A performance is a long quiet river

Which bodies are seen as active and energetic in our society? Who is viewed as passive and weak? The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre surmised that an individual human is only defined by actions taken, and he provided a seemingly clear-cut differentiation of activity and passivity within social awareness. In A performance is a long quiet river, Céline Bellut poses the question if this distinction still holds up while criticising the privileged perspective from which it arose.

Our society, its architectures and infrastructures do not offer equal access to all bodies to act freely, to move independently or to participate in the shaping of our lives together. Céline Bellut, joined by a team of two dancers, two visual artists and one musical composer, challenges those structural conditions that enable that which is perceived as active involvement, in a production oscillating between visual arts and stage play. The dance and movement language used by the dancers explores the performative potential of boredom, stagnating movement, and unproductive action while it deals with different concepts of passivity, transferring physical results in dance and absurd action and communal thinking into movement. In this way, A performance is a long quiet river also eventually examines our existential dread of passivity as well as the inner turmoil of wanting to be active – even in an environment that does not really demand that, such as during a performance. Because most of the time, doing nothing is the best way to begin something.

Cologne choreographer Céline Bellut last guested at tanzhaus nrw in the Double Bill for first productions with her work HOLD ON in which she dedicated herself to female sexual fantasies, in 2019. Céline Bellut graduated from the Folkwang University of the Arts and finds her choreographic language between dance, visual arts, and philosophical practice.

Duration: 90 min. / in English
Please note: Use of loud music