PLAYGROUND
Residency in Lyon, France.
Festival Karavel 2017.
In the fall of 2017, Anastasija Olescuka attended a residency stay at the Center Choreographique Pole Pik in Lyon in frames of Karavel Festival, under the artistic leadership of Mourad Merzouki. The residency was part of the research for the performance PLAYGROUND that Anastasija Olescuka works on in collaboration with composers Henrik Goldschmidt and Mathias Frii-Hansen for the SubURBAN DANCE FESTIVAL 2018.
PLAYGROUND is a theatre performance about a day at a playground space in the yard where people of different ages, backgrounds, personalities and professions come to enjoy themselves. It is a collaboration project where classics meet urban dance art -musicians from Royal Opera and Urban Style Dancers.
The performance is based on play. Play involves mental and physical stimulation and can help develop special skills. It makes people experience value of win and loss that can change the way people look at things. Playground is a space of excitement, gathering, happiness, meeting new people. Sometimes sadness, jealousy and anger appear in certain situations. What if we forget that we all are different and just play together, challenge each other and have fun? Through play, we learn about the world around us, social skills, self-understanding and interaction with others. We might find ways how to nurture good emotions and put away sadness and anger. So we dive into universe of play “as the highest way of research”. By the end of the day we leave playground stronger and with more friends to play with and share stories in the future or maybe not ?