In a public setting, four performers build an island from geometric blocks of white polystyrene. But the island slowly comes apart, like an ice floe breaking up into smaller icebergs. The dancers grab the blocks, sit on them, lie on them and constantly reconfigure them, evoking the fragility of our environment in an age of climate change.
Nicole Morel founded the dance troupe Antipode Danse Tanz with the aim of bringing people together and fostering a sense of community through dance performances that combine performing arts, visual arts and architecture. In this case, the backdrop for Morel’s choreography is provided by Franco-British architect and scenographer Lea Hobson. The performance blends dance and architecture, sculpture and the human body, space and action to underscore the vulnerability of our present way of life and to reveal the vital energy of dance as an individual and collective pursuit.

Nicole Morel (b. 1985) is a graduate of the School of the Hamburg Ballet and holds a certificate of advanced studies in dramaturgy and textual performance from the University of Lausanne and the University of Performing Arts of Western Switzerland (La Manufacture). She began her career at the Compañia Nacional de Danza 2 in Madrid, before joining ballettmainz and, later, the Ballett am Rein (Düsseldorf and Duisburg), as a soloist. She founded Antipode Danse Tanz in Fribourg in 2014.

Architect and scenographer Lea Hobson (b. 1987) lives and works in France. She trained at the Paris School of Architecture (Belleville) and at Kingston College and holds a master’s degree in scenography from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London. Her singular practice combines architecture, scenography, and environmental and social activism.

Practical info here.

This project was made possible thanks to the commitment of Plateforme 10 and the Swiss National Museum Château de Prangins.

A Journey on Moving Grounds, 2019, public dance performance, 4 dancers + 21 geometric blocks of white polystyrene. Length: approx. 40 minutes. © Caio Negreiros