blackmilk is the first part of the trompoppies trilogy by Tiran Willemse. "Trompoppies" is Afrikaans and describes drum majorettes in uniform. The performance examines one of the choreographic elements of the formation dances they perform: the precise hand gestures. Fusing trompoppies movements with the melodramatic gestures of white female starlets and gestures associated with Black male rap stars the work explores the distance between African and Afro-American male identities. blackmilk intervenes into cultural representations of Black masculinity using the means of performance, opening it up to a different complexity and sensitivity that the artist describes as „black male melancholia“.
After the performance on 25th of February, there will be a talk between Tiran Willemse and choreographer and dancer Jeremy Nedd.
| Choreography & performance | Tiran Willemse |
| Lighting design | Fudetani Ryoya |
| Music | Manuel Riegler |
| Costume | lml studio |
| With special thanks to | Nkisi, Kevin Bo, Mateusz Szymanówka, Thyago Sainte |
| A co-production of | tiran with Tanzquartier Wien, SOPHIENSÆLE, Berlin, Gessnerallee, Zurich and WP Zimmer, Antwerp |
| Residency supported by | Tanzhaus Zürich; Buda, Kortrijk; Les Urbaines, Lausanne, Impulstanz Vienna, Trauma Bar Berlin. |
