“Die Geschichte vom bösen Friederich” / “Cruel Frederick”
Der Friederich , der Friederich,
Das war ein arger Wüterich !
Here is cruel Frederick, see!
A horrid wicked boy was he.
Alone on her balcony, Friederich mechanically repeats the soldierly steps she knows best, dispassionately preparing for battle. But who is she getting ready to aggress – or defend – and where did she learn her chauvinism? Breaking out into an unforgiving landscape, Friederich fights her worst inner demons even as she lashes out at the very ground beneath her feet. As she drives herself to exhaustion, and tries to give herself up, we question whether Friederich was destined to be a bully, or if under different circumstances she might have learned empathy. Filmed in Frankfurt, MeenMoves’ reinterpretation of “Cruel Frederick” calls on us to extend compassion to an isolated figure trying to make peace with herself.
8 minutes, 26 seconds
Filmed in Frankfurt, Germany
Choreographer/Director: Sameena Mitta
Videographer/Video Editor: Alicja Hoppel
Performer: Stephanie Terasaki
Costume Designer: Sarah Timberlake
Composer & Composition: Charles Ives, String Quartet No. 2, II – Arguments (Allegro con spirito)
Musicians: Momenta Quartet (Emilie-Anne Gendron, Adda Kridler, Stephanie Griffin, Michael Haas)
