Ecstatic, convulsing bodies \u2013 \u00bbSt. Vitus\u2019 dance\u00ab, a phenomenon dating back to the Middle Ages when people danced publicly to the point of collapse, is revived in 1988 by 13 men and women in Erfurt. Their bodies suggest that anyone can claim public spaces and move as freely and as defiantly as they wish. In the drab East German setting, Gabriele St\u00f6tzer carves out her own space, drawing on pagan traditions and invoking matriarchal origins. Her inspiration is resistance. \u00bbThis film, made in the GDR \u2013 the land of socialist dictatorship \u2013 is an expression of the freedom inherent in us all, when we chose to claim it,\u00ab St\u00f6tzer explains.<\/p>\n
To give the work maximum freedom, we project it in a public space with Cologne cathedral as the backdrop, creating an associative space that links the witch persecutions of the Middle Ages with the anarchic wildness Gabriele St\u00f6tzer evokes 300 years later in St. Vitus\u2019 dance.<\/p>\n
The dance \u2013 with Gabriele St\u00f6tzer in attendance \u2013 is accompanied live by drummer Sara Neidorf, a versatile musician who blends genres, weaves seamless transitions, and loves interdisciplinary collaborations. They are a Berlin-based, Philly-native drummer who has co-founded a plethora of bands such as Mellowdeath<\/em> and Sarattma<\/em>. Alongside numerous bands of their own, they perform as a session musician for rock, metal, progressive and pop acts, and accompany theatre and dance productions on the drums. They are also co-founder and co-director of the queer-feminist horror film festival Final Girls Berlin<\/em>.<\/p>\n Guest: Gabriele St\u00f6tzer<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":46217,"template":"","movie_cat":[876],"event_cat":[],"event_type":[117],"festival":[886],"class_list":["post-46236","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","movie_cat-focus-en-2026","event_type-performance-en","festival-886"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n