(Münchner) Verkehr

An accident in the middle of a crossroads! In 1926, Valeska Gert – an icon of expressionist dance and a former member of the Kammerspiele ensemble – dances the traffic of the metropolis. She is precise and merciless in her physical analysis. Her attention is invariably fixed on the unseen, the unusual, the vulgar, the tasteless, the unspeakable and the seemingly banal. Thus, she also dances, for example, nervousness, orgasm and even death.

Exactly 100 years later, Marie Schleef – working with her team and three performers from the ensemble – is revisiting Valeska Gert’s observations on traffic and transposing them to the present day. At the centre of their exploration is a Munich crossroads – a site of perpetual motion, congestion and synchronicity. What does street traffic reveal about our behaviour as consumers, our rhythm of life and our perception of time in 2026?

Following “Die Möglichkeit des Bösen” (“The Possibility of Evil”), Marie Schleef’s second production at the Münchner Kammerspiele marks a new direction in her work: staying true to the tradition of Valeska Gert, “(Münchner) Verkehr” (“Munich Traffic”) is understood not merely as a functional system but as the discovery of a distinct aesthetic realm. The result is a choreographic experimental arrangement that also serves as a monument to an artist whose work goes beyond all notions of body, gender and identity across the ages and inspires a new way of thinking.

“For me, looking back is the greatest source of inspiration because it’s the only way to conceive of the future. Here, Valeska Gert – icon of expressionist dance, of New German Dance – is serving as the muse for my first choreographic work.” — Marie Schleef