THE WEIGHT OF TENDING

OPEN FOTM(AT)

SEARCH

How can movement and live sound guide and shape one another? How is the research—which is fragmentary, associative, and sensory—translated into a coherent performance without losing its raw quality? What reactions or thoughts do the sounds, images, and scents in the piece evoke in the audience?

Through the Open Studio, we want to explore how audience members react to specific artistic choices—which moments resonate, what questions they raise, and where clarity or ambiguity arises. We are interested in engaging in a dialogue with the audience to further develop the work.

SHOWING

THE WEIGHT OF TENDING

The performance explores the concept of belonging on various levels—from memories of real events to fictional memories and mythologies.

The artist explores how autobiographical memories shape the identity of the migrant body.

Her work draws on preserved Thai family traditions—dances, domestic rituals, and embodied legacies. She questions what remains of them. As a second-generation migrant, the artist is equally shaped by the West, by her mother’s careful preservation of Thai traditions, and by her strong connection to Thai family traditions.

The dance performance “The Weight of Tending” is rooted in the artist’s life experiences, having grown up between different cultures and far-flung places.

This experience sparked her interest in questions of belonging and identity. It also shapes her interest in the memories one carries with them through different stages of life. Her parents, who emigrated from Thailand to Germany, taught her to preserve Thai customs and practices in everyday life.

Her body becomes a vessel in which different cultures coexist, collide, and redefine themselves.

How do we deal with these memories? How are they adapted and transformed? In her exploration of this inner vessel, Patscharaporn delves into the stories of her ancestors. She examines family traditions and the family network in Thailand and immerses herself in the recent history and contemporary ways of life in Central Thailand.

“The Weight of Tending” is a multidimensional performance. It approaches artistic heritage from various perspectives and examines how autobiographical memories and inherited gestures shape the identity of the migrant body. The performance explores belonging on various levels—from memories of real events to fictional memories and mythologies. In doing so, it reveals how embodied legacies and the present-day realities of migrant women’s lives are inextricably linked.

SHARED

COOKING

3:00–4:30 p.m.

After the studio show, the team invites you to cook together. We’ll prepare pad Thai—preparing the ingredients, blending the flavors, and tasting this world-famous Thai dish. As we cook, we’ll uncover the surprising stories behind this seemingly simple national dish and the history of its origins. Through this shared experience, you’ll discover the multifaceted stories underlying the creation of the performance*The Weight of Tending*.

NOTES

• Vegetarian and vegan options available
• Please register atinfo@tanzfaktur.eu
• Participation is limited to 12 people

ARTIST

Patscharaporn Distakul

is a dancer and choreographer from Thailand who grew up between Europe and Southeast Asia. Her current work focuses on exploring memory and belonging from the perspective of a second-generation migrant. Alongside her artistic practice, she is pursuing a Master of Advanced Studies in Dance Science at the University of Bern.