A dance performance as a form of somatic protest and viscous disobedience in the light of the current aggression of the Russian government. Russian artists Elena Demyanenko and Tarik Burnash examine the notion of rapidly disappearing past and their need to negotiate the unknown, absurd, madness, inhibition, and rage while searching for release into another approach for moving forward and finding their resistance.
on the other side is a way to comprehend through the body, an act of survival, and a sustainable means of making a difference within the upheaval of deeply dark, angry, ugly, and insecure times.
Using four different modes of engagement, Elena moves through a choreographic process among community, within context, centered in a heartbreak. She asks: What does it mean to be a Russian artist? To write from the side of an aggressor? Elena disavows cultural nostalgia or political naïveté to acknowledge the complexity of state-sanctioned violence on the scale of the nation and the scale of the body.
on the other side (2022), Russia/US. Choreography and performance: Tarik Burnash and Elena Demyanenko. Lighting design: Masha Tsimring. Lighting associate: Austin Boyle. Voice advisor: Tatyana Tenenbaum. Choreographic advisor: Jon Kinzel. Dramaturgy: Natalia Zaitseva.
Running time: 45 min.
The performance is followed by a talkback.
This event is part of the 2023 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Anew. For more information, visit rehearsalfortruth.org.
Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $10. Seats are limited, on first-come, first-served basis. Online registration through Eventbrite is required.
on the other side was created with the generous support of Trust For Mutual Understanding and Ufestudios in Berlin, Germany.
The 2023 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Anew, organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, GOH Productions, Trap Door Theatre, Centre of Jewish Culture STETL, Jan Mocek, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, Palissimo Company, and Romanian Cultural Institute.
The program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The festival is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague, and Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.