ICN is an event that is wholly dedicated to the celebration of the boundless creativity and remarkable ingenuity of independent dance.
A triple-bill evening with Girlhood & Desire by Franziska Böhm & Serena Ruth, Semblance of Existence by Attila Andrasi, and As of Right Now by Nicola Adilman.
After the performances, Dance Art Journal will moderate a Q&A session.
“Girlhood & Desire” by Franziska Böhm & Serena Ruth (25 minutes)
Girlhood & Desire by Franziska Böhm & Serena Ruthis a performative rendition of the central practice score of ‘sounding sensations’. Sounding sensations is a sounding-and-moving praxis developed collaboratively by the performers. It consists of a central practice score, a series of surrounding studies, and an imaginary game. In ‘one through three’, the three stages of the central practice score are enlivened performatively. The three stages of the score are stillness, expression as release, and harmony as resolution. The performers wonder how far they can blur the already blurred lines of practitioner and performer by asking can the central practice score be performed in ways that expand from carrying out, accomplishing, or fulfilling? Can it be performed in the sense that we gather to watch performance here today?
About Franzi & Serena:
Franzi & Serena are performative-researchers working in the interdisciplinary field of voice and movement. Franzi’s PhD research (completion 2024) investigates the cultivation of the felt sense (following Eugene Gendlin), upon the ‘vocalic self’. A term coined by Franzi, the vocalic self refers to the sounding-and-moving self. Serena studies sociology and auto-ethnography in conjunction with yogic wisdom on the divine feminine and embodiment. Their collaborative practice ‘Sounding Sensations’ is a sounding-and-moving praxis that explores the transformational power of embodied expression. The pair study embodied expression for its capacity to give way to emotional and sensorial release. When practising, Franzi & Serena are held by their collective valuing of honesty, allowing, imagining, bravery, edginess, frustration, and surprise. Together and individually they have presented work at the Southbank Centre (Extrapolating, 2024), Resolutions Dance Festival (A revealed study, 2022), the Laban Theatre (for expressions sake 2023,two solos, 2024) and the Jersey Arts House (2020) amongst other venues. They will also be publishing their first co-authored article about their praxis in a special edition on voice featured in Dance, Movement & Spiritualities Intellect Journal in September 2024.
Production Credits:
Performers and makers: Franziska Böhm & Serena Ruth
Lighting designer: Lucy Hansom (she/her)
Costume designer: Jacob Elliott Roberts (he/him)
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Semblance of Existence by Attila Andrasi (23 minutes)
Semblance of Existence (work-in-progress) explores performativity through complex, progressive rhythms and grooves. The choreography emphasizes the mechanics, structure, and functionality of the body in a continuous discovery process, highlighting decorative gestures that emerge from constantly “assembling and disassembling” the body. The performer seeks freedom within existing structures and systems through grooving and repetition. Instead of dismantling these systems, the performer indulges in them, uncovering the rich, contagious grooving phenomenon and its creative potential.
About Attila:
Attila Andrasi (HU) is an artistic-doctorate researcher at the University of the Arts London (UAL) with a thesis titled “Practicing and Performing Strange Semblance”. He is a self-advocate of neurodivergence, which sometimes informs his performances. Attila is a freelance movement facilitator and dance performance maker based in London and Budapest. His pieces emerge from diverse and complex body-based choreographic and performance practices that explore felt meaning, clownesque presence, and phenomenological aspects of neuroqueer existence. He graduated from the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy in 2015 and the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance (SEAD) in 2017. He also holds an MFA in Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (2023). He participated in artistic research residencies at Roca Umbert de les Arts (2020), Desembre en Dansa Festival (2019), and Lake Studio Berlin (2023). His work has been funded by the Hungarian National Dance Theatre (2021), the Hungarian National Cultural Fund (2020), and Arts Council England (2023). Since 2017, Attila has led contemporary dance training, performance practice workshops and labs in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Production Credits:
Directed and choreographed by: Attila Andrási (he/they)
Created and performed by: Alex Miklósy (he/him)
Music: AudiophiliacUK
Photographer: KNI
Supported by:
(2024) In-kind studio space: Műhely Alapítvány / Workshop Foundation
(2024) In-kind studio space: BCDC Budapest Circus Arts and Contemporary Dance College
(2023/24) Work-in-progress sharing and studio space: The Artits Community Membership at Chisenhale Dance, London
(2023) Research supported by Arts Council England (Developing Your Creative Practice),
(2023) Research residency at Lake Studios Berlin (4 weeks)
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As of Right Now by Nicola Adilman (25 minutes)
As of Right Now is a dance and visual art performance, delving into the realms of storytelling, visual imagery, and the expressive medium of movement inspired by life drawing and modelling. This unique fusion of fine art with the quirky and profound experiences of a contemporary, multi-dimensional woman invites the audience to immerse themselves in the present moment. Through this journey, the piece illuminates the inherent imperfections and hidden beauties of our everyday existence. At the heart of the performance are two visual artists whose lines intertwine with the fluidity of the performer’s movements. Their synchronized dance with the moving body serves as a testament to the interconnectedness of artistic expression and human experience.
About Nicola:
Nicola Adilman is a multidisciplinary Guardian-reviewed artist focused on contemporary dance and filmmaking. She began dancing in Toronto, Canada and graduated from the School of Toronto Dance Theatre in 2017. Nicola completed a 4 month international and UK tour with London-based EDGE Dance Company out of London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) under the artistic direction of Jeanne Yasko. Her dance films have been featured in festivals such as FORM Vancouver, Dance Made in Canada Festival and Branch Collective. She was awarded her Master of Arts in Dance with Distinction from LCDS in 2020. She presented her work Play by Play in Resolution Festival at The Place in London, England in 2023 and her work As of Right Now (AORN) in 2024. AORN was also presented at the Harrow Arts Center Boiler House Festival. Nicola continues to live and work as a freelance choreographer, performer, filmmaker and teacher in London, England.
Production Credits:
Choreographer and performer: Nicola Adilman (she/her)
Visual artists: Georgie Huxley (she/her) and Ushara Dilrukshan (she/her)
Lighting designer: Lucy Hansom (she/her)
Costume designer: Jacob Elliott Roberts (he/him)
Sound design: Ushara Dilrukshan
Music: DjRUM, Touched and Ushara Dilrukshan
Voiceover and text by Nicola Adilman and Michèle Muzzi
