𝘖𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦.
𝘉𝘺 "𝘶𝘴" 𝘸𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘦𝘵 𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺, 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, exploring 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 how to 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘵-𝘭𝘦𝘥. 𝘛𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘵𝘩.
♦ 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘢 ♦ 𝘋𝘰𝘬𝘦 ♦ 𝘑𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦 ♦ 𝘑𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢 ♦ 𝘔𝘺𝘳𝘢 ♦ 𝘕𝘢𝘰𝘮𝘪 ♦ 𝘙𝘶𝘵𝘩 ♦
A warm welcome with Ruth Borg
Ruth will guide you through Het Verbond's housewarming celebration. As the host, she will lead the opening talk, share the story of the space, and navigate guests through the various performances, discussions, and experiences of the day.
Ruth Borg (1994, Malta) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Amsterdam. She works in theatre, performance and film as a performer, maker, writer, vocalist, and facilitator. She creates work and spaces that may allow us to remember power, liberation and joy where they have been buried by the hands of over-domestication and domination of all sorts. She uses her body, voice and connections with others to make works that feed the world where it is starved.
A communal talk with Luku Xam
Luku Xam is an interdisciplinary Afro-Futurist storytelling collective consisting of Jomecia Oosterwolde, Joanne Purperhart, and Myra Fanta Bodian. They draw inspiration from various Afro and Afro-diasporic cultures, worldviews, and spirituality. In collaboration with The Need for Legacy, they’ve created a performance where visual art, storytelling, and movement converge based on their research in Dutch theater archives.
A confessional exposition with Naomi Steijger
In Birgit, I explore what role confession or confessing still plays today and what the conditions are for a modern confessional space. Together with Lieselot Mariën, dramaturg, I stumbled upon a remarkable collection of collages by an anonymous ‘outsider’ artist. There are sixty collages in total. Each collage depicts a woman dominating a submissive man.
In the collages, I see carefully composed, humorous revenge fantasies set in various locations: in richly decorated palace interiors reminiscent of Venice, under a bright blue sky at a temple complex evoking Greece, in front of gothic ruins, or in niches adorned with gold leaf. Using these collages as a starting point, I seek a way to talk about the collages, where people can share their own perspectives, associations, and memories.
Can we find a way for people to discuss these kinds of sensitive topics without the maker/interviewer being present? Or is it important in a confessional space to tell your story to someone directly?Or could the form of a confessional space also be like a phone booth, where you first listen to someone else’s confession in the form of a voicemail, and then feel safe enough to leave your own voicemail?
Naomi Steijger graduated in 2019 from the directing program at the Maastricht Academy of Dramatic Arts. Since then, she has been creating audio documentaries/podcasts, as well as auditory theatrical performances and installations. In October 2023, her first narrative podcast series Zwermelingen was released by VPRO and NPO Radio 1. The podcast won the 'Master Storyteller' award from the Narrative Journalism Foundation. After that, she produced the radio documentary A Devil's Dilemma in the Red Light District for NRC, and she is currently working on her second longer documentary podcast series about a dragon woman in the Red Light District for Podimo. Naomi also works part-time at the Erotic Museum in the Red Light District, is involved in sex workers' rights, and has an interest in erotic art.
A conversation on artistic research, capitalism and possible futures with Antonella Fittipaldi
Antonella’s philosophy is shaped by desire, disgust, anger and eroticism contained within the semiotic of feminine bodies, strongly encouraging non-linear/logical narratives of the selves, against patriarchal structures of power and oppression. Since 1993 she embodies & resists the contradictory effects that domestication processes, such as education, democracy and capitalism- have on feminine bodies. Indeed, she accomplished a BA in Hermeneutics at the Public Philosophy University of Milan, a BA in Choreography at the SNDO program of Amsterdam, and several ballet and contemporary dance training + she published and showed in both institutional and non institutional settings. She is currently initiating a long term pedagogical & political project for and through feminine bodies in small communities in the south of Italy, where she is from. Antonella is based between Amsterdam and Brussels, is a Virgo 31 years old also known as Anto, Anti or Seesses.
A movement research with Doke Pauwels
If you know what I mean
Something we say when language fails us and we need to rely on other people’s intuition for our story to continue. I find the phrase holds both vulnerability and hope. It’s in that gentle moment we will gather.
My research is about consolation and the instinctive body. We depart from the assumption that as humans, we are also animal, but have forgotten the ways in which we can benefit from this fact. With my dancers I’ve looked for ways that our animal body and a physical (un)consciousness can be sources of consolation and alliance.
In 2025 we will develop this movement research into a piece for three dancers, in a residency at Broedplaats Bloos (Breda). We premiere at Ins Blau (Leiden) in May 2025.
Doke Pauwels (1993) was trained as a dancer at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague and as a dramaturg at the University of Amsterdam where she studied Theater Studies (BA) and Dramaturgy (MA). In 2014 she lived in New York City studying directing, acting and writing at The New School (Manhattan). Doke now works internationally as a freelance dancer, dramaturg and choreographer. She has worked with companies, directors and choreographers such as Golden Palace, Toneelschuur Haarlem; ITA; Deutsche Oper Berlin; Emke Idema; Jessie L’Herminez; Anne Hofstra and Sofie Kramer. In 2021 she began to develop her voice as a choreographer with The Hatred of Poetry. Recently she won the prize for Best Emerging Choreographer at AmsterDans competition and the DansMagazine Award with a pre-study of If you know what I mean. Besides her performance practice Doke developed an interest in the ways we design artistic collaborations and audience-relationships in the performing arts field. In 2019 she founded the arts initiative Antidote through which she initiates experimental performances, festivals and the immersive dance party Warm Bad with other artists in temporary collectives. She is currently also part of Alliantie DansVeilig, where she represents freelance dancers in a think tank on working conditions.
