Manifesto of the Now is a performance project conceived, researched and developed by the Salzburg-based multidisciplinary artist and choreographer of Indian origin Nayana Keshava Bhat, in close collaboration with eight artists. As a series of performative acts of resistance against fragmented perception, the work celebrates the whole that is greater than the sum of its parts through dance, music & poetry. Motivation Manifesto of the Now is an artistic stance against the perpetual pressure of productivity, mindless habituated behaviours, materialism, the increased speed of living – all of which cause a disconnect from the intrinsic value of things, rendering things and people “not enough”, therefore leaving us wanting “more”. It deals with the questions ‘What does it mean to be present?, What if while chasing after a “perfect world”, I begin to take notice of the world I already live in? What if I choose to navigate through this world that I already inhabit with utmost awareness and care? And what if I begin to notice the interconnectedness of everything, in order to identify the power I have over the present moment? How will that influence the world I live in?’ “Manifesto of the Now” places the agency of change on the individual. It is a revolt against one’s own inner chains of mindlessness and stands for taking ownership. The intention is to exercise paying attention to what’s in front of us; slowing down, making aware choices, and thereby offering space for the manifestation of what already is within a performative practice, invoking to do the same in our daily life. In this pursuit, art becomes the vehicle of our awareness, where the artists pause, observe, reflect upon, and lay bare their inner conditioning. Diversity is a key factor in this work, not only social, sociological and ethnic, but also artistic diversity. By having diverse people work through their disciplines, we study and observe how the same questions can be understood and addressed in multiple approaches. This becomes a critical device in negotiating differences. Performances at Sommerszene Festival 2024 Seven short solos and five group acts in various constellations inhabit four days of the Sommerszene Festival in Salzburg in diverse spaces such as the studio, connecting hallways, the theatre blackbox. Each performance is an act of resistance, where the performers, dancers and musicians negotiate between the given choreographic structure and the imminent state of the body in relation to space and time. With distinct physical and sensorial themes, the artists in each act examine the Now from a different point of view. Credits: Concept, choreographic research, artistic direction, lights: Nayana Keshava Bhat In close collaboration through research & performance: Almut Kühne (Voice), András Meszerics (Dance), Chris Dahlgren (Viola da Gamba), Jordina Millà (Piano), Natalia Castaneira (Dance), Tomaž Simatović (Dance), Verena Pircher (Dance), & Peter Stamer (Dramaturgy) Production assistance: Olivia Mitterhuemer Stage-design advice: Yvonne Schäfer Production: INFLUX – Network for Dance, Theater & Performance Co-production: SZENE Salzburg Cooperation & Venue Partner: Salzburger Kunstverein Technical support: Toihaus Theater, Theater Bodi End Sole, Hallein Photo credit: Bernhard Müller Funding support: Stadt Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Bildrecht, Haus St. Benedikt

Fungi are omnipresent, they profoundly shape the world we live in. They are possessed of a rather selfish attitude and are dependent on subtle forms of attraction. They, like humans, enter into parasitic and symbiotic relationships if it suits their needs. In Mycelium we travel into a dark universe set in a damp and mouldy cellar. The space is a reflection of the minds and lives of the three people that inhabit it. As they begin to dig deep into their memories and psychological traumas, their search for connection oftentimes leads them on a path that is detrimental to themselves and others. The implicit metaphor at work is that the fungal kingdom reflects many of the interactions and networking systems found among humans, but the fungus’ life-cycle is never ending - it grows, decomposes and in the end generates. It shows us a system that is optimised - it creates no waste. In this duality, Mycelium questions humanity’s acts of entanglement, transformation and proliferation. Credits Concept, Choreography: Rosana Ribeiro in collaboration with Devising Performers: Verena Pircher, Tomaž Simatović, Jadwiga Mordarska Rehearsal Director: Melissa Ugolini Sound Design and Composition: Peter Kastner, Voice: Laura Baruch Costume: Sara Chéu Light Design: Heide Tömpe Funded by Stadt Salzburg, Land Salzburg, Bildrecht Creation Support: SZENE Salzburg, D.ID Dance Identity, tanz_house, Nãm Mushroom Farm, Flachgauer Biopilze

In a moment suspended in time we share a journey through our past, present and future. The knowledge of who we are is lost, yet our instinctual consciousness has the power to recall it. The traces of our ancestors unfold stories that make us witness the birth of many cycles, they are a unison voice that whispers of origins and ends, appearing disguised as dust and rubble or cold moist soil. Are we able to recognise strength in unexpected places? Selva is a densely packed jungle grown out of the path women have been treading for the past 100 years of our society. Credits: Concept & Choreography: Rosana Ribeiro in collaboration with Devising performers: Melissa Ugolini, Verena Pircher Rehearsal & Production Assistant: Verena Pircher Composer & Sound Designer: Peter Kastner Costume Designer: Sara Chéu Lighting Designer: Cristovão Cunha Teasers & Trailer: Phil Rirsch Photos: Bernhard Müller, Aline Macedo Thank you to Marine Besnard, Daniel Rico, Eva Zagorova, Laura Baruch & Aram Zarikian With the special support of Land Salzburg and SZENE Salzburg Creation Support: OPART, E.P.E./Estúdios Vítor Cordon, Centro Nacional de Cultura, Toihaus Theater, tanz_house, Teatro da Garagem Tour Support: DANCE ON TOUR AUSTRIA - a cooperation between Tanzquartier Wien and the Federal Ministry of European and International Affairs

Together with the painter, sculptor and performer Helge Leiberg and the musicians Jordina Millá and Oliver Stotz, CieLAROQUE is breaking new ground and presenting a performance in the form of a structured improvisation. The surface is there, a blank sheet of paper. The 6 performers move like pens or brushes or perhaps something else entirely? Are they just tools or do they define the content of the piece through their presence and thus shape our expectations? Or do they overlay, fulfil, counteract, completely erase these expectations. Questions arise. Will it be an image that emerges? Is it abstract, or concrete, or does it take place only in the mind at all? What defines the content? Will there be complete confusion or will there be clear dots that connect? RANDOM CIRCLES is a cocktail that is always reinventing itself. ​ Credits: CONCEPT, ARTISTIC DIRECTION: HELENE WEINZIERL LIVE PAINTING ON OVERHEAD PROJECTOR: HELGE LEIBERG PERFORMERS: AZAHARA SANZ JARA, ALBERTO CISSELLO, ELI HOOKER, JOLYANE LANGLOIS, LUAN DE LIMA, VERENA PRICHER LIVE MUSIC: JORDINA MILLÁ & OLIVER STOTZ PHOTO(c) MATTHIAS CREUTZIGER DRAMATURGY & TEXT: PETER HUBER A PRODUCTION OF CieLAROQUE AND TANZIMPULSE SALZBURG WITH THE KIND SUPPORT OF BMKOES AUSTRIA, SALZBURG STADT:KULTUR, SALZBURG LAND:KULTUR, TANZIMPULSE SALZBURG

idea/concept/regie : Birgit Mühlmann-Wieser​ choreography: Birgit Mühlmann-Wieser creation: Fanny Didelot​, Verena Pircher dance: Verena Pircher​ sound: Gustavo Petek​ costume: Janett Sumbera​ lighting design: Stefan Ebner​ video: Nicole Baïer​ foto: Bettina Salomon​ graphic design: Cesar Lopez a b.m-w dance company production Unterstützt von: Kultur Stadt Salzburg, Kultur Land Salzburg, SZENE Salzburg, Forum 1, Red Sapata Tanzfabrik Linz, Tanz_house Different states of political restrainments of freedom, social isolation to spirituallity as the eventual connection to a higher sensual knowledge will be explored. Hidden- out of the concealed rises a new way of communication.

Community-Projekt Bridging Arts Künstler:innen lassen sich von Fragen inspirieren, die in der Online-Community gesammelt wurden. Verena Pirchers Arbeit zu der Frage: Wie kommt man raus aus seiner Haut? Musik: Radiohead - Nude

Interdisciplinary improvisational performance on site as part of Zwischenräume Festival 2020. Dance/Performance: Olivia Mitterhuermer & Verena Pircher Double Bass/Performance: Bene Halus-Woll Video: Attic Film / Altststadt Salzburg

direction / idea / concept / choreography: Birgit Mühlmann- Wieser idea / text research / development: Hildegard Startlinger creation / dance: Verena Pircher, Gail Skrela Hetzer, Azahara Sanz Jara speaker: Christiane Warnecke music / composition: Robert Kainer video / live projection: Nicole Baïer light: Robert Herbe, Heide Tömpe dramaturgical support: Tomaz Simatovic assistence: Magdalena Gassner costume advisory: Janett Sumbera graphic design: Cesar Lopez photos © Bettina Salomon and Mitzi Gugg production: b.m-w dance company From greed to lustful love ‚Please doctor, can you make my wife work again.” (Elia Bragana, sexual health practitioner)‘ ‚hungry eyes‘ is an artistic exploration of women‘s sexuality. It reaches out from naked greed to irrepressable desire, firy lust to sensual love. Three dancers, a musician and a speaker create an open play field which opposes the individual, vividly and lustfully lived sexuality of women to a stigmatisation of women as functioning objects. Sex knowledge is helpful. Woman actively participates! Humorous, with a twinkle in the eye and devotion, subtle and sensual, the somatically sensed approach to sexuality is contrasted with the pretended, perfect sexuality. A dignity room for women is put up for discussion! Supported by: Kultur Stadt Salzburg, Kultur Land Salzburg, Bundesministerium für Kunst, Kultur öffentlichen Dienst und Sport, Toihaus Theater, SZENE Salzburg, Tanz_house