"I love turning into this four-legged creature. The little bits where you can squeeze the crutches into a nook or cranny. In Scotland we would say 'nooks and crannies' to that. I get so lost in a way of playing when the floor really becomes my companion..."
In her solo piece "Songs of the Wayfarer", internationally acclaimed choreographer and disability arts pioneer Claire Cunningham explores the motif of wandering and mountaineering. Inspired by Gustav Mahler's "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen", she returns to her classical vocal training and asks: What does it mean to strive for the heights? To go on and on and - above all - when to turn back?
The piece interweaves knowledge and practices of disabled bodies into a crip* choreography that subverts normative notions of bodies in the literal sense. "Are these the maps we would draw? Of place, scale, time, energy? What can we learn from those who reach for the ground on crutches, as four-legged creatures?" asks Cunningham, creating a new vision of walking and encountering nature.
* Crip is a positive self-designation of disabled, chronically ill people and expresses belonging to a cultural and political identity.
Duration: approx. 75 minutes
Language: English
World premiere
As part of the Rhine-Main Dance Festival 2024
This content has been machine translated.
Price information:
reduced 12 €