ABOUT

The multiple crises we are facing (ecological, social, economic, political) come down to the fact that humans are using more resources than the planet can offer and regenerate. From the overproduction and overconsumption prompted by the industrial revolution, there has been an accelerated increase in the disruption of the ‘Earth system.

Because of a tale focussing on creating more, better and cheaper; we have cut off any narrative promoting the rest of the living beings as equals. They progressively became inanimate resources for humans to use. This crack in our relationship towards the other-than humans is the ‘tipping point’ with which this performance concerns itself.

“Sympoiesis” is a dance performance. Coined originally by Beth Dempster, this term implied ‘multi-species making together’. ‘Co-making’ instead of auto-poiesis, which is the act of creating things alone. The performance emerges from the relationship between myself, a plant, a slime mold, four dancers, and a sound designer.

By following an interdisciplinary method of inquiry that includes art and science, I developed relationships with others species. These include Sissi: an Alocasia Zebrina living in my apartment during lockdown and Slimies: Physarum polycephalum, from the Grow Lab of CSM.
From these relationships, the characters and costumes of the performance emerged. By introducing Sissi and the Slimies to four dancers and a sound designer, we shaped together with the choreography and sound of the piece.

This performance invites you to rethink your relationship with other species. Can we erase the boundary between “us” and “them”? Can we reshape our present and maybe rethink our future by learning about their past?

Direction and costumes:
Laurane Le Goff (MA Art and Science)
Dancers and co-creators:
Megan Eyles (Trinity Laban Conservatoire)
Aske Ploug (London Contemporary Dance School)
Justine Prignot (London Contemporary Dance School)
Timea Szalontayova (Trinity Laban Conservatoire)
Sound design:
Victor Paredes (PhD sound-music-movements interactions, IRCAM-Centre Pompidou)
with the collaboration of Anshuman Gupta (MA Biodesign)
Duration: around 20 min.