Thomas Rohe
Thomas Rohe ( is a Berlin based contemporary dancer, performer and yoga teacher. He studied dance in Berlin and has worked with different choreographers, performers and companies all over Germany as a freelancer. In 2017 he was cast as a performer for Marina Abramovic’s
exhibition “The Cleaner” and reperfromed her work in Denmark and Germany as well as taking part in her “Cleaning the House” Workshop twice. Since then he has developed a practice of long durational performance. His work is inspired by social themes, often questioning the way we present ourselves and interact on social media platforms. Thomas has been researching on the topic of the influence of HIV/AIDS stigma on individuals and society; funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative NEUSTART KULTUR, aid programm DIS-TANZEN by the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.
@thomasrohe.dance
See me?
First Impressions, prejudices, categories. In his performance "See Me?"
Thomas Rohe works with all these concepts to understand how we perceive a person when we first see them. We all judge by the look of someone and the experiences we have made in the past. The audience is asked to write their perception of Thomas on the box he is in, slowly covering him up with their opinions.
Like in real life these misconceptions can cover up the actual character and being of a person. In this long durational, interactive performance the performer turns into an observed object. Thomas brings in his critical view on how we present ourselves and are perceived by others on social media.
Furthermore the question of certain stereotypes is asked. Do people that have HIV/AIDS look a certain way? Do you have a prefabricated opinion of people affected by the disease? Since we all have prejudices, the aim of the performance is not to solely denounce this mechanism but rather to explore
the effect and influence of stereotypes on human interaction on society.
Performance Manifested Illusion
by Thomas Rohe and Anna Luna Holmberg, Soho House Berlin, 2018,
Picture by Eric Phillips