Vincent Riebeek: Don't clap for Crap

The duet Don't clap for Crap (not another shit show) is a remake of Kein Applaus für Scheisse, first performed by Florentina Holzinger and Vincent Riebeek in 2010. The scabrous pas de deux grew into a cult classic. Now it goes into reshuffle mode with Riebeek and Argentine performer Nica Rosés.

"Much crazier than your erotic fantasies," Knack wrote. "The vomiting scene is then followed by — what else? — urination," The New York Times went crazy. Well, the absolutely graphic duet of thirteen years ago reveals itself as a pressure cooker in which high and low art, circus acts, revue show and seventies performance art come to a boiling point, and the line between art and kitsch is completely blurred.

As in the original, this interpretation grabs notions of partnering and virtuosity from classical ballet by the short hairs. This time, Vincent Riebeek does so in collaboration with performer Nica Rosés. Virtuosity, in Riebeek's view, consists of a sincere partnership between performers of integrity, with what he calls 'a real body with organs'. Thus, the performance is also an ode to trust, connection and sisterhood.

Sisterhood? Yes indeed, Don't clap for Crap is Riebeek's debut as a female entity within his choreographic practice. Riebeek: 'My personal journey has led me to embrace my gender identity and transvestism, and with it the body's ability to embody multiple identities.'

Don't clap for Crap is a rollercoaster with a big 'this can't be true' factor. Beneath the not-for- sensitive-stomachs performance and deceptive craziness, a liberating alternative to our performance society in which everything is put under a filter opens up. Not here. Don't clap for Crap is genuine in every way.