#5 The Field (Zurich) & Meg Stuart/Damaged Goods (Berlin)
Waterworks
In the summer of 2022, Michelle Ettlin and Mona De Weerdt followed the creative process of the site-specific project Waterworks during its rehearsals at Tanzhaus Studio, on Saffa Island and in the River Sihl. Waterworks is a cooperation between the choreographer Meg Stuart, members of her company Damaged Goods and the Zurich-based collective The Field. Together they examine the riverbanks as a transition between nature and civilisation, as well as the interdependence between liquidity and body, between a natural medium and human movement. The camera captures this (movement) research and the group’s exploration in and around water. It documents how the performers create dreamlike, creative worlds around the riverbanks and at sea.
In the documentary, the members of The Field – Lucia Gugerli, Pierre Piton, Jamuna Zweifel and Declan Whitaker – reflect on their general working philosophies, artistic working methods and approaches, and specifically on the development of Waterworks.
Duration: 22 minutes
Credits
Concept: Mona De Weerdt, Michelle Ettlin
Camera, editing, post-production: Michelle Ettlin
Dramaturgy: Mona De Weerdt, Michelle Ettlin
Production: echolot films / mdw Kulturproduktionen
Co-Production: The Field
with:
Meg Stuart (artistic direction, choreography)
Lucia Gugerli, Declan Whitaker, Mirjam Jamuna Zweifel, Pierre Piton from The Field and Maria Scaroni, Kristof Van Boven, Isabela Fernandes Santana from Damaged Goods (co-creation and performance)
Mieko Suzuki (live music)
Bart Van den Eynde (dramaturgy)
locations: Tanzhaus Zürich, Rote Fabrik, Saffa Insel Zürich, Sihl
Supported by: the Federal Office of Culture / Dance as Cultural Heritage, Fachstelle Kultur Kanton Zürich, the Ernst Göhner, Corymbo, Alexis Victor Thalberg, Cassinelli-Vogel and Sophie and Karl Binding Foundations. The translation is financed by: Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council and the Oertli Foundation
Partners: Tanzhaus Zürich, Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Reso – Dance Network Switzerland, SAPA Foundation – Swiss Archive of the Performing Arts
© echolot films / mdw Kulturproduktionen / The Field / Damaged Goods 2022
pictures: rehearsals for Waterworks in the river and at Tanzhaus Zürich © Michelle Ettlin