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© Maria Baranova-Suzuki, Watermill Center

Holland Festival: The Second Body

Ola Maciejewska (PL)
Tue 17 Jun ’25 and Wed 18 Jun ’25
Not a solo, not a duet, but dissolving boundaries: those between the human body and a large slab of ice dissolve in a sensual exploration.
Tue 17 Jun ’25
and
Wed 18 Jun ’25

Choreographer Ola Maciejewska’s (Poland, 1984) The Second Body explores the dynamic of two bodies: her own physical body and a block of ice. Her body and the ice meet in a visually stunning, unsettling choreography. 

The performance is neither duet or solo, but a ‘choreographic object’. Through touch, lifting, sliding and embracing, a delicate symbiosis emerges in which the line between human and element is blurred. Inspired by Daisy Hildyard’s book The Second Body which explores the idea that humans have two bodies. The tangible body and the ‘diffuse’, which is constantly interacting with the world around us. Ola takes this idea to the dancefloor. 

In The Second Body, Ola invites us not just to look at the physical interaction, but also reflect on the mutable relationship between humans and nature. The piece highlights the fragile beauty of these transformations and explores how our ever-changing bodies are interwoven with surrounding ecosystems. 

  • Duration: 60 mins. 
Part of

Credits

choreography Ola Maciejewska artistic coordinator Ola Maciejewska performance Leah Marojević dance construction (form in ice) in collaboration Alix Boillot light design Rima Ben Brahim sound design Gilles Amalvi dramaturgy collaboration Gilles Amalvi prototype and mold realisation Mathieu Peyroulet Ghilini development Nicolas Chaussy production Nicolas Chaussy diffusion Nicolas Chaussy administration Caroline Redy executive production Ola Maciejewska co-production La Ménagerie de Verre (Parijs), Watermil Center, C.A.M.P, ICI - Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier Occitanie with support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels this performance is made possible by Ambassade van de Republiek Polen te Den Haag

© Maria Baranova-Suzuki, Watermill Center
© Maria Baranova-Suzuki, Watermill Center