Projects

BackSketch of Togetherness #7

Sketch of Togetherness - goes ballroom (Ball + Workshop)

The loss of places of physical encounter in this digital age leads to more isolation and impedes a sense of supportive togetherness. Loneliness is a wide spread phenomenon that predominantly effects older people. Dialogue and encounter through dance can counteract this tendency, bringing people together and allowing them to experience their own body in the presence of others. With this in mind, the Centre Français de Berlin initiated an exchange in the form of a ball between young choreographers and senior citizens from Berlin.

Under the title Sketch of Togetherness - goes ballroom, Lea Moro, together with the dramaturge Alexandra Henning and the sound artist / DJ Andres Bucci, invited elderly people to a collective dance on 4th December 2019. By re-sensitising the body, the ball participants, many regulars among them, were invited to rediscover their own bodies and the joy of dancing. In this way an atmosphere of trust and flat hierarchy was built between people of different ages, experiences and physical condition, who had not met before. Rehearsed elements from Sketch of Togetherness were transferred to a completely new context and put to the test. Through inclusive warm-ups, exercises for body awareness and mobilisation; simple movement sequences and solo dancing to music, the participants got to know more about themselves and one another. Dancing together also meant learning from one another. We challenged each other to dance, watched one another, created new dance moves, cheered each other on, allowed for breaks, swayed to our favourite songs and shared life stories – almost in passing. By applying makeup to one another, we exposed ourselves to one another, trusting our ability to transform. On the dance floor, chatting over coffee and cake and outside the group, we discovered moments of togetherness, reminding us that we can come together, whatever time it is, wherever we are and however old we are.

Credits

Concept: Lea Moro in collaboration with Alexandra Hennig and Andres Bucci
Participants: Senior citizens of the Alloheim Senior Residence
Pictures © Dieter Hartwig, Andres Bucci

By continuing your visit, you agree the use of cookies.OK.