Skywater, Facewater, Underwater Waltz
Karen Christopher, Tara Fatehi and Jemima Yong
Skywater, Facewater, Underwater Waltz is a live performance combining movement, text, song, sound and objects to explore flow, adaptation and ways of sensing the world, evoking ideas related to deep sea cultures and the environment.
Karen, Tara and Jemima have devised, directed and will perform the work. They have come together to wiggle, jump, dart, glide, cogitate and sing about our present condition as a way of thinking about what and who we live alongside. Murmurations, recitations, proclamations and evocations take the form of dance, song, disguise, protest and celebration, and woven throughout the piece is an extensive list of everyone the show is “for”.
Thinking through the lens of the deep dark sea, we are answering who and what performance is for and how we might foster generative thought about climate adaptation and living with difference among the vital forces of this planet. We are stardust but we are also fish.
Additional background to Skywater, Facewater, Underwater Waltz can be found in the Blog.
Tara Fatehi is a performance maker, performer and writer. www.tarafatehi.com
Jemima Yong is a performance maker and photographer. https://jemimayong.format.com/
Marty Langthorne: lighting design
Skywater, Facewater, Underwater Waltz is supported by Queen Mary University Centre for Creative Collaboration (London), Arnolfini (Bristol) and Lancaster Arts. Omikemi contributed to the early stage of this project’s development.
Performance History
4 June 2024, Peopling the Palaces festival, London (work-in-progress)
7 June 2024, Fest en Fest festival, London (work-in-progress)
12 October 2024, Arnolfini, Bristol (work-in-progress)
7 November 2024, Edinburgh Futures Institute, Edinburgh (work-in-progress; part of the event ENTANGLEMENTS: STUDIES IN FALLING, FLOWING, FOLLOWING)
17 & 18 September 2025, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff (premiere)
Available for presentation in 2026-27.
Images
Video
Video documentation from October 2024 performance at Arnolfini, Bristol.
Video by Dan Canham.