NAH DRAN in ADA77 - Part 2: Daniela Lehmann with
"All the could-have-beens"

Berlin, ada77, February 2007; posted to tanznetz.de

Daniela Lehmann is well known in the German dance scene since her award-winning solo "Mina" at Euro-Scene Leipzig in 2005, even though the piece was just 5 min long. You can watch it again on April 28 on TV, it will be broadcasted by 3sat at 9:50 pm. The central themes of "Mina" and "All the could-have-beens" appear to be related. Interweaving energy-laden actions with fragile appearance, shown in Mina, was taken a step further in "All the could-have-beens" into a confrontation of unconditional indulgence and anxious restraint.

The dancer enters the stage in a pink skirt and boots, with her head covered by a pink hood. Her shy appearance and covered hair (top left) inadvertently evoked memories of veiled Moslem women, an association countered only by her bare legs. She fights a temptation: she lifts her arms as if opening up but immediately pulls them back without completing the move. After a few suppressed attempts she eventually breaks free. Her body bursts into ecstasy and her face fills with sheer joy (bottom left). This lasts for a short while only, until the dancer is caught by her conscience - or is it an external oppression? - and anxiously retreats to a corner of the stage. There she presses her body and palms against the wall and rises onto the tips of her toes in a fear, as if a predator were circling the room looking for her (top right). Alternating these two motifs, Daniela Lehmann created a delightful miniature, which takes just twice as long as "Mina".

Petr Karlovsky