Residencies

• 15.05 > 27.05.2023

Holding Present is a new col­la­bo­ra­ti­on bet­ween cho­re­o­grap­her Ula Sickle and Ictus. Holding Present exa­mi­nes how an indi­vi­du­al gestu­re can beco­me a powerful col­lec­ti­ve act. Weaving a fabric of exis­ting and new­ly com­mis­si­o­ned com­po­si­ti­ons by Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Stellan Veloce and Didem Coskunseven, a group of eight per­for­mers slow­ly and con­scious­ly build a moment, a momen­tum, moving toward the brea­king point whe­re indi­vi­du­als beco­me a cri­ti­cal mass.

The per­for­man­ce makes use of unu­su­al instru­ments such as swin­ging bull roars, alu­mi­num tubes, small hand­held rocks and megap­ho­nes, as well as a modu­lar syn­the­si­zer. The dan­cers and musi­cians col­la­bo­ra­te to rea­li­ze both the musi­cal and cho­re­o­grap­hic sco­re. Thus the per­for­mers enga­ge with each other on new ter­rain, char­ting lines of flight in the pre­sent. And whi­le they build over the dura­ti­on of the pie­ce, the audien­ce inte­gra­tes into the fabric. They too beco­me part of the moment, beco­ming res­pon­si­ble for momen­tum. Holding Present is a powerful rehear­sal for buil­ding the foun­da­ti­ons of collectivity.