WE, the BREATH

Together catching our breath
Breathe, breathe in the air
Don’t be afraid to care
Leave but don’t leave me
Look around and choose your own ground
Pink Floyd – Breathe

Imagine: a global pause button, meant for everyone who needs a reminder on how to take a break. WE, the BREATH, the opening part of the WE-Cycle, is a ritual that brings us together to create a new world. Launched during the international MilanOltre Festival in 2023, this performance invites the audience to participate in a collective ritual that redefines our post-pandemic living space.

In a time of pandemics, struggles for social justice, and growing polarization, WE, the BREATH offers a moment to take a deep breath together. We pause, make space for the unknown, and gradually move toward a moment of relief and relaxation. Six outstanding performers from ICK bring this to life with impressive strength and stage presence. The visual setting, minimalistic yet powerful, with neon lights reminiscent of windmills and chronometers, is enhanced by songs like Donna Summer’s "I Feel Love" and Eminem’s "Without Me," interspersed with deep silence and amplified breathing sounds.

This performance is an invitation to reconnect with each other and with “otherness.” It’s a process of reconciliation, where spectators and performers merge into a collective experience. We create and sustain a deep breath, feel the ground beneath our feet disappear, and together sink into a black hole of connection. Then we exhale, filled with conviction.

So, come and breathe with us. Take a step back, make space for doubt, and move toward a moment of true relief. In our theater, this time an open playing field, we build a new home together.

All that you touch / And all that you see / All that you taste / All you feel / And all that you love / And all that you hate / All you distrust / All you save / And all that you give / And all you create / And all you destroy / And all that you do / And all that you say / And all that is now / And all that is gone / And all that’s to come.

WE, the BREATH is the first performance of the WE-CYCLE. This series of creations and satellite performances will be produced by ICK in collaboration with (inter)national partners in the coming years. Collectively, they take the power and vulnerability of the body (The Intuitive Body and The Body in Revolt) as their guide and stimulus.

In summer 2023 the second WE project, WE, the EYES, premiered at the Ravenna Festival in Italy and in December 2024 the third part premiered in Paris, a collaboration between ICK Dans Amsterdam and Philharmonie de Paris: NOUS, le RADEAU | WE, the LUST.

• < WE, the EYES >
• < NOUS, le RADEAU / WE, the LUST >

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Breathe at full power - beauty and vitality in every movement
 - Danza & Danza / Maria Luisa Buzzi

 
Photo © Maarten Nauw