Isson – Solo for two men

“Isson means “same” in Greek and is dedicated to contrasts, reality, illusion, light and shadows, restlessness and peace. Two realities that cannot be sepereted.

The motif of the ‘doppelganger’ or look-alike is both irritating and fascinating at the same

time: his appearance confounds the boundaries between oneself and others. The

doppelganger questions concepts of similarity and difference, problematizes the subject and

its identity.

This piece was originally danced as a solo for two women by Lena Meierkord und Toula Limnaios synchronous in two parallel worlds and will now be performed by two male dancers of her current ensemble.

Concept/ Choreography: Toula Limnaios

Music: Ralf R. Ollertz

Dance/ Creation: Leonardo D´Aquino, Alessio Scandale

Lighting design: Klaus Dust

Stage/Costumes: Toula Limnaios

Lighting technician: Domenik Engemann

Artistic director/ choreographer

Toula Limnaios was born in Greece in 1963. After completing her studies in classical and modern dance, M. Alexander and Laban technique, music and dance education in Brussels, she worked as a dancer with Claudio Bernardo and Régine Chopinot, and as an assistant with Pierre Droulers. Limnaios received further education at the Folkwagen University, where she soon became a member of a Folkwang Dance Studio. She danced in live- improvisations with the musicians Conny Bauer and Peter Kowald.

Toula limnaios was founded in 1996 by the choreographer Toula Limnaios and the composer Ralf r. Ollertz. Thanks to the lean, but highly effective structure and international co-productions, the company, , continuously ensures with 16 employees the high quality of its ensemble work and belongs nowadays to one of the most successful dance companies in Germany.

She has received numerous prizes and awards for her work and is now one of the most renowned choreographers in Germany. Apart from directing her ensemble, she works as a guest choreographer at the Theater Osnabrueck, the Frankfurt University of Performing Arts and the Theatre Münster. Between 2007 and 2008 she was a guest professor at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin.

artistic director/ composer

Ralf r. Ollertz was born in 1964. He studied composition, electro acoustic music, conducting and piano in Germany and Italy with Nikolaus a. Huber and Salvatore Sciarrino and later at the Folkwang University. Over the past years he has written not only chamber and orchestra music, but also radio dramas, music for the theatre, movies and dance for which he received several international prizes and grants. His opera “Carcrash” has been presented and commissioned by the City Operas in Hannover and Stuttgart. His work as a composer and conductor has taken him through Europe, South America, Australia, Japan, the USA and Africa.

The project is supported by Goethe institut, Tbilisi City Hall, Ministry of culture Georgia, Rooms Hotels Tbilisi.