COLLECTIVE MATTER refers to a common cause and is a collective reflection across generations, a transition, an exchange, and a co-creation. All the physical movement material is created through meditative practices that embrace the pre-articulated and the uncultivated voice. COLLECTIVE MATTER is the second work in the BIG BANG trilogy by artistic director and choreographer Nønne Mai Svalholm/SVALHOLM, who this time explores the themes of co-creation and community. COLLECTIVE MATTER is an interdisciplinary and site-specific work that adapts and transforms in light of the places it is performed and the different artists involved. COLLECTIVE MATTER is the first work where Nønne Mai Svalholm has curated other choreographers to co-create with her and selected dancers from SVALHOLM's 60+ ensemble. The choreographers behind these works have created the content based on an extended exchange - partly focusing on their respective artistic practices, interests, and methods, and partly focusing on the involved performers. COLLECTIVE MATTER was originally created for specific locations in Aarhus city center and co-produced by Aarhus Theatre and Åbne Scene, Godsbanen in collaboration with Aarhus Festival.
Now, COLLECTIVE MATTER has been further developed for international touring and consists of two choreographic works: Passager (2021) by the duo two-women-machine-show and the new work Breath (2023) by Nønne Mai Svalholm. COLLECTIVE MATTER is performed both indoors and outdoors and can be experienced as a cohesive event or as individual but still connected pieces. COLLECTIVE MATTER was presented at PASSAGE FESTIVAL 2023, at Fira Tárrega Festival in Spain from September 7-10, 2023, and at PASSAGE FESTIVAL from August 1-3, 2024.
Passager
Passager is a dive into the deeper layers of our collective memory and the potential that emerges when we unfiltered encounter our inner visions and hallucinations. Through meditative practices, the four participating performers have created individual solos. Together, they form a collective choreographic composition that ranges from the abstract to the more familiar. Voices and movements from unconscious layers point towards the unpredictable. Passager was originally created for the work COLLECTIVE MATTER, which was performed during the Aarhus Festival in 2021.
Credits
Idea and Choreography: two-women-machine-show
Artistic Direction/Production: Nønne Mai Svalholm/SVALHOLM
Performance and Development: Marian Kudahl, Sisse Lunøe, Ida-Elisabeth Larsen, Marie-Louise Stentebjerg
Costumes: two-women-machine-show
Headgear: The design duo KASPERSOPHIE for the work Of All Its Parts: From Darkness (2020) / Design and production by Rasa VilJewelry
Photographer: Peter Ravnsborg @mumilab
BREATH
First, the breath is slow, then imperative, and finally out of control. BREATH explores the breath as a life-giving and transformative force. This allegory is performed by two female artists, Nønne Mai Svalholm and her muse Sisse Lunøe (74 years old), together with a large inflatable yellow-black sculpture. Together, they highlight the significant potential that exists across generations in a changing world. Nønne Mai Svalholm created the sculpture in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Henrik Vibskov, with references to a lung, an ocean, a world, a body, and a portal.
Credits
Concept, Idea, and Choreography: Nønne Mai Svalholm/SVALHOLM
Artistic Direction/Production: Nønne Mai Svalholm/SVALHOLM
Performance and Development: Sisse Lunøe and Nønne Mai Svalholm
Sculpture: Nønne Mai Svalholm and Henrik Vibskov
Consultant: Marie Dahl
Costumes: Nønne Mai Svalholm in collaboration with Marie Dahl and KASPERSOPHIE
Headgear: The design duo KASPERSOPHIE for the work Of All Its Parts: From Darkness (2020) / Design and production by Rasa VilJewelry with interpretation by Nønne Mai Svalholm
Residency: ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum and BORA BORA Dance and Visual Theatre in 2023
Photographer: Peter Ravnsborg @mumilab
Film: Fade to Grey
Supported by the Danish Arts Foundation, the Augustinus Foundation, and the Knud Højgaard Foundation