The Sea Within by Voetvolk/Lisbeth Gruwez
An ode to mother chaos in the time of the great collapse.
Edging between subtle dominance and naked vulnerability 3 performers shapeshift through a choreography of intimacy, transformation, and repulsion. Sophia Mage pulls from mythology surrounding the goddesses Innana and Ereshkigal who were present 4.000 years ago in ancient Sumer. Innana and Ereshkigal represent each the ‘lower’ and ‘upper’ realms of the universe; they may also be considered the conscious and subconscious.
The work is a choreographic reflection on the destructive-transformative power these archetypes represent and the multitudes of contradicting attributes flourishing within a single being or entity.
Atmosphere of Decay is created by Sophia Mage in close collaboration with performers Brittanie Brown, Charlie Petersen, Escarleth Romo Pozo and electronic musician John T. Gast.
Atmosphere of Decay ebbs and flows. It’s restless and grounded, it lusts for blood, and desires intimacy, It’s healing and thieving, jealous and benevolent, it’s warmth in the abyss.
She swallows all of it, bones, fur, paws, tail, teeth…holds it within her fullness while she sleeps and dreams…
concept & choreography: Lisbeth Gruwez
sound design: Maarten Van Cauwenberghe, Elko Blijweert & Bjorn Eriksson
performance: Ariadna Gironès Mata, Cherish Menzo, Charlotte Petersen, Daniela Escarleth Romo Pozo, Francesca Chiodi Latini, Giada Castioni, Jennifer Dubreuil Houthemann, Natalia Pieczuro, Sarah Klenes, Sophia Mage & Chen-Wei Lee
light design: Harry Cole
scenography: Marie Szersnovicz
creation: 2018
premiere: 16.03.2018 Nouveau Theatre de Montreuil (Paris)
touring: 2018 - 2020
coproduction: Royal Flemish Theatre, Festival de Marseille / Théâtre Le Merlan, Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, TANDEM Arras-Douai, Theater Freiburg, Le Fond du dotation du Quartz, La Rose des Vents, Theater Im Pumpenhaus, Julidans, Kunstfest Weimar, CNN Nantes, CDC Toulouse, Tanz im August / HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, Vooruit / Campo, Charleroi Danse & Key Performance
residencies: Troubleyn | Jan Fabre, Charleroi Danse, Arts Centre BUDA & Royal Flemish Theatre
supported by: NONA, the Flemish Community, the Flemish Community Commission & the Belgian Tax Shelter
press:
'Not one movement is fixed, and yet everything seems completely worked-out. Like a dynamical painting. (…) The Sea Within is a provisional peak in an unfolding body of work. (…) Both the choreography and the performance is a poetic tour de force that portraits individuality and communality in all its contradictions in such an impressive way that at the end of the evening one can’t stop feeling that one has read a whole book about it. ****'
by Filip Tielens – De Standaard
'The Sea Within is not trying to convince anyone of a certain ideology, nor is it deconstructing or installing a fixed image of women. Therefore it’s anything but just another drop in the ocean of choreographies. (…) With her strength, lightness, physical height and short hair Charlotte Petersen (tanzmainz) radiates both power and fragility and thus fits the striking personalities that Lisbeth Gruwez is searching for in her work.'
by Thomas Hahn – Tanz Magazin
'The Sea Within is a real and 100% female bomb of exceptional sensuality. The total commitment of the dancers, their ‘occupied’ bodies and their irradiant faces form a fascinating and magnetizing halo.'
by Delphine Goater – Res Musica
'One can’t get around noticing the astonishing presence of Charlotte Petersen, powerful but almost a ballerina and therefore at antipodes to stereotypes. “I specifically looked for performers who are powerful and vulnerable at the same time,” states Gruwez.‘
by Thomas Hahn - Danser canal historique
