This is what I said to Daniel Williams, the music composer, after the dress rehearsal of "Phonetic Chill" this past 27th of October 2023. The rest of the artistic team had left the Wandelhalle of the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden, leaving just the two of us in the space. It took me back to 2021 when "Phonetic Chill" was only a vision in my mind, and I was searching for the perfect space to manifest this vision.
Back in 2021, I asked Daniel if he knew of a space with special acoustics. He took me to two places. One of them I won’t reveal, as I am planning a project there in 2024 ;) The other was the Wandelhalle of the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum. Such a magical space, where sound becomes huge! As soon as I set foot in the Wandelhalle, I knew it was the perfect space for "Phonetic Chill."
Sometimes, we don’t know how long we have to wait for a dream to come true. For this particular dream – "Phonetic Chill" – it took two years. Looking back, I can see that it was my persistence, my faith in the artistic team, and the vision that made this project possible.
Every dance project I’ve done holds a special place in my heart, but this one was quite different. For the first time, I decided to be the host of the project. This meant doing everything without the support of a theatre: no PR support, no technical support, and no personnel support. What I found in the creation process was an incredible amount of freedom. Yes, there was also an incredible amount of work, but I focused on the freedom, making the work worth it.
I was free to choose the times for the performances, the prices, the duration, the descriptions for the text, and the designs for the posters, among other things. Throughout this process, I got to know myself better, not only as a choreographer but also in my aesthetic. I discovered new abilities within myself.
I had to do a lot of things on my own, but I had support from Thomas Winlker from Ballet Studio Espiral, the artistic team, Thomas Natschka, and my mom.
On the day of the performances, I was overjoyed not only to finally see my vision materialize outside of my head but also to see people coming to watch our work. To see the space come alive, the dancers growing into the piece, and the musicians making the piece their own was incredibly gratifying. There is nothing more rewarding for me than to see an idea come alive through the joint experience of the artists and the audience in the same space.
I learned a lot. Immediately after the premiere and the following performances, I started creating a new vision in my mind. So, stay tuned because my next premiere is just around the corner ;)
