The collaborative practice
of Eva Priečková and Zuzana Žabková explores the body as a
site of encounter, uncertainty, and everyday political
negotiation, where dance and movement become ways of exploring
relationships and the possibilities of being together. What
draws me to their work is the way they bring critical thinking
into dialogue with embodied experience, refusing to take
collectivity for granted and instead approaching it as
something continually shaped through collaboration and
different ways of being present.
In their performance Weak Women, these ideas take on a
physical form. Weakness, fatigue, and exhaustion are not seen
as shortcomings to be overcome, but as starting points for
learning to listen, learn, understand, and cultivate
solidarity differently. The work challenges expectations of
social and artistic productivity, as well as neoliberal
feminist narratives of emancipation that promise liberation
while often demanding constant adaptation and endurance.
Against this individualisation of care, Weak Women explores
the possibilities of interdependence and of allowing ourselves
to falter, slow down when we need to, and lean on one another,
without turning vulnerability into yet another source of
strength.
Tea Kantoci
In the Weak Women dance
performance, we emancipate weakness, fatigue, pain and
exhaustion. We try to look at these states as resources that
help us shape the work. To embody our idea of a contemporary
woman who tries not to pretend and calm down the situation. On
the contrary, she looks for excitement in moments of suffering
and exhaustion.
Two female fossils clinging to their feet until the last moment.
The moment before exhaustion equals the moment before ecstasy.
We are out of energy at 11am.
In a state of constant exhaustion, we get down on our knees and
bend our limbs into various shapes.
Towards the female ancestors, to the gestures, tics and
nervousness that we have stored in our memory from our
grandmothers and from photos of Slovak national uprising women.
Petrified and stiffened bodies participate in the dance marathon
of the precarious profession of "independent" artists in
Slovakia. We can dance for decent working conditions, for the
right to rest, for the involvement of art organizations in
global issues.
We are broken and wounded, yet we never stop searching for
playfulness, sensuality and pleasure.
Concept and performance: Eva Priečková, Zuzana Žabková
Music: Antonia Beeskow
Costumes and set design: Nik Timková, Vojtěch Hlaváček
Production: CO.LABS
Thanks to: Jakub Juhás – mappa editions, REZI.dance Komařice,
SNG – Schaubmarov mlyn, Pezinok
The collaborative practice
of Eva Priečková and Zuzana Žabková explores the body as a
site of encounter, uncertainty, and everyday political
negotiation, where dance and movement become ways of exploring
relationships and the possibilities of being together. What
draws me to their work is the way they bring critical thinking
into dialogue with embodied experience, refusing to take
collectivity for granted and instead approaching it as
something continually shaped through collaboration and
different ways of being present.
In their performance Weak Women, these ideas take on a
physical form. Weakness, fatigue, and exhaustion are not seen
as shortcomings to be overcome, but as starting points for
learning to listen, learn, understand, and cultivate
solidarity differently. The work challenges expectations of
social and artistic productivity, as well as neoliberal
feminist narratives of emancipation that promise liberation
while often demanding constant adaptation and endurance.
Against this individualisation of care, Weak Women explores
the possibilities of interdependence and of allowing ourselves
to falter, slow down when we need to, and lean on one another,
without turning vulnerability into yet another source of
strength.
Tea Kantoci
In the Weak Women dance
performance, we emancipate weakness, fatigue, pain and
exhaustion. We try to look at these states as resources that
help us shape the work. To embody our idea of a contemporary
woman who tries not to pretend and calm down the situation. On
the contrary, she looks for excitement in moments of suffering
and exhaustion.
Two female fossils clinging to their feet until the last moment.
The moment before exhaustion equals the moment before ecstasy.
We are out of energy at 11am.
In a state of constant exhaustion, we get down on our knees and
bend our limbs into various shapes.
Towards the female ancestors, to the gestures, tics and
nervousness that we have stored in our memory from our
grandmothers and from photos of Slovak national uprising women.
Petrified and stiffened bodies participate in the dance marathon
of the precarious profession of "independent" artists in
Slovakia. We can dance for decent working conditions, for the
right to rest, for the involvement of art organizations in
global issues.
We are broken and wounded, yet we never stop searching for
playfulness, sensuality and pleasure.
Concept and performance: Eva Priečková, Zuzana Žabková
Music: Antonia Beeskow
Costumes and set design: Nik Timková, Vojtěch Hlaváček
Production: CO.LABS
Thanks to: Jakub Juhás – mappa editions, REZI.dance Komařice,
SNG – Schaubmarov mlyn, Pezinok