19.09.2025 – 20.09.2025
Umspannwerk Reinickendorf – Breitenbachstraße 32, 13509 Berlin
Video edited by Sachiko Ikutani, Music used in video “FAUNA-X”(2025) by Michaela Rea Catranis
Gruppenausstellung
“KabuKlub” is a six-day interdisciplinary art project at Umspannwerk Reinickendorf, uniting dance, music, and visual arts.
The program includes:
🎨 Group exhibition featuring international artists whose works are accessible throughout the entire duration.
🎶 Fauna-X – an immersive concert experience by Ensemble menajiri, weaving together music, video, and performance into a poetic Gesamtkunstwerk.
💃 KabuKlub – an interactive dance performance by ELEKTRO KAGURA, inspired by Japanese Kabuki and Berlin club culture. The audience is invited to become part of the performance themselves—dancing, celebrating, and joining in the energy.
KabuKlub is a space of transformation where the boundaries between stage and audience, tradition and present, body and sound dissolve.
Artists:
- Luzie Kork
- Yukihiro Ikutani
- Marc-Antoine Carcereri
- Michael Sellmann
- Satoshi Hoshi
- Franka Schwarz
- Juan Pablo Zamora Figueroa
- Sawako Ogo
- Lottie Stephens
- Micah Catranis
ELEKTRO KAGURA presents ‘KabuKlub’, inspired by traditional Japanese Kabuki dance and fused with Berlin’s club culture. Directed by Ichi Go, the piece actively engages the audience and unleashes the raw energy of a Berlin club. Costumes made from second-hand garments are extravagantly designed by Hibiki Kawahara and Regina Gyr (Kostüm Kollektiv e.V.). Music composed by AXL OTL is performed live with guest musicians. Stage design and digital projections: Yukihiro Ikutani. Dancers and visual artists participate both on stage and as performers.
In traditional Kabuki theatre, only men are permitted to perform, playing both male and female roles. However, if one considers the origins of Kabuki dance, it becomes clear that the style was originally developed by a woman, Okuni (1572–1613?). Okuni was employed at a renowned shrine and performed her dance style at various locations throughout Japan. Her dance became so famous that it eventually gave rise to Kabuki dance.
Her dance style challenged gender roles in particular: Okuni took on male roles, whilst her partner played female roles. She drew inspiration from the so-called ‘Kabuki Guys’ – eccentric and unconventional figures who dressed extravagantly and displayed rebellious behaviour. Okuni incorporated this aesthetic and philosophy into her dance by having herself and her dancers swap gender roles. This defiance of social norms captivated the audience, and by the end, dancers and spectators had merged into a community, dancing together passionately and exuberantly.
A similar dynamic can be found in Berlin’s clubs, where social norms and conventions are broken and people dance day and night, with gender roles often becoming blurred. ELEKTRO KAGURA highlights these similarities between present-day Berlin and Japan of yesteryear, building a cultural and temporal bridge through this piece.
ELEKTRO KAGURA Team
Yukihiro Ikutani – Scenographie
Cédric Douhaire – Music
Ichi Go – Dance
Regina Gyr Rath – Organisation / Performer / Costume
Luzie Kork – Curator / Artist
Karim Karel – Writer / Press / Performer
Bernd Kumar – Media / Cook
Marc Antoine Carcereri – Artist / Bar
Hibiki Kawahara – Costume
Tech Production
David Ojala – Technical Director, Light
Andreas Heilig – Technical Support
Satoshi Okamoto – Musik / Sound Tech.
Michał Krajczok – Musik / Sound
Jide Tom Akeleminu – Film
KabuKlub Performers
Cornelius Onitsch (Guitar)
Gałgał (Modular Synth)
Amadou Diatta (Jembe)
Akin Si (Food Art)
Tanz:
Benjamin Mélot
Betty Despoina Athanasisdou
Cat Hearth
Isa Wig
Joshua Remsanga Sailo (Solo Dancer)
Laura Sophie Heise (Choreographic Assistant)
Lo Siri
Mayuko Hiramatsu (Choreographic Assistant)
Nora Hov
Olga Simchuk
Rüzgar Imski
Ryota Maeda
Sana Al Badri
Udo Wiegand
Yvonne Leppin
Special Solo Performance:
likabari (Solo Dancer) “TWAIN “
Choreography – Dance – Text: likabari
Concept (Hand Dances): Isabelle Schad
Music: Temp_Illusion
Light: Bruno Pocheron
Production: Tanzhalle Wiesenburg
The project is funded by Dezentrale Kulturarbeit Reinickendorf.
“FAUNA-X” – an immersive concert experience
präsentiert von Ensemble-menajiri
HP: FAUNA-X | ensemble-menajiri
Fauna-X is an experimental multimedia artwork that uses fairy tales as a creative alchemical process and reflects on the role of art in the context of climate change. The audience embarks on an audiovisual journey through an imaginary forest, where music, storytelling, visual art and dance merge to form a total work of art.
ensemble menajiri & guests
Eva Resch – Voice
Kelly Watson Woeffler – Flute
Paul Hübner – Trompete/Synthesizer
Anna-Katharina Schau – Accordeon
Michaela Rea Catranis – Komposition/Piano/Synthesizer
Susanne Szambelan – Cello
Toadzone & SHEEN AI – Video Installation
Ichi Go, Laura Sophie Heise – Dance
Yukihiro Ikutani – Live-Animation
The project is funded by initiative new music berlin e.V.