Fat by Ridina Ahmedová, Mass by Eva Stará, and Passing by Nikola Križková
The Tantehorse ensemble presented a continuation of the successful dance activism series Emergency Dances III under the curatorial guidance of Miřenka Čechová. Premiered on June 14 and followed by two reprises on June 15 and 16, the project focused on the theme of SELF-AWARENESS. Three works were presented – Fat by Ridina Ahmedová, Mass by Eva Stará, and Passing by Nikola Križková – each of which, through different forms, sought answers to questions of how to find oneself truthfully in the contemporary world and how to maintain awareness of one’s own self.
Who am I really? Who am I in the eyes of society? How does my self-image change in response to my surroundings? Is my life truly my own, or do I live it according to the expectations of others? How can I perceive myself truthfully? Is the reality I live the one I want to live? And can I change it? How can I filter out what is unnecessary and focus only on what is essential? How can I move toward myself? Toward my own breath and movement in space. Toward the path to my inner center.
The premiere of Emergency Dances III was originally planned for the autumn of the previous year. Instead of a live performance, the ensemble presented a special online version at the end of the year, offering insight into the creative process accompanied by interviews conducted by Alice Koubová with the artists.
All three live performances were also followed by post-show discussions open to audience participation. The discussions were moderated by performance philosopher Alice Koubová. Her approach was not focused on having the artists explain their works, but rather on encouraging the audience’s subjective experience and their desire to share it with others. Koubová asked about the sensorial and emotional experience, which offered the artists insight into whether, and to what extent, the work resonated with the audience and what they took away from the evening. This type of discussion expanded the audience’s horizon toward new ways of understanding dance as an art form.
“We sought to open up a new horizon of understanding and experiencing dance for people who are not regular spectators of the dance genre. To show them that everyone has the potential to take away a deep personal experience from a dance work through inner processes of release, letting go, and imagination. It is a particular kind of pure, emotionally intuitive experience. In direct contact with a dance work, the audience could encounter an almost spiritually therapeutic effect,” says Miřenka Čechová, curator of the Emergency Dances series.
Fat by Ridina Ahmedová both preceded and followed her successful podcast, in which she explored how to find a path toward one’s own body when it does not meet societal standards and expectations. Passing by Nikola Križková was a meditative pause within walking, a shedding of external influences and a focused inward immersion unfolding through time and space. Mass by Eva Stará explored the creation of possibilities for perceiving oneself and one’s own reality, questioning whether the life we are currently living is the best possible option.
Premiere: 14. 6. 2021 - Palác Akropolis
Part of project: Emergency Dances
