Inspired by Christopher Isherwood’s semi-autobiographical novel Goodbye to Berlin and Kate Elswit’s work Watching Weimar Dance, the show Goodbye Berlin moves back and forth between the turbulent Germany of the Weimar Republic and the present day.

In search of the legacy of Anita Berber, Valeska Gert, and other dancers of that era, Constanza Macras and her ensemble DorkyPark take us on a journey through a fascinating aesthetic that “strives for ecstasy and fantasizes about death,” accompanied by music by Robert Lippok, in a stage design by Simon Lesemann and costumes by Slavna Martinovic.

As the world continues to spin dangerously and the rise of fascism casts its dark shadow, dance repeatedly confronts us with the question: Is pleasure still possible, not instead of hope, but in addition to it?