June 23. Water @ Weld. Performance: Bodies of Water (Vanadislunden)

Bodies of Water

”Webs of physical intimacy and fluid exchange.”

Bodies of Water is a choreographic installation and performance where performers are continuously doing Pettersson’s water practice while following a scripted score. Departing from Russian Marxist activist Alexandra Kollontai’s texts on love and Astrida Neimanis’ work with Hydrofeminism, the work attempts to embody and become water. On a molecular level, through language, objects, sound, relational tactics, and dance. As subtle as the smallest water droplet or as wild as the wildest ocean, eddying, pooling, navigating, submerging, and rolling—meanwhile connected by a magnetic attraction, not unlike the hydrogen bond that is part of the anatomic structure of water.

What kind of movement is required, and what kind of listening needs to be activated and choreographed, as the fundamental life-bearing fact literally and metaphorically can pour out? How can we understand the world through this material anchor and shared space of all living things, socially, ecologically, politically? If it is in us at this very moment, never as an abstract, always as a continuously performative(material) thing through and with us, always.

 


Bodies of Water is part of Pettersson’s extended research All Departures Are Waves (2019-), which brings forward the ecological, performative, political, economic, ethical, and narrative qualities that water entails and unleashes.

Choreography, installation and objects: Pontus Pettersson

Performed by: Klara Utke Acs, Robert Malmborg, Sybrig Dokter, Adam Seid Tahir and Daniela Escarleth Romo Pozo and Andrea Aja Svensson

Music and sound by: Neda Sanai, Samo DJ, LUNE, Daniela Bershan, Jin Mustafa, Stolen Songs, PETS, Maria Hilmersson Landgren.

Dramaturgy Karina Sarkissova

Costumes: Pontus Pettersson in dialogue with performers

Originally performed at Tensta Konsthall within Dora Garcia’s exhibition “RED LOVE,” May
2018 curated by Hannah Zafiropoulos.

Water @ Weld is co-produced by Weld and MARC with support by the Swedish Arts Council


Klara Utke Acs
Acs is an artist working with expanded choreography and contemporary dance as a part of the scenes in Stockholm and Copenhagen. They work with the poetics and politics of bodies in the seams between performance, dramaturgy, text and visual arts. Klara holds a BA in Dance Performance from Stockholm University of the Arts (2019). Klara is currently choreographing the performance echoes premiering at MDT and Dansehallerne (DK) in autumn 2021. They are part of groups and organizations such as höjden studio, fake daughter, POSSE and Queers Against Fascism.

Andrea Aja Svensson
got her professional education at Ballet Academy, Stockholm and has worked as a freelance dancer since 1992. She has since the beginning worked in a lot of different genres and with a broad spectrum but lately been focusing on performances for the young audience and work with contemporary choreographers. Aja has been a part of Weld Company since 2015 and has danced in works such as Frédéric Gies Tribute and Yvonne Rainer´s Again? What now?. Recently she has worked with Frédéric Gies, Warriors: Chiron in Aries, Recital #1, Malin Arnell and Mar Fjell (IEOC), Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyễn Untitled(Entitled), Anna Pehrsson´s Pressure Fields and will be a part of Dalija Acin Thelanders upcoming work.

Adam Seid Tahir
is an Eritrean-Swedish dancer, choreographer and web developer based in Stockholm. They have trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and Ballet Junior de Geneve in Switzerland. They have performed and worked with choreographers such as Sharon Eyal, Hofesh Shechter, Emanuel Gat, Alexander Ekman, Thomas Hauert, Olivier Dubois, Michael Keegan Dolan, Louise Mochia, Paloma Madrid and Pontus Pettersson. Adam’s work encompasses dancing, performing, choreographing, writing, coding and creating work for physical platforms and cyberspace. They have also contributed to the writing of a book on treating autoimmune illness with food.

Sybrig Dokter
is a choreographer and performer in the field of contemporary dance, visual arts and contemporary theatre. Sybrig was educated at Codarts, Rotterdam. After moving to Stockholm 1995 she initiated international projects in Eastern European countries and founded Lava-Dansproduktion with Benno Voorham in 1997. Sybrig has collaborated and worked with Peter Stamer, Aitana Cordero Vico, Anna Koch,Litó Walkey, Marie Fahlin, Frédéric Gies, Pontus Pettersson and Matthias Sperling. Sybrig has been a member of Weld Company in Stockholm since 2013.

Daniela Escarleth Romo Pozo
is a Nicaraguan/Peruvian-Swedish Dance Artist. She is interested in capturing the subtle forces that choreograph human relationships to their environment, investigating the realms of resonance between us and the world, including others. She has a Master in Performance from London Contemporary Dance School and lived many years dancing abroad, performing works of Voetvolk(BE), Tabea Martin(CH), Ugo Dehaes (BE), Jamila Johnson Small (UK), Emanuel Gat (FR), Wally Cardona (US). Since her home-coming, she has had the pleasure to perform the work of Pontus Pettersson, Sybrig Dokter, Klara Utke Acs, while simultaneously developing her own work.

Robert Malmborg
got his education at the Royal Swedish Ballet school 2003-2006. In addition to that, he has training in Gaga whilst dancing in Ensemble Batsheva (ISRL), and many years of training in several dance styles deriving from Streetdance. Robert has worked with; Bounce Streetdance Company, Ohad Naharin, Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar, Kenneth Kvarnström, Pontus Pettersson, Rebecca Chentinell, Lito Walkey, Andros Zins-Browne, Adam Linder, Jeremy Shaw a.o. He has been a member of Weld Company since 2015. In 2018 he performed and choreographed the dance piece The Place Where The Fire Is Kept at Dansens Hus in Stockholm. Robert will begin a master’s degree in choreography New Performative Practices in 2021 at Stockholm University of the Arts.


Due to Covid-19, we carry out our public events with a limited audience, safe distances and follow the public health authority’s recommendations.


Weld is supported by Stockholms stad, the Swedish Arts Council and Region Stockholm