PAUSE PIECE   

 

 

                - a witchy dance performance in a gallery setting, inspired by 

                           menopause,  postmodernism, and other mysteries    

 

 

 

 

 

The prelude to Pause Piece was a horror-struck fascination with menopause as a physical, mental and social phenomenon.  With an updated version of the witch character, the project tackles themes  that never age: the impermanence of the body, the power of vanity, and art-making as a survival strategy.

 

The audience can choose between different movement installations* that take place simultaneously in different spaces — the way we are used to moving freely between different exhibition rooms in a museum. Starting in Room 1, brooms, minimalist choreography and monosyllabic dialogue are used to take the audience on a quasi-ritualistic journey. Then a "relay" begins: the dancers start various activities that they circle through in different constellations. This is the part where the viewer chooses between the rooms and get to experience the constant transformation of the installations.

 

The music, which is specially composed for the project, is played from several different sound sources in combination with the dancers' voices and live sound effects.

 

In our digitized world, the unfiltered, direct live performance fulfills an important function. The maturation of the dance medium into an art form that expresses so much more than virtuosity, beauty and youthful energy, entails a growing need for new places for dance experiences.  Pause Piece shows up in precisely such non-traditional place for dance. A new audience gets the chance to experience a work by experienced dance artists. With improvisational performance attitude and serious playfulness, they put the stigma of menopause in the center-stage in a tribute to the strong — no longer so cute and flexible —  artists who don't give up and who stick together — a praise of the Art Hag!

 

Pause Piece  attract many of the 50+ women who consume and promote art experiences but who are rarely represented on stage. At the same time, the theme is universal and inviting to a wide audience.  Curious and creative young people — future "art hags" of all genders — receive redemptive role models through the figures in the performance, counterbalancing  the ideal images that young people are exposed to today. The physical humor, the playful audience participation and the freedom of movement also appeal to children.

 

One of the project's themes is menopause as "puberty in reverse".  Hormonal storms, emotional upheaval and identity collapse lead to transformation, to — as it were — giving birth to a new self.  Revisiting the hero-worship and vanity of adolescence, the show's characters try on the outer qualities of pop and art icons such as Yayoi Kusama, Patti Smith and Pina Bausch, thereby donning their courage, strength and endurance.

 

The choreographic material of Pause Piece revolves around the physical (and psychological) concept of counterbalance. The rugged dancers surrender to the force of gravity and the hallmark of modern dance, "off-balance", comes in handy yet again, as they  melt, slide and plunge in their mastery of The Art of Hanging in There

 

* Movement installations, Pause Piece:

 

SWEEP

A pack of post menopausal, post modern dancers sweeps into the museum. With brooms, minimalist choreography and monosyllabic dialogue, they take the audience on a quasi-ritualistic journey.

Rehearsal clips @ https://youtu.be/WqJwALsiYtA  

 

FOUR-PART CLEANSE

1. Wipe Down

2. Burn Off

3. Bury Deep

4. Air Out

Rehearsal clips @ https://youtu.be/x2Jk2OETxgo​

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SPA

A moment of rest, mutual care, and reflection.

Rehearsal clips @ https://youtu.be/hAm0aZtsm3k ​

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KILL DEATH

Along a wall, a hypnotic choreography unfolds in and out of a projected image of a skeleton.

Rehearsal clips @ https://youtu.be/FccTe4tMTF4​

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STAYIN' ALIVE

One last, wild dance - for the rugged beauty of autumn, the healing power of art, and the transformative potential of midlife.

Rehearsal clips @ https://youtu.be/W4bEgU_5H-M