Even though centuries have passed since the ‘classical colonialism’ period, the traces and wounds still run deep through today’s society. These appear at times as visible repercussions (e.g. racial slurs), but also crawl up as invisible consequences, which people of colour have to face in their everyday lives. One of the consequences is the colonial mindset – an internalised attitude in which the oppressed individual, or group, comes to believe that they are inferior to those in power, or the ‘dominant’ group.

What lies underneath this paradox causing people of colour to side with the oppressor(s) to become allies of the abuser(s) or abusers themselves? How can we break the cycle between deceitfulness and avoidance of the issue itself while being surrounded by a supposed harmony? How can we materialise this conflict mainly through movement?
 
INFO: The Performance on March 25^th will be followed by an artist talk. Moderation: Hyo Lee
 
Cat Jimenez is a performer, choreographer, cypher enthusiast, and nostalgic visual artist. She has worked with different companies including Hungry Sharks, Potpourri, and n ï m company. In 2017 she received the ImPulsTanz festival’s danceWEB and the Stadttänzerinnen Klagenfurt scholarships, in 2018 the Austrian Federal Government’s START scholarship. In 2019, her duo performance WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? with Maiko Sakurai Karner premiered at imagetanz 2019. While dance has always been a personal means of expression to Cat Jimenez, she doesn’t shy away from recontextualising her art forms so that they carry her vision. Ultimately her art presents and queries underlying mechanics that shape and form people’s and society’s experiences of life. But more than just presenting these contents, her desire aims at establishing a space that encourages mutual understanding and co-creation.

https://whadupcat.tumblr.com

Imani Rameses is a practicing dancer, choreographer, and cognitive neuroscientist, who lives and works in Vienna. She coalesces performance art and dance with neuroaesthetic theories and methodologies creating a lens from which to examine habituated assumptions. Her work explores how we can disrupt our routine choreographies and replace them with day-to-day ceremonies and moments of sacred play; she is a vessel contributing to the healing and reunification of humankind and planet earth.