Rehearsing new forms of manifestation during ADE

For this edition of ADE, Stichting NDSM-werf invited art- and activist group Tools for Action + Floor to use their terrain as a public practice space for RÆV REHEARSAL. They invite the public to rehearse new forms of assembly. With a Bluetooth speakers system, floating inflatable sculptures, and a minimalist techno beat, they move through the city like a radiating dancing swarm. Then, the streets become the club, the stairs, roundabouts and benches, temporary stages.

For this edition of ADE, Stichting NDSM-werf invited art- and activist group Tools for Action + Floor to use their terrain as a public practice space for RÆV REHEARSAL. They invite the public to rehearse new forms of assembly. With a Bluetooth speakers system, floating inflatable sculptures, and a minimalist techno beat, they move through the city like a radiating dancing swarm. Then, the streets become the club, the stairs, roundabouts and benches, temporary stages.

RÆV REHEARSAL was initiated in Rotterdam in the summer of 2021 by visual artist Artúr van Balen, founder of Tools for Action, and choreographer Floor van Leeuwen. Every week they rehearsed the raving swarm in public space with a fixed team of twenty ravers, that in some editions swelled up to more than 80 people. After two packed editions of ‘Unmute Us’, the protest march for a more open event and nightlife culture in Amsterdam, there’s a vivid urge for people to gather, dance, and enjoy themselves. Through dancing, people can express their protest in a peaceful way. Artúr van Balen, founder and artist at Tools for Action, explains: “Actually, this is meant to be a new form of manifestation that has the potential to become a protest. We use the rehearsal as a format, as this allows us from a legal perspective to gather up to more as 100 people in open air, no matter the changing covid regulations.” Floor van Leeuwen says: “I see the rehearsal as a way to practice collective movement together, to tune into each other, meet new people, dance with people at a distance, even if they stand on their balconies..”

Swarming

RÆV REHEARSAL is based on the movement principles of swarms. While dancing, like in a flock of birds, there is no centre, nor a hierarchically organized movement, the direction is decided by the group while moving. In every rehearsal, people need to move and dance at approximately three meters distance from each other. Building upon these principles, the public is invited to join in on October 15, 16, and 17 and rehearse this collective movement together.

Music

RÆV REHEARSAL works each time with a different DJ. As the swarm moves through public spaces changing from iconic places to local residential areas, the aim is to find sounds that resonate in the local neighbourhood or entice curiosity. DJs such as Sukubratz, a Chilean DJ who combines techno with Reggaeton, Cheb Runner, a Moroccan DJ who mixes electronic dance music with Chaabi (a style of Moroccan folklore), and DJ DanceDivine, a queer artist from Brussels, performed during previous editions.

ADE

On 15, 16, and 17 October, up to 100 people will gather at NDSM, to dance through Amsterdam North. Different collectives, DJs, and communities will be connected to this initiative. The line-up is to be announced. These will be three unforgettable nights, moving dancing bursting through the city, making it beat through the pandemic, activating spaces with bodies, music, and lights. Echoing the transformation that happened within club culture, RAEV REHEARSAL brings forward the need to address new forms of sociability and relationships by reclaiming and hacking public space.

Practical information

To take part during ADE

Date: 15 – 16 – 17 October 2021
Starting location: T.B.A.
Line up: T.B.A.

Sign up for RÆV REHEARSAL here:

SIGN-UP FORM

INSTAGRAM PAGE RÆV REHEARSAL

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