Ways of Doing
So, what is going on in my head? and does it coincide with what I'm doing physically, or what my body is doing? No
Is my body aware that there is some compromise in how I can move? Because there is compromise in how I can move.
My head is telling me that, but at the same time there is memory, memory of a time before.
A time before.
A time that no longer exists but is still present in my thought and muscle memory.
Suzie has been silently struggling with a chronic illness which affects her body for the past 18 years but has only recently begun implementing the theme of invisible disability into her artistic work.
In Ways of Doing she has been reflecting on how her hidden disability has impacted her life and particularly her working life as a dancer and choreographer. For many years she separated artist Suzie from sick Suzie, but now has reconciled the two by focusing on what she can do, rather than what she can’t do. By finding new ways of working with her body using restriction and limitation, she aims to work with a physicality that can still satisfy creative desires, needn’t be apologised for, and hopefully triggers contemplation around a theme rarely seen in dance. Using dance and text Suzie navigates through memories, feelings and thoughts, together with Mattias in his role as her life and work partner. The performance talk Body Narratives 1, and the performance Ways of Doing are part of the same project.
Credits
Concept
Suzie Davies
Creators and Performers
Suzie Davies
Mattias Ekholm
Text
Suzie Davies
Composer
Øyvind Osmo Eriksen
Light
Tobias Leira
Set/Costume
DEED
Co-Producers
CODA Warmupfest vol.2
DNVCI
Diverse Nordic Voices Choreographic Initiative
Bærum Kulturhus
Dansens Hus Stockholm
Supported By
Norsk Kulturråd
(The Arts Council Norway)
Fond For Lyd og Bilde
(The Fund For Sound and Image)
FFUK
Fond For Utøvende Kunstnere
(The Fund For Performing Artists)
Oslo Kommune
Video - Hein Creations
Photos - Antero Hein
Composer - Øyvind Osmo Eriksen
Light - Tobias Leira