Womxn walk into space and move together. No choreography. No expectations.

‘Critical Dance’ is a collective dance performance for female-identifying folk. Equally inspired by Gabrielle Roth’s 1970’s 5 Rhythms meditative movement practice, and by the desire to discover the corporeality of knowledge, the performance looks at possibilities of freedom away from the male gaze.

Simultaneously, ‘Critical Dance’ was born out of a common frustration with the lack of safe spaces for womxn to gather: gender injustice is the “greatest human rights abuse on the planet” (Shami Chakrabarti), still affecting women everywhere. One in five women in England and Wales have experienced some type of sexual assault since the age of 16 (Crime survey of England and Wales, 2018); women of colour employed by the public sector are hit the hardest by Brexit and austerity cuts; the gender pay gap has only been acknowledged through #metoo’s worldwide impact, yet it had been interpreted as a ‘payrise’, rather than an opportunity for gender equality recognition.

The piece alleviates some of the above issues by establishing a platform for these experiences to be brought in a safe space, and for womxn to express things through the simple act of dancing, and conscious embodiment of traumas.

‘Critical Dance’ premiered at Chisenhale Dance space, then was part of ‘may show’ at x-church, Gainsborough.

Artistic team:

Devisers: Anca Dimofte, Noemi Gunea, Dana Olărescu Voice and facilitation: Noemi Gunea

Photo credits: Maria Tânjală