BAROQUE FUNERAL

Baroque Funeral is a continuation of the project Baroque Architecture and Submission. It is part of the series Stage of Death, a research project presented in three different formats; a guided tour, an installation and a dance performance which resulted in several different projects such as Sensing Landmarks.

Baroque Funeral was presented as a series of tableaus and funeral scenes based on the baroque poem “Stage of Death” from the 17th century poet Christian von Hoffmannswaldau. In the performance a series of short tableau vivantes are presented along with live music and readings of the poem.

The performance investigates baroque poetry to see how it can open up for new perspectives on the body and its movements. In the funeral poem, death is seen as a director who guides the audience down into the underworld guided by a torch. He chooses what they should see and not see by highlighting particular bodily processes and letting others dwell in the shadows. The poem also deals with melancholy. It was believed at the time that this state of mind originated from an abundance of black bile in the body and that this black liquid was connected to the planet Saturn. Through influences from somatic techniques the dancers approach a black fluid in their bodies that creates a relationship between the dancer’s inner and outer world.

Choreography, costume and light design by: Carima Neusser
Created with and performed by: Kasia Wolińska and Emily Ranford

Performance:
Uferstudios GmbH, Berlin, Germany, August 2021

The performance was presented as a part of a one month residency at Uferstudios in Berlin supported by The Swedish Arts Grants Committe.