Strauss Technique! - Köln-Premiere
As part of the URBÄNG Festival 2026
Di/STRAUSS Technique is not an evening for quiet watching: Ivo Dimchev invites everyone to a collective waltz out of control – wild, queer, musical, and liberating. The Bulgarian exceptional artist is back! Ivo Dimchev was already a guest at the Free Trade Zone in 2015 with P Project – a performance that ruthlessly explored capitalism and the limits of theater. In 2026, he presents Di/STRAUSS Technique: a participatory music and dance course inspired by the waltzes of Johann Strauss II, unleashing joy for life, the pleasure of singing, physical freedom, and the desires of the audience. Ivo Dimchev is a theater maker, choreographer, visual artist, singer-songwriter, and queer activist from Bulgaria. In his works, performance, dance, theater, music, and visual art merge – excessive, humorous, and always in direct exchange with the audience. With Di/STRAUSS Technique, Dimchev transforms the music of Johann Strauss II into a participatory evening of concert, dance class, and collective escalation. Ten specially composed “Healing Songs,” playful choreographies, and props like ribbons, fans, and pom-poms invite singing, dancing, laughing, and participation. It’s about self-love and sexual self-determination, but also about financial worries and emotional overwhelm. Dimchev connects all of this with queer comedy, operetta kitsch, and a great pleasure in collective uninhibitedness.
Language: English
Accessibility: Suitable for wheelchair users
Participants: Ivo Dimchev
Doors open: 17:00
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
