Immaterial

For the young Sri Lankan dancer and choreographer, Venuri Perera, dance is a powerful tool for transforming the world. In a highly audacious manner, she moves away from her training in traditional dance in order to develop a language of her own which questions the norms imposed by a patriarchal, deeply constrained society. The freedom and gritty determination which underpins her work has aroused interest across the globe. Venuri Perera will be premiering her latest piece at Points communs. The piece, entitled Immaterial (Descendance), looks into the transformations that we undergo during rites of passage, occasions which mark a change in statute, either social or sexual, more often than not in relation to social puberty. How can we acknowledge and honour these transformations? How can we withstand this feeling of disorientation and displacement? Can we still recognize ourselves if we shed our skins? What remains of us after this metamorphosis of our mind and body? These are just some of the many questions that Venuri Perera poses, in a compassionate way. She probes into the gateways of our innermost lives, which persist for the duration of our existences. In doing so, she invites us to bear witness to a performed attempt at a rite of passage.