Connecting Thread unfolds out of the ambivalent necessity for tension and stretch in the dancing body, in textile handcrafts and in the social fabric. In this 6 week project for people with or without dance experience, Victoria guided participants through her artistic research and the creative process from ideation to performing including observation, reflection and embodying gestures of sewing, knitting, and weaving to build dance phrases.

Uncovering potential similarities between the body (human tissue) and material tissues, we explored not only physicality, but also our layered relationships with clothing, fabric and the people involved in textile labour. We asked, where is the delicate balance between resistance which enables sewing or dance and that which blocks it? How can the tension between tradition and innovation, or nonconformity, become productive rather than divisive? In Connecting Thread, the body and its stories become the connecting thread between abstract dance and concrete textiles, between heritage and more expansive futures.

Concept & Creation — Victoria McConnell

With & Performed By — Martha Bamberg, Valentina Haas, Sia Hellenthal, Josie Hermer, Malwina Herold, Yulia Katan, Jelena Kupsch, Aisling Marnane, Vytene Muschick, Tobias Reuter, Marilen Veser

Music — Anya Jasbar

Costume & Stage — Victoria McConnell with the performers

Trailer — Hanna Swistak

Photos — Victoria McConnell

Supported by Tanzfabrik Berlin