kloetzel&co. is a dance theatre company committed to creating works that span stage, site, and screen. Under the direction of Melanie Kloetzel, kloetzel&co. has devised and presented interdisciplinary stage performances, dance films, and site-based installations across three continents. Come join the journey!
kloetzel&co. stands up unequivocally for the efforts being made via the Black Lives Matter movement and other movements that prioritize justice for indigenous and Black communities, and all people of color. The deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many other Black Americans is a heinous crime and indicative of a system of racist oppression that has deep and abiding roots.
While advocating for social and environmental justice is a key subject area for artwork undertaken by kloetzel&co., this is not enough. As such, kloetzel&co. is taking a serious look at its own complicity and privilege within this oppressive system. As a company that has been mostly (though not solely) composed of white women over the years (all working on small contract-based commissions or grants), we are looking at such homogeneity with a critical eye and seeking to diversify our hiring practices. As such, we are standing in support of the 35//50 initiative, which seeks to develop a more diverse and equitable artistic ecology in Alberta.
kloetzel&co. calls upon leaders, artists, and the general public to acknowledge and address inequities based on race, gender, sexuality, class, and species and to promote systemic change that will ensure a just and fair future for the planet and all its inhabitants.
MEN in charge is an adaptable dance theatre work that offers a humorous take on our political landscape as ‘alternative facts’ and outlandish acts become commonplace. Through blunt physicality, droll commentary, and absurdist exchanges between performers and audience members, MEN in charge provides a portrait of a sector enthralled with the workings of power. A droplet of intelligence here, a hint of a shadowy figure, and we are all marionettes, putty in the puppet master’s hands.