Works: Helena Dietrich + Thomas Proksch

Critical Techno

Critical Techno is a trance lecture dance meditation — a two-hour collective journey in-between listening, dancing, words, sounds, beats, sweat, constellations, and bodies in space towards an unknown destination.

In this project, we swim through a sea of voices and sounds to understand and unfold their momentary and collective meaning. Listening in relation to our body language becomes the energetic architecture that we align to with the energetic structure of our bodies, eventually channeling the words we perceive through the movements of our physical bodies. Theoretical texts are combined with poetic texts and somatic scores, creating a journey where listening becomes an embodied experience, with a desire to give voice to the underrepresented — weird, fantastic, occult, queer — writers, theories, and concepts, merging them into a new story. The hypnotic voice, as in a guided meditation, takes the audience on a collective imaginary trip. The music is eclectic, from field recordings to drum beats, always referencing the techno culture with a wink, supporting the transformative experience of the crowd. Could dance parties become moments of collective reflection? How can we use joy and natural highs as catalysers for understanding? 

The first edition of Critical Techno, named Tumbling Wor(l)ds, examined the relation of bodies with their (architectural) environments. The second edition, A Channeling Body, unfolded questions around otherworldly body experiences: possession and channeling. Biomorphia, the latest edition, is exploring the relations between human and nonhuman entities. 

Credits

Concept: Helena Dietrich Voice and text: Helena Dietrich Music/DJing: Thomas Proksch Costumes: Julia Heuer Production: Hiros Co-production: workspacebrussels Residencies: Kunstencentrum BUDA, workspacebrussels