first solo project "Have a Safe Travel," premiered in December 2023.