The central theme of the dance artist and researcher Vera Tussing’s work is how different senses combine to structure our perception and the creation of unique interpersonal encounters between the audience and a performer; a kind of “sensory sharing” which, as the critics have pointed out, happens “so dextrously, so benignly that she sends us out of the theatre feeling unnaturally alert and refreshed.” (Judith Mackrell, The Guardian). A specific aspect of this artistic focus is further articulated in the piece T-Dance in which she explores touch and connection. Several questions form the basis of this piece: How do tactility, with all its symbolic power, fragility, and humour attain meaning? How are we connected even when separated by distance, time, or context? How do we touch without touching? These questions are then poured onto the artistic stage where four dancers explore empathy and physical memory and question the limits of the body, as well as the connections of the minds. Without ever leaving their seats, the audience is called to inhabit the same imaginative space as the performers in an invitation to participate in an empathetic, imagined touch

#sensory #sharing #kinetic #transmission #empathy #touch me touch you #touching at distance #mirrorneurons

performers at Spider Festival: Gorka Gurrutxaga Arruti (B), Esse Vanderbruggen (B), Meri Pajunpää (FIN), Vera Tussing (B) * direction: Vera Tussing * performers/choreographic co-creators: Ben McEwen, Meri Pajunpää, Vera Tussing, Zoltan Vakulya * support / artistic collaborators: JS Rafaeli, Mariana Santos * sound and light: Benoit Pele, Mike Picknett * musical support: Lambros Zannettos * technical manager: Benoit Pele * illustrations and visuals: Gosia Machon * photography: Rozenn Quere & Alessandra Rocchetti * research supporters: Anneleen Keppens, Marine Combrade, Mariana Santos, Nelle Hens, Ariane Loze * supported by: the Flemish Authorities (BE)  * produced by: Vera Tussing / Klein Verzet * tour management: Hiros * in collaboration with: made at The Place (London) / Vera Tussing is a WorkPlace Artist * coproduction: workspacebrussels, Kunstencentrum STUK Creation * creation supported by: The Place, STUK Leuven, workspacebrussels, wpZimmer, Antwerp, El Graner, Barcelona