THERE | WHERE

THERE | WHERE is the second part of KOLLEKTIV | ELEVEN’s trilogy exploring the concept of Limbo. After the waiting state of ELEVEN | ELEVEN, the work moves closer to the boundary between life and death, asking what happens when waiting is no longer possible and a decision has to be made.

Inspired by La sociedad de la nieve and by conversations around near death experiences, the performance looks at people confronted with circumstances that radically change their perception of what is possible, necessary or morally acceptable. At its centre lies a simple conflict: the choice between holding on and letting go, between surrendering to a situation and resisting it.

Two bodies move through this tension, sometimes depending on one another, sometimes pulling apart. Touch, weight and physical support become ways of negotiating trust and vulnerability, while voice and text bring fragments of lived experience into the performance. Time stretches and shifts, leaving the performers somewhere between what is happening, what is remembered and what might still come.

THERE | WHERE does not attempt to provide answers about death or what may exist beyond it. Instead, it creates a space for something that is often absent from everyday conversation, although it concerns us all: our relationship to mortality, uncertainty and loss. The work invites the audience to remain with these questions and with the different ways we respond when certainty disappears.

Where does the next step lead?

THERE | WHERE premiered on 1 May 2026 at Maschinenhaus Essen, followed by a performance at INSEL in Wuppertal on 2 July 2026.

With the support of Kulturamt Essen, Bergischer Kulturfonds and Stiftung Kalkwerke Oetelshofen.

In cooperation with INSEL e.V. Wuppertal, IG Tanz Essen and .dott, Dortmunder Tanz und Theaterszene.

Lara Pilloni & Julia Monschau
concept | choreography | performance
Frederico Mendes Teixeira
dramaturgy | choreographic assistance
Álvaro Severino
composition | sound design
Julio Ernesto Escobar Mellado
light design | technical direction
Nefeli Papanastasopoulou | Text
Arnaud Dubois & Varun Krishnan | Video documentation
André Symann| Photography

Duration | 45 minutes