Mother tree
Facts
On the floor are two red Japanese tatami mats. On top of them, the performer lies in the fetal position. From there, the body comes to life and is moved by images such as the womb, the worm and the tree, accompanied by vocals, cello and electronics.
A spastic body doesn’t have the same physical expressiveness as the bodies of regular dancers, yet there is a constant internal drama of tension, shock spasms and the daily struggle to make the body respond to internal impulses, or simply to maintain balance when moving from one position to another. This drama may not be visible to the unaware, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
In most cases, spasticity occurs as a combination of premature birth and lack of oxygen to the brain, and the premature nervous system is particularly sensitive to sonic fluctuations. Thus, soprano, performer and composer Annemette Pødenphandt has created a pulsating soundscape using recorded and processed real sound in electronic interplay with live vocals and a cello that squeaks, screams and writhes under the heavy pressure of the bow.
The work is both visually and audibly built around the contrasts between the slow poetry of the inner images and the outer bodily premise, which is very much shaped by tension, friction and resistance.
Link to trailer: