The Fight Club

In her new production, choreographer and dancer Zufit Simon explores
the body language of aggression, power games, and violence.
Inspired by the image of the boxing club—a hidden, ritualized space for male self-testing—a performative space emerges, a kind of ring that questions and deconstructs body images, power relations, and gender stereotypes.
It is a piece about struggle—as an act of resistance, as a ritual of self-assertion, and as a demonstration of the power of the physical.

In 2025, Zufit Simon received the City of Munich Dance Award for her life’s work; for the past 20 years, she has been presenting her productions on the independent scene and always performs on stage alongside her team. Following the German Faust Prize-nominated production “Radical Cheerleading” in 2023 and “Bodies in Rebellion” in 2024, “The Fight Club” is the third production to explore physical forms of protest, this time explicitly focusing on the athletic ritual of combat. “Radical Cheerleading” received the Best OFF Festival for Independent Theater award from the Lower Saxony Foundation in 2024; with the prize money, Zufit Simon has been given the opportunity to choreograph the opening production of the biennial festival.

A production by Zufit Simon / artblau Tanzwerkstatt. Supported by the Lower Saxony Foundation. In cooperation with the Department of Culture of the City of Munich. Zufit Simon is a member of Tanztendenz München e.V.
Supported by the NATIONAL PERFORMANCE NETWORK – Dance Co-Production Fund, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media. In cooperation with Uferstudios Berlin and dock 11.

Choreography and artistic direction: Zufit Simon
Creation / Dance: Hikaru Osakabe, Clarissa Rêgo, Cary Shiu, Zufit Simon
Music: Fredrik Olofsson
Lighting Design: Dietrich Oberländer
Costume: Mirella Oestreicher
PR: Beate Zeller
Photo: Oliver Look
Performance Photos: Helge Krückeberg

The dance performance will open Festival Best OFF Freier Theater der Stiftung Niedersachsen am Donnerstag, 23. April 2026, 18:00, Pavillon, Hannover. Weitere Spieltermine sind am 29. + 30. April 2026 im Schwere Reiter, München, geplant.