The open studio with Julie Peters and Kata Kwiatkowska took place at ada Studio on 20 June 2025. ada Studio’s series “reinkommen (come inside)” gave upcoming artists the opportunity to immerse themselves in their work and share it.
Before entering the studio, we are invited by the organizers to explore the space. When entering, I notice there are already a few people walking in a circle on stage. This is accompanied by a soundscape, which invites different water sounds into the space. It feels as if I’m holding a conch shell to my ear. As I get closer to the loudspeaker, the rushing of waves gets louder. As I move further away, it ebbs. At some point, I spot the two performers. They start with fluid, circular motions that travel through their entire bodies. As if blown by wind, they drift through the space. Past one another, affecting one another, finding the same moments of peace. The expressive pattern of movements brings to mind images of water splashing around bodies and waves carrying the dancers off. The latter creates associations with people who have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, refused protection and rescue while fleeing to Europe.
The first glimpse. I often sit at performances where a lot is happening and the dancers are somewhere else with their gaze. I find this very intriguing. I want to find out where they are at that moment and what is moving them. But I also wait for that first glance towards the audience, the one that acknowledges and addresses us. I want to be taken on the journey. At ada Studio, I catch the first glimpse as the performers are kneeling in the back corner of the stage and observing the right side of the audience. It is a calm moment. The many previous movements have subsided. I am captivated by the calm and intensity of this instance in time.
Hands searching. Hands cradling a head. Hands holding on to the other body. Hands holding on to each other. Asynchronous movements, which develop into a jerky, choppy staccato in this part of the piece, repeatedly give rise to symmetrical forms, where both bodies position themselves in relation to each other. However, their exact relationship to one another remains open.
Quiet. Loud breathing. A car driving by outside. Movement is only possible with the help of the other. They both need one another.
The performers drag sand sacks onto the stage and position them in a diagonal in small piles. Their bodies roll over the barriers, around them, find quiet moments on the little islands. I see a river, the force of the water pushes around the stones and past them.
The individual parts and movement patterns fit seamlessly together. Nevertheless, it feels to me like chapters shaped by different facets. Without a clear story to follow, I am in the midst of events. It almost feels like a dreamscape. Before I am able to grasp what is happening in one scene, I am overcome by the impressiveness of the next one.
Epilogue: The sentence from the audience discussion after the open rehearsal that stayed with me: “waters’ purpose is to finish the job, to keep going”.
English translation by Melissa Maldonado
The open rehearsal as part of the series reinkommen with Julie Peters and Kata Kwiatkowska took place in the ada Studio on 20 June 2025.
