PROJECT

Both, Two

In Both, Two Tussing & Vanderbruggen examine the duet, the smallest unit of togetherness. The dance duet is a genre with a history. In their most familiar forms, duets reflect the range of possibilities for relating, which resonate within a certain cultural imaginary. In particular, they reveal common-sense attitudes towards who gets to move, how, and under what conditions.

When two people dance together, a whole constellation of invitations, permissions and prohibitions is put on display. Both, Two invites the spectator to jump into this complex more-than-human ecology with her whole body: the work asks us not just to see but to sense. Can we hear a duet? What does it feel like? Costumes with palpable textures, swirling currents of air and sound, and a tactile program note complement the movements of tangibly enfleshed bodies; a journey for the proximal senses that intersects with the visual and the aural in unusual ways. In a duet which both references and exceeds the tropes of the genre, Both, Two asks what it could mean, today, to be two together.

During their residency in wpZimmer, Vera and Esse will rehearse Both, Two for the upcoming tour.

Vera Tussing

1982 ◊ DE, BE

www.veratussing.wixsite.com

Vera Tussing graduated from the London Contemporary Dance School, and has worked as a dancer, director and creator throughout Belgium, the UK, Canada and across Europe over the last 10 years. In 2011 she premiered Trilogy with Albert Quesada before going on to make the stage pieces You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet (2012) and T-Dance (2014), and the movement-sound installation Sound Bed. The performance, The Palm of Your Hand premiered in 2015 and Mazing in November 2016. In 2017 a recreation of The Palm of Your Hand, making the work accessible to blind and partially sighted audience members, premiered at CND in Paris. This piece is part of The Humane Body Project with ImPulsTanz (Vienna), Kaaitheater (Brussels) and The Place (London) as its partners. Both, Two, a duet in collaboration with Esse Vanderbruggen premièred at Kaaistudio's (Brussels) in 2018.

Credits

Performance and creation: Vera Tussing and Esse Vanderbruggen◊Sound: Mike Picknett◊Lights: Bert van Dijck◊Costumes: Sofie Durnez◊Direction: Vera Tussing◊Dramaturgy: Seb Kann ◊Feedback: Saïd Gharbi ◊Copy writing: JS Rafaeli◊Photography: Alessandra Rocchetti◊Video: Zoilly Molnar ◊Production: Hiros◊Co-production: Kaaitheater, KAAP, The Place, IN / FINITY◊Support, research and residencies: Vlaamse Gemeenschap, South East Dance, The Place, CND Paris, Tanzhaus Zuerich, ImpulsTanz , BUDA, STUK, KAAP, De Markten, Cc 't Vondel, De Warande, Stems Gallery / Cindy Daignault, Klein Verzet◊Tactile programme note: Anna Goette, Bert Van Dijck, Lucie Beauvert, Esse Vanderbruggen & Vera Tussing◊Additional support and special thank you: Esther Severi, Anneleen Keppens, Zoltan Vakulya, Chen Wei Lee, Gorka Gurrutxaga, Laura Poletti, Magrit Duchateau, TOPAZ, Susan Carter-Schwantes & Clara Levy