How does your body feel today? At a time of speed and violence, the Lisbon-based, Berlin-residing choreographer André Uerba explores the concept of intimacy as a counterpoint. This inquiry has been a part of his career from the very beginning. In this new show, it is regarded as an exercise in a series of naked bodies being together as they approach and separate from one another, touch each other or show what is seldom seen. Seven performers (some from the company and others from local venues) and a musician share time and space to explore the boundaries between sharing and withdrawing, movement and stillness, vulnerability and exposure. The performers you’ll see on stage feature in a slow-paced encounter in which their bodies attune to one another, sink and merge together. The desire to make hidden things visible unfolds via the intimate gestures of performers who collectively turn their gaze toward inner landscapes, where slowness and touch become a main practice.
Uerba began his inquiry into the concept of intimacy during the process of creating Burn Time (2018) and continued it through Fire Starter (2019/20), Inviting Moments of Stillness and A hole the size of your touch (2021). After a period in which he trained in bodywork at the Institute for Somatic Learning, Sexuality and Bodywork (ISB Berlin), he created Æffective Choreography, which opens up a new chapter in his research.
Co-produced by André Uerba and Radialsystem.
With the residency support of Tanzfabrik and Theaterhaus Mitte.
Supported by the National Performance Network - Stepping Out, funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the framework of the initiative Neustart Kultur - Assistance Program for Dance.
In cooperation with Goethe Institut
Concept and artistic director: André Uerba Creative collaborators: György Jellinek, Jone San Martin, Lyllie Rouvière, Manoela Rangel, Pedro Aybar Performers: Manoela Rangel, Pedro Aybar Local performers: Feña Celedón Pérez, Lu Chieregati, Lyn Diniz, Reinaldo Ribeiro, Olga Álvarez
Sound design and live music: Kreatress. Song fragment / Live performance of Vivaldi’s Cum dederit Dramaturgy support: Meg Stuart Design of lighting and space, photographs and live music: André Uerba Executive producer and press: Short Hope, André Uerba
