Festival Belluard Bollwerk International

How to be sad

Under the eyes of the audience, two performers transform the stage into the perfect set for a sad rap song. In the realm of hip-hop, solitude has become something of a trademark. Rappers such as Yung Lean or Lil Uzi Vert pose as depressed outsiders, surrounded by retro and death symbols, fueled by new trendy drugs such as Xanax or codeine syrup. Dancer and choreographer Jeremy Nedd joins forces with director and DJ Maximilian Hanisch to deconstruct the aesthetic strategies, codes and symbols of the Sad Boys to capture their transformative, somewhat funny and liberating potential, meticulously assembling accessories whilst striking poses. In their first joint stage project, they question contemporary images of masculinity, as well as the commoditization of sadness and solitude.