T�te-�-t�te with Angie Hiesl

Angie Hiesl, a director, choreographer, performer and installation artist, has been presenting interdisciplinary works since the 1980s. She is one of the first choreographers in Germany to exclusively develop site-specific performances. Since 1997, she has been working with Roland Kaiser, also a choreographer, director and visual artist. Heisl recently visited Dhaka to take part in an international performance art and installation show, titled ‘Id-Clash’, held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The Weekend Independent met with her for an interview.

Who came up with the idea of ‘Id-Clash’?

We came up with the idea. That is my partner Roland Kaiser and myself.

Please tell us about the artistes who are performing. How did you select them?  

Anonnya and Katha both are from Bangladesh. We met Katha the very first year we came to Dhaka. In 2013, we had a workshop for hijras at the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, combined with a performance. There, we got to know Anonnya.  We selected   them to perform in our intercultural project as they represent the hijra community and they are very outspoken. They know about their tradition and have great performing potential.

From the age of six, Anonnya learned classical Indian dance and traditional Bengali folk dance and went on to earn a Diploma in Dance from the Bulbul Lalitkala Academy of Fine Arts in Dhaka. Katha was the first hijra ever to perform at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy as a dancer and actress.

Michelle Niwicho is from Germany. She studied Mathematics and Physics and works freelance in the IT sector. Melissa Marie Garcia Noriega is from Cuba/Germany. Melissa is a dancer and choreographer by profession and now studies law. Greta Pimenta is a Brasilian living in Germany who studied Mathematics.

Please tell us what is site-specific choreography?

It means choreographies that are set up according to the location, the space, the local circumstances concerning habits, traditions, aspects of society, atmosphere etc. Like here, for example, it meant we had to work with the architecture of the Plaza at Shilpakala and set up the whole scene according to the language, mainly Bangla, for the performance.

How did you come to meet the hijra (third gender) community of Bangladesh?

Some years ago, it must have been during 2010, when we came to Bangladesh. We were invited by the Goethe-Institut to attend a rainbow festival for the community, there we got to know a lot of hijras. We even led a workshop and gave a lecture about our work. That somehow started it off, something that then went on. We had a very good assistant, Rajeeb Shakawat Hossain, who introduced us to Bangla culture and aspects of Bengali society. We got to know Bandhu Social Welfare Society, all of that helped to set up the contacts.

What motivated you to work on such a subject?

Well the motivation came through getting to know the hijras. We got to know that there is a special culture here _ that does not exist in Germany. We have transgender people in Germany, but there is no culture with a particular tradition as the centuries-old hijra culture. That gave us the idea to see how the theme of transgender is dealt with in Germany. That in turn, gave us the motivation to set up an intercultural project.

Please share with us your experience of visiting Bangladesh?

We got to know only Dhaka, as we have not been able to travel through the country, it is difficult to say that we know much about Bangladesh. But yes, we do love Bangladesh, it’s the people and the different culture that attracts us. It is aspects of life that are so different to our country. We got an insight into the transgender scene and culture that we do not have in Europe. We would love to explore even more. So we want to come back.

Please tell us about your future plans?

We would like to continue to work with the theme of transgender because it is so rich and we want to explore much more about it. We can say for sure that we are going to stay in contact with many people from Bangladesh. We would like to invite them back to Germany and do some shows like this in different cities. Then we hope to continue the project in Latin America -- there are transgender people with strong bonds in their society. They, too, have a typical tradition and special tasks in society. And there is so much more to discover around the theme of gender diversity.

T�te-�-t�te with Angie Hiesl

Angie Hiesl, a director, choreographer, performer and installation artist, has been presenting interdisciplinary works since the 1980s. She is one of the first choreographers in Germany to exclusively develop site-specific performances. Since 1997, she has been working with Roland Kaiser, also a choreographer, director and visual artist. Heisl recently visited Dhaka to take part in an international performance art and installation show, titled Id-Clash, held at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy. The Weekend Independent met with her for an interview. Who came up with the idea of Id-Clash? We came up with the idea. That is my partner Roland Kaiser and myself. Please tell us about the artistes who are performing. How did you select them? Anonnya and Katha both are from Bangladesh. We met Katha the very first year we came to Dhaka. In 2013, we had a workshop for hijras at the Goethe-Institut Bangladesh, combined with a performance. There, we got to know Anonnya. We selected them to perform in our intercultural project as they represent the hijra community and they are very outspoken. They know about their tradition and have great performing potential. From the age of six, Anonnya learned classical Indian dance and traditional Bengali folk dance and went on to earn a Diploma in Dance from the Bulbul Lalitkala Academy of Fine Arts in Dhaka. Katha was the first hijra ever to perform at the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy as a dancer and actress. Michelle Niwicho is from Germany. She studied Mathematics and Physics and works freelance in the IT sector. Melissa Marie Garcia Noriega is from Cuba/Germany. Melissa is a dancer and choreographer by profession and now studies law. Greta Pimenta is a Brasilian living in Germany who studied Mathematics. Please tell us what is site-specific choreography? It means choreographies that are set up according to the location, the space, the local circumstances concerning habits, traditions, aspects of society, atmosphere etc. Like here, for example, it meant we had to work with the architecture of the Plaza at Shilpakala and set up the whole scene according to the language, mainly Bangla, for the performance. How did you come to meet the hijra (third gender) community of Bangladesh? Some years ago, it must have been during 2010, when we came to Bangladesh. We were invited by the Goethe-Institut to attend a rainbow festival for the community, there we got to know a lot of hijras. We even led a workshop and gave a lecture about our work. That somehow started it off, something that then went on. We had a very good assistant, Rajeeb Shakawat Hossain, who introduced us to Bangla culture and aspects of Bengali society. We got to know Bandhu Social Welfare Society, all of that helped to set up the contacts. What motivated you to work on such a subject? Well the motivation came through getting to know the hijras. We got to know that there is a special culture here _ that does not exist in Germany. We have transgender people in Germany, but there is no culture with a particular tradition as the centuries-old hijra culture. That gave us the idea to see how the theme of transgender is dealt with in Germany. That in turn, gave us the motivation to set up an intercultural project. Please share with us your experience of visiting Bangladesh? We got to know only Dhaka, as we have not been able to travel through the country, it is difficult to say that we know much about Bangladesh. But yes, we do love Bangladesh, its the people and the different culture that attracts us. It is aspects of life that are so different to our country. We got an insight into the transgender scene and culture that we do not have in Europe. We would love to explore even more. So we want to come back. Please tell us about your future plans? We would like to continue to work with the theme of transgender because it is so rich and we want to explore much more about it. We can say for sure that we are going to stay in contact with many people from Bangladesh. We would like to invite them back to Germany and do some shows like this in different cities. Then we hope to continue the project in Latin America -- there are transgender people with strong bonds in their society. They, too, have a typical tradition and special tasks in society. And there is so much more to discover around the theme of gender diversity.