Un-Staging Tactility

Residencies

  • 06.02 > 18.02.2023

In this pro­me­na­de per­for­man­ce incor­po­ra­ting dan­ce, immersi­ve cho­re­o­grap­hy, sculp­tu­re and sound art, Vera Tussing and col­la­bo­ra­tors ask: What comes befo­re touch?

Our sen­se of touch is inter­woven with desi­re, fear, dis­gust, com­fort, plea­su­re, danger. Tactility is by defi­ni­ti­on a com­plex phe­no­me­non, defi­ning our rela­ti­ons with each other and the world – but so often going unexa­mi­ned. Because it’s so loa­ded with mea­ning, touch requi­res care­ful nego­ti­a­ti­on. And becau­se eve­ry­o­ne comes with their own his­to­ry of touch – which can inclu­de trai­ning, prac­ti­ce, memo­ry, and trau­ma – the befo­re’ of touch needs to be always lived afresh, care­ful­ly con­si­de­red and recon­si­de­red with each new encounter.

Three dan­cers (Helen D’Haenens, Raphael Philipe Damasceno Ferreira de Moura, Christine Sollie) & Vera Tussing invi­te the audien­ce to explo­re who we are in move­ment, in dan­ce, in this moment befo­re touch? What memo­ries of past tou­ches do we car­ry within us? What pos­si­ble tou­ches pre­ce­de any imme­di­a­te touch? Does touch only hap­pen when we noti­ce it – when we acti­ve­ly reach for the other’s hand? What tou­ches do we never even noti­ce at all? 

Creation & direc­ti­on: Vera Tussing Musical | Collaboration & tech­ni­cal direc­ti­on: Michael Picknett | Co-cre­a­ti­on & dan­ce: Helen D’Haenens, Raphael Philipe Damasceno Ferreira de Moura, Christine Sollie, Vera Tussing | Sound con­tri­bu­ti­on by: Margaret Hermant, Fabien Leseure, Anna Muchin, Michael Picknett | Light design: Caroline Mathieu | Costume: Lisa Gambey |Handsculptures & set: Vera Tussing & Lisa Gambey | Contextual research & dra­ma­tur­gy: JS Rafaeli, Nele Oeser, Sebastian Kann | Visuals Promotion: Sarah Yu Zeebroek | Production: Hiros | Co-pro­duc­ti­on: C‑Mine, Kaaitheater, STUK, KAAP | Residencies: CORSO Antwerp, workspa­ce­brus­sels, Kaaitheater, STUK, Kunstenwerkplaats Pianofabriek, C‑Mine, KAAP | Supported by: Flemish Government