Lena Pfäffli ~ There For The Taking
There For The Taking* is an open rehearsal of 4 performers. A retrace, a scrape in your head.**
Drawing from early 18th-century dance notations, the rehearsal investigates the principle of repetition while searching for the “Sollbruchstelle” in the score – an intended breaking point, a cut allowing for self-organized choreographies.
Tracing back trained movements, guided by seemingly minor gestures or by the unnoticed corners of the room, what will be revealed? Each scrape and each break in the rehearsal unveils the possibility of ongoing repetition or a potential shift.
Imagine learning a 5-minute monologue: you don’t have to perform it fully. You can just go over it in your head to understand it. In movement terms, I can know that the arm is here [dancer gestures], but all I have to do is this. By setting small movements to trigger the already established pathway, you avoid having to execute the whole thing. (Dancer N in interview)**
There For The Taking is an open rehearsal. A retrace, a scrape in your head. Caught in its own repetition, it unfolds until the 4 performers release their locked gaze, shift away from the score, and let their eyes wander.
*The title is drawn from the Obituary for Marina Vishmidt, Marina Vishmidt, 1976–2024, by Andreas Petrossiants (2024).
**From How Marking in Dance Constitutes Thinking with the Body, by David Kirsh (2011).
Concept and Realization: Lena Pfäffli
Performers: Clara von Schantz, Julia von Schantz, Louis Shou-Hansen, Rex Collins
Sound: Sebastian Eduardo
Costumes: Tonie Brunschwiler
