Anti-Distance-Dance

Text: Christine Matschke
Dance Journalist

Two human bodies, wrapped in bright blue sleeping bags, sit opposite each other and work their way out of their symbolic “own skin”. This is the opening scene of the mixed-ability dance duet “SKIN”, in which the performer and ambassador of integration Roland Walter and the choreographer Renae Shadler search for a common language of movement. In the interplay of the very different bodies, an idea unfolds of what it means to cross one’s own physical, but also mental boundaries and to tolerate differences. How does it feel to put yourself in another person’s skin, first only to share their movements and then, in close contact, to sense their surfaces? – A sensitization study inspired by sea anemones and fluids, seeking to expand not only the relationship between individuals, but also the relationship between people and their organic environment. The relaxing and empowering element for the desired symbiosis? Water.