WALLOP (working title)

December 2018: start of research

December 2021, 2-part residency at TraumaBar, Berlin. Second part scheduled for spring 2022.

‘Wallop’ (working title) is a performance researching bodily states of ecstasy and euphoria. The attraction to ‘out-of-the-body-experiences’ as a way to get a pause from the hardship or everyday routines of life, dates all the way back to prehistoric civilization where it was most commonly practiced through (communal) dance and rites. The attraction to adrenaline-induced activities is still present and integrated into contemporary life, either through sports, spirituality, amusement parks, substances, encounters with nature, or the erotic. As humans, we seem to gain pleasure and vitality from these activities which ultimately enables a higher sense of self, a sensation of connectedness, and can foster feelings of community. Even if aesthetics and contexts have changed over time, many of these activities still today incorporate a form of intense physical engagement. In the project ‘Wallop’ I’m focusing on a selection of corporealities, body cultures, and somatic practices which vary broadly in their expressions, but all incorporate degrees of bodily ecstasy through movement. Examples of such are headbanging, raving/clubbing, Kundalini yoga, Sufi dance, and the Indonesian ritualistic dance Ebeg. The aim is to draw on physical as well as theoretical inspiration from these practices, blending them together as a complete choreography, highlighting both their similarities and distinct differences.

3-MIN VIDEO TRAILER OF RESEARCH MATERIAL, DECEMBER 2021

7,3-MIN VIDEO OF RESEARCH MATERIAL, DECEMBER 2021 (RAW CUT)

40-MIN VIDEO OF RESEARCH MATERIAL, DECEMBER 2021 (RAW CUT)

6-MIN VIDEO OF RESEARCH MATERIAL, 2018