"LOWER LEVEL" IS A SITE-SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE IN THE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL OF A SUBWAY STATION.
IT EXPLORES THE QUESTIONS OF COLLECTIVITY AND SOLIDARISTIC CARE AND INVITES THE AUDIENCE TO ENGAGE ON A WALK AND PERSPECTIVE SHIFT. ACCOMPANIED BY THE PERFORMERS WITH CONTEMPORARY DANCE AND ACROBATICS, THE PERFORMANCE ILLUMINATES THE VARIED ASPECTS OF OUR SOCIAL INTERACTIONS. WHAT ROLE DO TRANSIT AND UNDERGROUND MEETING PLACES PLAY IN OUR DAILY LIVES? WHY DO WE EXPERIENCE SO MUCH INDIVIDUAL DISTANCE IN PLACES OF PHYSICAL PROXIMITY? IN THE INTERIM SPACE, BETWEEN THE PEDESTRIAN ZONE AND THE SUBWAY TRAFFIC, A LABORATORY WITH AN ATMOSPHERE OF OPENNESS IS CREATED, WHERE DIFFERENT VOICES AND EXPERIENCES FIND A PLACE. THIS NOT ONLY EXPLORES THE VISIBLE STRUCTURES OF THE UNDERGROUND BUT ALSO THE METAPHORICAL DEPTHS OF OUR SOCIETY AND INDIVIDUAL RELATIONSHIPS. "LOWER LEVEL" IS AN EXPERIMENT THAT EXPLORES THE POSSIBILITIES OF TOGETHERNESS AND SOLIDARITY. WHICH BOUNDARIES AFFECT OUR LIVES, AND WHICH BOUNDARIES DO WE AFFECT? IT INVITES PARTICIPANTS TO EMBARK ON NEW PATHS TOGETHER AND TO EXPLORE WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN A WORLD OF DIVERSITY, CHANGE, AND CONSTANT ACCELERATION.
About the Company
THE COLLECTIVE UNANIM, FOUNDED IN 2018 BY MIRKO KREJCI, NATALIE RISSE, JAN WILLIMSKY, LIORA EPPSTEIN, HAGEN KELLER, MARCEL HÖSL, JOKE JESINGHAUS, GERNOT HOFFMANN, LUCIA NORDHOFF, LUKAS SCHÜTTE AND ROMI OKEWU, CONSISTS OF CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS AND DANCE ARTISTS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ENGAGEMENT WITH CONTEMPORARY DANCE AND ACROBATICS. INITIALLY FOCUSING ON PERFORMANCE INTERVENTIONS IN URBAN SPACES, UNANIM'S FIRST MAJOR PERFORMANCE WAS 'VORSPRUNG', PRESENTED AS PART OF THE ZAIK RESIDENCY (2019) AT THE QUARTIER AM HAFEN IN COLOGNE. AFTER ANOTHER RESIDENCY AT THE BARNES CROSSING STUDIO AT KUNSTZENTRUM WACHSFABRIK IN COLOGNE-RODENKIRCHEN, THE COLLECTIVE PRESENTED THEIR SECOND STAGE PIECE, "DER SPRINGENDE PUNKT" (2019). THE INTENSE COLLABORATIVE WORK AND THE RESULTING INTEREST IN PROFESSIONALISING THE PERFORMING ARTS LED MANY MEMBERS OF THE GROUP TO LEAVE COLOGNE TO STUDY CONTEMPORARY DANCE, CHOREOGRAPHY, THEATRE PEDAGOGY AND ACROBATICS. AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF INDIVIDUAL STUDY AND WORK AT HOME AND ABROAD, THE REMAINING MEMBERS OF THE GROUP FOUND THEIR WAY BACK TO COLOGNE IN 2023. IN SPRING 2024, UNANIM RESUMED THEIR COLLECTIVE ARTISTIC WORK.
About the Location
The Heumarkt station is located in the heart of Cologne's Old Town and serves as a central hub for the Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe (KVB).
Situated at one of Cologne's most famous and bustling squares, it surprises with its astonishing underground scale and modern architecture, which is not apparent from the outside. Through expansive entrances and long escalators, passengers are led into a vast dome-shaped space of steel and glass, reminiscent of a cathedral.
In particular, the intermediate level of the station is an architecturally impressive transit space, although it is rarely used and often appears deserted.