Julidans x WhyNot: OFF VENUE: Tour H (start WG-terrein)

Ropes & Limbs is an iteration of a research project by visual artist Isabel Cordeiro and the vertical dance collective Ropes Aligned, examining how bodies are shaped within the forces of gravity, withing the materiality of the world and in relation to each other. Two suspended performers walk down the side of a building while interacting with different materials – ropes, textiles and aluminum - that inform their movements. In the process of entanglement, unraveling and unfolding lies a transference of knowledge from the material’s imprinted history into the performers’ bodies.

Ropes & Limbs is inspired by the piece ‘Man Walking Down the Side of A Building’ (1970) by choreographer Trisha Brown (US, 1936-2017) in which a solitary dancer, secured by harnesses, attached to a single cable, walks down the side of the building at a ninety degree angle to the wall. Compelled by gravity, the performer exerted considerable effort as he performed the normally mundane task of walking. Brown’s intention was not to create a sense of theatricality but to draw attention to the simple and natural act of walking in an unnatural scenario. In Ropes & Limbs, as in Brown’s piece, no particular instructions are given for how the performers should move, leaving them open to focus on their own physical reaction to walking in this unusual way. Introducing Cordeiro’s objects allows for a new layer of embodied exploration.

Ropes Aligned - Vertical Dance Theater Amsterdam aims to promote vertical dance in the Netherlands and beyond. Founders and directors Suzanne de Bekker and Natasja Bode create vertical dance performances for public spaces, using climbing and abseiling techniques. They make works for public spaces in urban environments as well as in nature.

Isabel Cordeiro is an Amsterdam-based artist, curator, and teacher at several Dutch art academies. She holds an MA in Fine Arts from the Piet Zwart Institute in Rotterdam and a degree in Architecture from the Faculty of Architecture of Lisbon. Her works have been shown internationally at, amongst others, at7 Project Space Amsterdam (2019), Bradwolff Projects, Amsterdam (2017), Glasgow Sculpture Studios (2016), Halle 14, Leipzig (2014), Das Weisse Haus, Vienna (2010), Jorge Shirley Gallery, Lisbon (2012) and Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag (2008).

Do you adapt to social norms or do you find agency and resist? Arise is a reflection on the tention between these two fields. Choreographer Astrid Boons (BE, 1988) shows a personal perspective, where the social and societal expectations placed on women prescribe which ambitions are suitable. We witness how three performers struggle in an environment where the pressure from outside is palpable. Afterwards, as they find themselves in an in-between world, we question what there is on the other side. Will there be release? Can their environment change in such a way so that it empowers them? Getting known in the European dance scene for her emotionally demanding pieces, Boons’ creations offer a space to deeply experience the body as the site of boundaries and expansion between us and the world. She creates work with a distinctive female perspective foregrounding the subjective connectivity as a form of resistance, together with the continuous search for personal agency.

In 2021 Boons was nominated for the prestigious Prize of The Netherlands Dance Days for choreography. In the same year dancer Karolina Szymura was nominated for a ‘Swan for most impressive dance performance’ for her role in Arise.

Astrid Boons received the BNG Bank Dance Award 2017 and Piket Art Award 2017 for her duet Rhizoma (2016). Since 2017 Astrid is connected as a choreographer to Korzo Theatre in The Hague, The Netherlands. Her work has been produced by Korzo Theatre, Nederlands Dans Theater, Dance Theater Heidelberg, among others.