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?