Dance Review: FOR WHAT WE WILL with Stina Nyberg
- Ophey T.K. Chan
- 3 days ago
- 1 min read
(Thanks for this opportunities as an emerging dance reviewers for FEST EN FEST 2026.)
For What We Will
Fri 27 MARCH, 7pm
Art Gallery, 6 Creekside, SE8 4SA
Over the hour, my state slowly shifts. I find myself moving between focus and relaxation, almost like drifting. It feels like having time — real time — to think about nothing in particular, just wandering thoughts, but also a kind of quiet curiosity. Not exactly thinking, more like staying with a flowing mind while watching.
The hugging expands. What starts with two performers grows into a cluster of four, then shifts again — two leave, another groups enters. Different groups move in and out of the gallery through different entrances, which keeps catching the eye. There’s always something subtly changing, even when the action stays minimal.
The movement is built through touch and weight — counterbalance, leaning, holding, pushing. It feels like a conversation without words. Intimacy becomes complex: someone bites an elbow, pushes an ear, slips a hand into another’s clothing, climbs onto the other body without collapsing. It’s close, but not soft. At times it feels like fighting, wrestling and struggling; at other moments like teamwork — supporting, building, leading.
There’s something messy about it, like the reality of collaboration and intimate relationships. Not clean or romantic, but shifting, unstable.
It also feels like what happens when you’re given complete free time — when your mind drifts between wandering thoughts and something more political without forcing meaning. Small details stand out, like when a dancer accidentally drops coins from their costume. Nothing is emphasised, but everything is there if you notice it.
Comments