ABOUT
Tu es qui? (Who are you?) Tu es quoi? (What are you?) – otherwise known as ‘TeKi TeKua’ – was the first dance company in Switzerland to focus on contemporary urban dance. We have been leaders in the field since 2006.
With some seventy dancers aged between 4 and 40, our collective brings together people of different ages and has dance studios in both Zurich and Biel. Encouraging the next generation of dancers and creating intergenerational projects have been part of our philosophy for fourteen years.
Our professional section and its eight dancers are based in Zurich. Under the direction of Eleonora, TeKi TeKua is continually seeking to push the boundaries of its unique movement and dance language. We have called this our ‘TeKi-Style’, in reference to TeKi TeKua, and it is inspired by the various backgrounds of our dancers. The TeKi-Style explores contemporary subjects in an urban context in order to develop an appropriate artistic language.
Since its creation, TeKi TeKua has been involved in cultural events, television shows, and Swiss festivals such as Steps, Tanz in Olten, Yeah Yeah Yeah (Rote Fabrik), Breakthrough Festival (Tanzhaus Zürich), Montreux Jazz Festival, Swiss Nightlife Award, Energy Air, Volvo Art Session, Got to Dance Germany/Pro7, Alors Festival, Porny Days, World of Dance Berlin, Zürich Tanzt, Nothing But Flavor, and the Royal Arena Open Air.
Our dance collective successfully spans the gap between entertainment and artistic expression, with the aim of presenting onstage contemporary urban dance to a wide audience.
TEK-HISTORY
In 2006 Pascale Grossenbacher, Lea Fuhrer, and Eleonora Zweifel established a professional dance collective in Biel.
Over the following years, the three founders invited other dancers from Biel, Bern, and Lausanne to join their dance company. Malika, Leatizia Jakob, Samira Boesch, Jelena Pfister, Branca Scheidegger, and Michèle Paleta Rhyner were the first generation of TeKis (from 2006 to 2012).
Under the direction of Eleonora and Lea, these dancers worked on specific projects, creating both short pieces and commercial shows. Until 2012, the company’s repertory included one long show (Booked, premiered in 2011 @ Kulturmarkt, Zurich) and several short pieces (Tu es qui? Tu es quoi? at the Breakthrough Festival and Tanzhaus Zürich, and Swarms at Tanz in Olten). Most of our current TeKis (Silvana Lemm, Patricia Lang, Halina Stefaniak) joined the company after our first public audition in 2012. Lena Scheidegger, Jasmin Büttel, and Tamara Mancini became part of the group in 2013.
In addition to our professional dancers, we also have promising new dancers who perform on some of Switzerland’s most well-known stages. Our younger TeKis still train in Biel, under the direction of Lea Fuhrer.
Find out more information about this year’s group of new dancers in Biel here.