TOTEMTANZ

Totemtanz is a contemporary reinterpretation of Stimmung (Karlheinz Stockhausen, 1968), conceived and directed by Celia Stroom, with five non-gendered bodies moving among us in a fabric installation space. Combining wooden costumes, video art, polyphony and choreography, the performance activates space through scents, movement and spoken memories.

It is the second act of Into a Wandering Night, a cycle of immersive rituals inviting audiences into a multisensory journey on Grief.

Freshly developed during a two-week workshop, Totemtanz draws on personal narratives, therapeutic practice, and deep vocal exploration rooted in Karlheinz Stockhausen’s iconic work Stimmung — performed here for the first time in Athens.

At the heart of the piece are sculptural, 10kg wooden costumes, crafted by the performers and inspired by Picasso’s The Bathers and their totemic figures. These extended bodies transforme the performers’ shape, weight, and presence, for a potential rebirth. What emerges is a Totem Dance, a dance of death to transcend the living, with expressionist processions inspired by Mary Wigman “TotenTänz” (1917).

About Stimmung:

Composed in 1968, Stockhausen’s Stimmung was the first major Western work built entirely on overtone singing — a collective act of tuning body, voice, and spirit. In German, Stimmung means not only “tuning” or “mood,” but a deeper alignment of inner and outer states.

Since 2015, artist Celia Stroom has reimagined Stimmung across cathedrals, forests, and ruins. In this Athenian iteration, each performer co-creates the ritual live, guided by the work’s 51 “moments”: overtone melodies that evolve through layered repetition, until the group reaches sonic identity. A gesture passes leadership to the next, and the score continues — organic, alive.

● Two performances every night: the first at 20:30 and the second at 22:00. After the performance, the doors are closed and no admission is allowed.

● The performance is open to a limited audience (up to 35 people) and reservations are required: more.com & 213 00 40 496