Menu
FUNK invites you to contemplate a cosmic experience that brings together the vibrations of the present, the past and the future. A physical approach to the psyche in search of reconnection to the groove of the funk music.
Christian Guerematchi was born in Maribor, Slovenia – then Yugoslavia. He has Eastern European as well as Central African Roots. He is a creator and performer with a ballet and contemporary background and is one of the artists in residence at ICK Artist Space.
After graduating from the Ballet Conservatory, he worked with companies like the National Ballet in Maribor, Slovenia (Edward Clug); Ballet Kiel in Germany (Mario Schröder) and Compagnie Thor in Brussels (Thierry Smits). Since 2006 he has lived in the Netherlands and works with choreographers like Nicole Beutler and ICK Amsterdam (Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten). He followed a propaedeutic year at the University of Amsterdam in Theatre Studies. In 2012 he was nominated for De Zwaan Best Dance Performance for his role in ROCCO by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten.
In his work, Christian Guerematchi looks at how fragments of history carry black culture further. He did this in 2022 with the piece ‘Hissy Fit’ in which he viewed the resounding echo of the LA Riots in 1992 from the afro pessimism of author Frank B. Wilderson III. Wilderson describes a centuries-long cycle of violence that keeps black people under control. With ‘N.A.M.: ‘Non Aligned Movement’ in 2020, Guerematchi created an afro-futuristic world in which he unraveled the meaning of black European identity as black president Tito of Yugoslavia. Now with FUNK he connects the two concepts: afro pessimism and afrofuturism. He contrasts the hopelessness of Afro-Pessimism according to Frantz Fanon in ‘Black Skin, White Masks’ with the Afro-futuristic and the escapist poetry of Sun Ra.
Choreographer Christian Guerematchi shows that the body recognizes the cultural traditions that are in our blood. The body unconsciously reacts to internalized trauma, which is passed down from generation to generation. The consequence for bodies of color is therefore evident in the wearing of ‘white masks’; as depicted in Frantz Fanon’s book ‘Black Skin, White Masks’.
Four displaced dancers are on the search for their mothership connection in a cultural aesthetic combined with science fiction. They are on a journey looking for a connection that takes them deep under their own skin and goes beyond the earth itself: a connection with the cosmos.
The group of four performers and a soloist express themselves through dance and elements of live music that leads to a euphoric release. FUNK makes room for their authentic grandeur and their truth. On the sounds of Chelsea Laverne, the rhythm of the funk opens the portal to the cosmos.
Inspired by the emotions and insights contained in Fanon’s words, and the poetic lyrics of Sun Ra, Guerematchi makes a physical translation of the search for self-awareness.
| Date | Location | City | Tickets |
| 02 – 12 | Podium Mozaiek | Amsterdam | Ticket info |
| 03 – 12 | Korzo Theater | Den Haag | Ticket info |
| 07 – 12 | Corrosia | Almere | Ticket info |
| 09 – 12 | Theater Griffioen | Amstelveen | Ticket info |
| 06 – 01 | Lux | Nijmegen | Ticket info |
| 10 – 01 | Theater Kikker | Utrecht | Ticket info |
| 18 – 01 | Maaspodium | Rotterdam | Ticket info |
| 26 – 01 | Theater Ins Blau | Leiden | Ticket info |
| 27 – 01 | Grand Theater | Groningen | Ticket info |
| 04 – 02 | Bijlmer Parktheater | Amsterdam | Ticket info |
| 21 – 03 | Theater aan de Spiegel | Zwolle | Ticket info |
Together with artists Boris Acket and Christian Guerematchi, 24classics presents an interdisciplinary re-interpretation of the iconic and monumental piece Gay Guerrilla by Julius Eatsman. A music performance by pianists Helena Basilova & Vivianne Cheng and a live Shibari ritual by Christian Guerematchi and Papilicious amidst a powerful audiovisual installation. It is an activist ritual with groundbreaking dance from choreographer Christian Guerematchi, on a mission to decolonize the art world. Visual artist Boris Acket has set up a gigantic audiovisual work of art.
The African-American composer Julius Eastman wrote with a personal message. The work Gay Guerilla, for two pianos, is a musical manifesto for LGBTQ rights. Compelling, urgent and above all combative. This festival pays tribute to his world, with installations, live performances and additional concerts.
Crni Tito – Blaq Tito Addressing the Parliament of Ghosts is an artistic interaction between the solo-performance NAM – Non Aligned Movement by Christian Guerematchi with the Parliament of Ghosts – the artistic work by Ibrahim Mahama in Tamale, Ghana. Both works talk about forgotten histories and their interaction acknowledges the contemporary echoes of the cultural connections from the time of the Non-Aligned Movement between Ghana and Yugoslavia – Nkrumah and Tito.
The persona of the Blaq Tito is inspired by Guerematchi’s childhood in Yugoslavia, where Tito was famous for his travels and collaborations with countless African countries. The story of the Non Aligned Movement is the story of Guerematchi’s father who studied in Slovenia (back then Yugoslavia) and was part of an almost utopian migration story from the time of the Cold War.
Driven by the raw energy of rap music, three black bodies will experience their ‘hissy fit’; an emotional outburst of despair and frustration. Hidden behind masks the powerful trio will go into a daze that gives them a frightening power. They are trapped in their own bodies and frantically look for a way out. Emotions explode and imposed stigmas seem to be confirmed.
Christian Guerematchi danced along with Mark ‘Brui5er’ Sheats and Michael Wanga, together they form the powerful trio that portrays the stigma that connects black identity to violence – from the history books to modern media.
Hissy Fit connects the virile dance styles breaking and krump and the popular music movement drill rap. Afro-pessimism is the common thread in the performers’ relationships with each other and with the audience. Together they symbolize the echo between bodies, which stands for conflicting forces within themselves. The power display of competing boys who want to impress each other with their “masculinity” & the echo through the years of injustice and resentment.
The dance theater solo NAM – Non-Aligned Movement is an artistic search for the black European identity and research of codes of the black and queer body. Guerematchi explores gender fluidity using the movements and sounds from the African diaspora.
Choreographer Christian Guerematchi and musician Shishani Vranck embark on a journey to hidden cultural messages, inspired by the movement of non-aligned countries. They take us on an Afrofuturistic journey to hidden cultural messages, inspired by the movement of non-aligned countries.
In the performance we experience how for generations, cultural codes have been systematically suppressed and to counter this, how mysterious people have hidden coded information in ‘’capsules’’. These capsules are scattered through time and space. Every so often someone has to perform a symbolic ritual to release the message again.
White Noise is a contemporary dance and spoken word performance made by Christian Guerematchi in collaboration with Guillermo Blinker (Otion). It is a result of a dialogue about the black identity. The piece has been made possible with the help of the AFK, Podium Mozaïek and ICK Amsterdam. The premiere was in February 2019 at the Reuring Festival.
White Noise was further performed amongst other places at Julidans and the Black Achievement Month 2019 in Amsterdam.
