Unravel
Unravel is a solo performance about transracial adoption and what it means to live with loss, alienation and a constant search for identity. Experiences that exist not only in memories, but are also carried within the body.
Festival Julidans
Programme section Julidans Next
Dutch premiere
Location Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Venue Studio 1
Run time 30 minutes
Genre Dance
Language no problem
Unravel
At the heart of it all is the Ethiopian Buna ceremony: the traditional coffee ritual in which beans are roasted, ground and shared. The aroma wafts through the space. The gesture is ancient and familiar, yet at the same time the starting point of a much larger story. For just as the coffee bean travels a long way before it ends up somewhere, so Unravel tells of displacement, uprooting and what is lost when people and raw materials are torn from their original habitat.
In this performance, creator and performer Elsa Zema Mulder allows the personal and the political to merge. Through text, movement and ritual, she explores what a body remembers of a place it had to leave – and what happens when it returns to a land that feels both familiar and strange. What does it still remember? What has changed along the way?-|-
The audience is invited to become part of this shared space. Who is heard, who decides, and who remains out of the picture? These questions hang in the air; amidst the scent of coffee, the performer’s voice and the silence in between.
Elsa 'Zema' Mulder
Elsa 'Zema' Mulder born in Ethiopia and raised in the Netherlands, is a movement artist, dance teacher, maker, and event producer. From an early age, she developed a passion for dance and became known for her community-driven approach to the arts
Her work is rooted in the exploration of dance and the body as a powerful tool for storytelling and see it living archive. She is drawing inspiration from personal experiences, peoples stories and reflecting the time we are in. Elsa’s curiosity extends beyond dance, leading her to collaborate with artists from various fields and to experiment with different crafts. In recent years, Elsa has delved into event production and keeps herself busy with international adoption relates issues. Now based in Ethiopia for some years, Elsa is focused on continuing to tell stories, exchange and collaborate with artists both locally and internationally.
Credits
Choreography Elsa ‘Zema’ Mulder
Direction and Texts Elsa ‘Zema’ Mulder
Music Creation Cheikh Ibrahim Thiam
Light Design Elsa ‘Zema’ Mulder
Performer Elsa ‘Zema’ Mulder
