Follow the Dolphins

Follow the Dolphins  by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps at:
Baschira presents: Zdasdat | Baschira Album Release Party

Saturday 27 November at 16:00
De Ruimte 
Distelweg 83 Amsterdam

On November 27, the long-awaited “Zdasdat” album by Baschira will be released, let’s celebrate together! It will be a day full of music, stories, theatre and plenty of delicious food, at the ever so charming “De Ruimte”.

Musicians on stage:
| Davide Cristiani – Guitar and vocals | Tilo Baumheier – Flute |
| Denis Pavlenko – Clarinet | Mauro Rolfini – Alto Saxophone |
| Zohar Mokady Amar – Tenor Saxophone | Remy Sterreman – Euphonium |
| Emma van Dobben – Piano | Julia Kooreman – Bass |
| Floris Van Elderen – Drums | Millo – Electric guitar and synth |

Special guests of the day:

Follow the Dolphins
A theatrical work in progress by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps

Picture by Melanja Palitta | Balans LaB

While getting inspired by the presence of the Zapatistas, we face lies, we witness cities falling apart and we focus our struggle on the stream of the white blood cells of humanity. But the best thing to do, as usual, is to follow the dolphins
With Ayşenur Akın, Arif Murat Gür and Roberto Bacchilega
Original text ‘The Dolphins” co-written by Mohamed S. Bah and Ayşenur Akın

Four Seasons in a Lost Year

Four Seasons in a Lost Year
Four Artists in One Venue
Four Artists come together, carrying their personal and artistic history, ready to share it with the audience of AstaroTheatro.
It’s hard to say whether ‘Time present and time past’ are lost or ‘Are both perhaps present in time future’.
What’s sure is that Four Seasons in a Lost Year is a much-needed event of renewed community sharing.
We have been distant for too long, now it’s time to get closer.

Four Artists (in no particular order):
Victor Sams
Madam Bruno
Godfrey Lado
Roberto Bacchilega

One Venue:
Saturday 6 November
20:00 Doors Open.
20:30 Start of Four Seasons
AstaroTheatro
Sint Jansstraat 37 Amsterdam

Entrance by Donation

Victor Sams:
Victor Sams the singer, multi-instrumentalist was born on Statia a Caribbean island which was also called once upon a time because of its history the Golden Rock. The kamélé ngoni he plays comes from the harp family in Mali which is referred to in West Africa as the mother of harps. His musical story is rooted in a social combination of Caribbean-African music. victorsams.nl

Madam Bruno:
Madam Bruno hails from one of the most historic, cultured, creative and beautiful place on the planet, Napoli in Italy. Coming from a region so diverse and rich in culture, since a child, Madam Bruno took full advantage of her surroundings.
Her pallet of taste and inspirations is vast and matches her experience within theatrical and musical productions.
www.madambruno.com

Godfrey Lado:
From A War Child to Asylum A Refugee, from a Refugee to Assignment a medium of social cultural change and exchange.
Godfrey Lado is a multidisciplinary and a multidimensionally free soul; speaker, teller, poet, singer and a writer.

Roberto Bacchilega:
Performer and artistic director at AstaroTheatro. He presents:
The Want
An excerpt from ‘In the solitude of the cotton fields’ by Bernard-Marie Koltès
The Dealer is always there to remind you that ‘you must want something’. So be aware that you are nothing but a consumer in a consumers’ world. Unless you don’t want The Want.

Follow the Dolphins

Follow the Dolphins by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps at:
Baschira presents: Waiting for “Zdasdat”
Tuesday 28 September 
Frederik Hendrikstraat 111 Amsterdam

Picture by Melanja Palitta – Balans LaB
Three sets of music and theatre: a foretaste of “Zdasdat”, Baschira’s debut album topped with a theatrical work by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps.
Doors open: 20:00
Showtime: 20:30
Ticket 5 € at the door
1st set
Follow the Dolphins: a theatrical work in progress by AstaroTheatro and Our Footsteps
While waiting for the coming of the Zapatistas we face lies, we witness cities falling apart and the stream of the white blood cells of humanity. But the best thing to do, as usual, is to follow the dolphins.
Ayşenur Akın
Arif Murat Gür
Roberto Bacchilega
Original text ‘The Dolphins” co-written by Mohamed S. Bah and Aysenur Akin
2nd set
Ahead of his debut album, “Zdasdat” (Wake up), Baschira offers a foretaste of his unreleased music and a couple of folk songs.
Baschira is the project of Amsterdam-based guitarist and songwriter Davide Cristiani.
The name of the project is inspired by the story of Prospero Baschieri (Baschira), a brigand, symbol of revolt against injustice and oppression.
Davide Cristiani: Voice, Guitar
Emma Van Dobben: Accordion
Tilo Baumheier: Flute
3rd set
Acoustic guitars, accordion, flute and “dancing” drums will resonate throughout the room. Warm sounds, a vibrant and passionate blend of folk, swing, gipsy music threaded together through improvisation.
Davide Cristiani: Guitar, Voice
Tilo Baumheier: Flute
Emma Van Dobben: Accordion
Floris Van Elderen: Drums
Julia Kooreman: Bass

Acting Class at AstaroTheatro

AstaroTheatro Acting Class

The necessity and urgency of the theatrical performance
The physical, mental and emotional preparation of the actor
The energy, motivation and presence of the actor
Theatre games and improvisations
The actor in the theatre space
The voice of the actor
The action of the actor
The actor envisions an action and acts it
The memory of the actor as a tool for triggering true emotions in acting

Interested? Contact us: info@ourfootsteps.nl

Footsteps against racism at Aseed-Food Autonomy

Footsteps against racism at Aseed-Food Autonomy-Lutkemeerpolder
Moments of past migrants’ lives and of current theatre and activism
From voices of dolphins guiding migrants across threatening waters to singings of protest and revolution. And also strong voices against oppression, torture and discrimination, the cry of a refugee camp and the scream out of a box of definitions.
And now here we are, captured in our daily routine and yet still struggling as before. But now somehow knowing better how to break the boundaries of our constraints.
Footsteps Against Racism is a theatre performance created by the same migrants and refugee’s collective that has successfully performed Our Footsteps throughout 2019 and the beginning of 2020

Opening AstaroTheatro Again

Opening AstaroTheatro again feels like seeing a beloved friend after too long time.
Setup for filming Commemoration 106 years of Armenian Genocide.
Open the theatres! Especially grassroots venues with a non-mainstream narrative.

Footsteps against racism @ Week tegen racisme

Footsteps against racism @ Week tegen racisme

We are proud and happy that we could participate in this event, though we all know that to be anti-racism should be daily practice.
In these pandemic times every rehearsal has been a challenge. We stand for a theatre of total physical presence with an emancipatory power for both the artists and the audience. But now this presence is constantly facing all the limitations imposed by the virus. Distancing, impossibility of physical interaction, static positions, an upside-down dramaturgy, no synergy with the audience…

When Pakhuis de Zwijger asked us to perform for Week tegen racisme, our first thought went to the relevance of the whole event.
In 2020 we were supposed to perform ‘live’ the full one hour of Our Footsteps theatre performance. The whole event was cancelled just a few days in advance because of the start of the measures against the pandemic in the Netherlands.
Now, one year later and still in the midst of the same pandemic, we were expected to perform via video livestream in front of cameras and microphones…to put a medium on top of a medium, to deny the theatre of presence we strongly believe in.
Well, we did it, we created Footsteps against racism. Our presence during Week tegen racisme was more important than any other consideration. Thank you so much Pakhuis de Zwijger for organizing all the talks, films, workshops and artistic contributions that are part of the program of Week tegen racisme. And thank you for having us in this program.
(pictures by Melanja Palitta | Balans LaB)

Footsteps against racism

Footsteps against racism
Moments of past migrants’ lives and of current theatre and activism
From voices of dolphins guiding migrants across threatening waters to singings of protest and revolution. And also strong voices against oppression, torture and discrimination, the cry of a refugee camp and the scream to racism visible even in a colorful world map.
And now here we are, captured in our daily routine and yet still struggling as before. But now somehow knowing better how to break the boundaries of our constraints.
Footsteps Against Racism is a theatre performance created by the same migrants and refugees collective that has successfully performed Our Footsteps throughout 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Now the collective is here, ready for Week Tegen Racisme

Week Tegen Racisme 15-19 March
Pakhuis de Zwijger
Friday 19 March, 20:30-21:30 Footsteps against racism at “Words Against Racism”
LIVE via link: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/words-against-racism

Performers: Arif Murat Gür, Aysenur Akin, Erhan Calihan, Harun Turan, Maral Jefroudi, Maurizia Mezza, Rahila Yideaiti, Roberto Bacchilega, Zeki Barlin
Original text “The Dolphins” co-written  by Mohamed S. Bah and Aysenur Akin
Original texts by Arif Murat Gür, Erhan Calihan, Rahila Yideaiti
Brackground scenery by Karin Schoutema
Pictures by Melanja Palitta | BalansLaB

Many thanks to IIRE International Institute for Research and Education for supporting and welcoming us
An “Our Footsteps” and “AstaroTheatro” production
(Pictures from our dress rehearsal)

Footsteps against racism

Our Footsteps Collective is currently creating a new performance: Footsteps against racism.
This will be performed during Week tegen racisme on Friday 19 March from 20.30 to 21.30 at Pakhuis de Zwijger Amsterdam 

Footsteps against racism
Moments of past migrants’ lives and of current theatre and activism
From voices of dolphins guiding migrants across threatening waters to singings of protest and revolution. And also strong voices against oppression, torture and discrimination, the cry of a refugee camp and the scream to racism visible even in a colorful world map.
And now here we are, captured in our daily routine and yet still struggling as before. But now somehow knowing better how to break the boundaries of our constraints.
Footsteps Against Racism is a theatre performance created by the same migrants and refugees collective that has successfully performed Our Footsteps throughout 2019 and the beginning of 2020. Now the collective is here, ready for Week Tegen Racisme

From our last rehearsal