a performance project
of conjointed rebellion
in habitat for the new
of conjointed rebellion
in habitat for the new
image by cedric dhaenens
a performance project | of conjointed rebellion | in habitat for the new
Headwaters Theater, November 2021
Headwaters Theater, November 2021
What are the last images to flicker before the eyes... of collective conflict into collective care to transmit into the eyes of others? What would inspire us to stay... here on earth, here in our neighborhoods, here in our bodies? How do we dream of others moving alongside us ... with us … with what is hidden and what is shown? How do we find ourselves again and again in constant movement, in constant relation, in the challenging and the sweet? Do we dream as a collective body?
ABOUT THE WORK:
What are the last images to flicker before the eyes... of collective conflict into collective care to transmit into the eyes of others? What would inspire us to stay... here on earth, here in our neighborhoods, here in our bodies? How do we dream of others moving alongside us ... with us … with what is hidden and what is shown? How do we find ourselves again and again in constant movement, in constant relation, in the challenging and the sweet? Do we dream as a collective body?
In this performance project,
~~~ professional and semi-professional movers were invited to reflect on a personal conflict… this may be where there is a strong charge of emotions in their life, difficulties, dreams, deeper life questions, meaning, emotions, relationships.
~~~ they were supported and facilitated 1:1 with Process Work’s methods of conflict resolution, dreams analyses, and cultivating a different kind of awareness + Tamalpa’s Life / Art Process of using the expressive arts medium to reach a deeper state + imagery and movements inspired by butoh dance
~~~ we then asked together - how are these personal conflicts related to world-level conflicts we face together? What do we see, feel, and dream around conflict and the social care around these conflicts
~~~ we explored choreographic and artistic scores of relationality and collective movement, related to the themes and dreams that emerge from our individual needs, using improvisational methods and images inspired by butoh dance and nature
OUTCOMES:
- Based on the individual and group’s explorations of conflict, we came up with the final topic of solidarity to research with different group scores. I developed one group score of images and scenarios, based on our initial research. Then with this group score, we reflected on our impulses, choices, and the choices not made, then tried modifying the score 3 more times.
- We also researched what a choreography of care would look like, and how this connects to our lives. Butoh dance has a way of working with people’s edges & I loved sharing this with others.
- The movers reflected that they experimented with inner and outer impulses, such as leaving the group, feeling pressured by the group, feeling ease in supporting one person in the group with others, being able to wait within the network to see whether they have capacity to support, and seeing where their desires are coming from and seeing others mirroring.
p.s.
In a memory or dream I still fantasize about, I found myself suddenly losing my vision in a group of people I didn’t know. We were being chased. A stranger gently guided me by the waist, to run. I still couldn’t see but I was moved. In movement, I lost sense of where my body started and ended. In this moment of falling, I fell into the collective body. I wondered if this is what trust feels like between bodies in and beyond conflict and motion. I fantasize about our bodies as a dancing organism in a system of care.
image by peter besser
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