Blueprint

In this unusual pas de deux, dancer Mijin Kim and acrobat Leon Börgens move through a landscape of trust, seeking to strike the right tone in their togetherness. Blueprint is a sensitive and humorous exploration that invites us into the subtle nuances of human connection.

Circus and dance intertwine as the classical pas de deux is quite literally turned on its head. Between closeness, trust, and subtle moments of brutality, gestures both small and grand emerge that linger in the memory. With tenderness and determination, these two virtuosos of movement guide us to the very edge of their physical limits and into the pleasure of their exhaustion.

The original score by Simon Bauer, composed specifically for Blueprint, creates sculptural spaces that almost imperceptibly take shape. It creates bridges and rifts that stretch between audience and the pulsing bodies on stage. Fog and light erect translucent walls, revealing what usually remains hidden: a universe protected from the outside world that holds space for this intense, embodied dialogue.

Blueprint marks the final chapter in the trilogy “Human, Hyperobject and Transformation” by Overhead Project. Led by circus artist and choreographer Tim Behren, the company has spent over 15 years developing its choreographic vocabulary at the intersection of contemporary circus and dance.

More Information:
Duration: 55 Minutes
Age Recommendation: 8+
Language: none

Creation, Performers: Mijin Kim, Leon Börgens
Artistic Director, Choreography: Tim Behren
Music Composition: Simon Bauer
Light Design: Moritz Bütow, Birk-André Hildebrandt
Costume Design: Fa-Hsuan Chen
Dramaturgy, Research: Anna Menzel
Outside eye, intersectional sensitivity reading: Julia Mischke, Senja Brütting
Technical Director: Philipp Zander
Production Management: Lisa Lehnen, Lukas Zimmermann
Management, PR: Mechtild Tellmann
International Networks: Valentina Barone
Photos: Tom Dachs

Funded by: Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, Cultural Office of the City of Cologne, Performing Arts Fund from funds provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR, Cultural Office of the City of Leipzig, and LaFT BW e.V. from state funds approved by the Baden-Württemberg state parliament

With support from and co-produced by: LOFFT – DAS THEATER Leipzig, EinTanzhaus Mannheim und die studiobühneköln. Supported as part of the residency programme of PACT Zollverein (Essen), with funding from the Ministry of Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia.

The research that preceded the project concept was made possible by a Flausen / Take Heart residency, funded by the Performing Arts Fund from funds provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media as part of NEUSTART KULTUR.

Overhead Project stands for performance work that pushes the boundaries between contemporary circus and contemporary dance – two languages that offer contrasting perspectives on the human body and open up multidimensional approaches to space and architecture.

The company, under the artistic direction of choreographer and circus artist Tim Behren, emerged from an intensive duo-based acrobatic work developed together with co-founder Florian Patschovsky. Today, its core creative team includes composer Simon Bauer, visual artist Charlotte Ducousso, performer Mijin Kim, and a group of long-time collaborators and thinkers from diverse disciplines.

The company has produced numerous original works and guest choreographies for municipal theatres with large ensembles. Their performances have received a range of international awards and accolades in choreography, including the Tabori Award 2022 from the Fonds Darstellende Künste and most recently the Cologne Dance and Theatre Prize 2023 for What is left.