In a world where land, language and folklore have become commodities, the only place you’re invited back is outside, where greenery is no longer the primary reference. Instead, uneven floorboards, illusion mirrors, and trickster steps form profitable landscapes.
Nüganen, KISLING, and Sova, as a reaction, open up their ice-manufacturing business. In the backdrop of nightmares and constant dripping, they navigate between multiple perspectives on locality, accompanied by CDJs and a banjo. At Earth’s magnitude, they are specks of dust, and next to geological time, as if on speed. They trace locality from places where the influence of one dominant culture has made imported goods part of folklore, while the word ‘local’ still adds value when making choices as a tourist. Ash, horizon, riding a house is a series of chain reactions that invites the audience to envision a belonging – one that cannot be seen from here. It must be imagined.
Performed at Rakete Festival, Vienna; Mocvara Gallery, Zagreb; SAAL Biennial, Tallinn.
Concept, choreography: Netti Nüganen
Performance: Netti Nüganen, Pire Sova, Michaela Kisling
Sound design: Michaela Kisling
Scenography, costumes: Pire Sova
Text: Netti Nüganen
Light design: Klimentina Milenova
House-costume: Zody Burke
Ice-moulds: Madlen Hirtentreu
Production management: partner in crime and Kaie Küünal
Maintaining hope in the ongoing struggle is no easy task. In their performance "Lemniscate," Shahrzad and Morteza remind us not to abandon hope in the exhausting fight for justice. They embody resistance against the oppressive regimes they have experienced firsthand and explore how totalitarian states categorize people. In doing so, they advocate for liberation and the right to life. With all their senses and longings, they envision a world of dance that values their vitality and artistic expression, yet they cannot conceive of one thing: revolution and change without dance.
Following the passionate motto of political activist Emma Goldman,
“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution,” the performers embark on a search for international solidarity. Through movement, dance, and spoken word, they process their experiences of migration and displacement, breaking down binary and restrictive attributions. As part of SHIFT. Funded by the BMKÖS and the 19th and 23rd districts of Vienna.
photos © Marija Sabanovic
photos © Aled Ordu
