Özlem Alkis - "Nefes"
Nefes is a breath, a voice, a song, an individual expression, a retold story, a confession to a group, a choir, a shared experience, a polyphonic expression. It is a choreographic piece inspired by Alevi beliefs and practices. Nefes means breath in Turkish. In Alevi culture, Nefes also refers to a sung poem presented by musicians during ceremonies and gatherings. Nefes are the only means to pass on Alevi teachings, painful history, and silenced identity from generation to generation. They are considered sacred as they give a voice to the Alevi people and their heritage.
In the performance, the physicality of the voice becomes a way to locate oneself within a group and the environment. It becomes a strategy of relationship, reaction, reconfiguration, and coexistence. A power that creates shared experiences and spaces – aesthetically, physically, and imaginatively. In the work, familiar meanings and associations are displaced by physical resonances: soundscapes, voices, movements, and bodies seek common spaces between mood, discord, reinforcement, suppression, and complementarity. Affective environments perceived by the skin, heard by the eyes, and seen by the ears unsettle, delight, soothe, and touch deeply.
Duration: 50 Min.
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
