Sitting With The Body 24/7
Retreat in public space
Our lives are governed by an economy that never sleeps. What is its impact on our relationship with time, work and our own body? In Sitting with the Body 24/7, a small group of people retreats into a shop window in the city centre for a week. They perform ordinary activities there: sitting, lying, walking, standing, making things, seeing, dancing and speaking. The fixed timetable and the concentration on one activity at a time are the conditions that provide the opportunity for physical introspection. By tracing and acknowledging physical perceptions and intentions, the performers try to give voice to what usually lies hidden in the human body. At the same time, Sitting with the Body 24/7 relates to an urban environment and the possible disruptions it may bring. The passer-by is invited to participate in this paradoxical retreat in public space by watching the actions or by entering the space and carrying them out themselves.
• Heike Langsdorf is a German dance and performance artist based in Brussels. She has worked with Kris Verdonck, Jan Fabre and Alexander Baervoets. She is a member of the C&H collective. Since 2010 she has produced work under the name ‘radical_hope’. She also teaches at the KASK in Ghent.
Concept, development and realization Heike Langsdorf | In collaboration with Philippe Chatelain (bodypractice advice), Helena Dietrich (graphic design, images), Sébastien Hendrickx (dramaturgical advice), Lilia Mestre (choreographical, dramaturgical advice), Christoph Ragg (scenography, technical development), Jeroen Peeters (outside eye) | Research Renée Copraij (mental and physical coaching), Heike Langsdorf | Advice Shadow, Michael Schmid | Full-time practitioners Philippe Chatelain, Helena Dietrich, Heike Langsdorf, Lilia Mestre, Elke van Campenhout | Part-time practitioners Isabel Burr-Raty, Katja Dreyer, Dolores Hulan, Fleur Khani, Jo Massin, Christoph Ragg, Isabelle Wahedova, Dieudonné Zoko | Photography Quentin de Wispelaere | Illustrations Raquel Santana de Morais | Production Hiros (Brussel), radical_hope | Support Atrium, apass, Bains Connective, nadine, Sacrofilms, Shiatsu Dojo Bruxelles, shopshop, ZSenne artlab | Co-production Kaaitheater, Vrijstaat O. | Thanks to Charlotte Bouckaert, Hans Bryssinck, Kathleen Deboutte, Nelle Hens, Isabel Hoornaert, Ariane Loze, Jan Mayer, Christophe Meierhans, Gilles Polet, Anna Rispoli, Emiel Rooman, Adva Zakai, AG Real Estate, Putters
