Because I Can / When the Bleeding Stops
from Eva Recacha and Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir
About Because I Can / When the Bleeding Stops
A glorious oath to women where midlife crisis is celebrated. A wonderful, current and liberating piece, performed with humour, warmth and energy.
(Birna Hafstein, Chairman of The Association of Icelandic Artists in the Performing Arts and Films)
Extraordinary, a truly amazing contemplation on women’s visibility.
(Brighton, May 2023)
When the Bleeding Stops
When the Bleeding Stops is a performance work by Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir addressing the silence and taboo that seems to engulf menopause in Western society, as well as her personal experience of aging as a dancer.
After suffering an injury five years ago, Lovísa was forced to reconsider her relationship with dance and the body. This process opened her eyes to the silence around menopause and her own lack of knowledge on the subject. She began researching and posted an open invitation online where she invited menopausal women to participate in her project. Before she knew it, she was working with a large number of women from across Icelandic society.
When the Bleeding Stops invites the audience into a world of vulnerability, shame, empathy and humour. The work transports us into the privacy of the participants homes, and dives deep into the many layers of the female experience associated with menopause and invites us to laugh, cry and celebrate with these women.
Want to be a part of When the Bleeding Stops?
Take a look at our participant call out and work with Lovísa to bring this piece to life on our stage.
Because I Can
Because I Can is a delicate dance solo made by Eva Recacha in collaboration with iconic British performer Lauren Potter and sound artist Alberto Ruiz Soler. The work visits notions of power, memory and growing old.
In a poetic stream of consciousness memories flow in and out of grasp, leaving a delicate scent of nostalgia and loss. Witness the performer revisit various memories, her presence becoming an ode to a quiet yet liberating rebelliousness that turns intimacy into a tower of power.
About Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir
Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir is an award-winning dancer and a choreographer. After 16 years of a successful career at Iceland Dance Company she suffered an injury that forced her to reconsider her relationship with dance, the body, and her artistic practice. This process, along with the vivid feeling of an aging body, opened her eyes to the silence around menopause and her own lack of knowledge on the subject. She began researching and interviewing menopausal women in her local community.
This led her to a masters degree in Performance Practice at Iceland's University of the Arts where she further developed her artistic practice and conducted research that revolved around aging, connecting to the body's knowledge, history and to the big taboo, menopause. Out of this research and Gunnarsdóttir's artistic practice, the stage piece When the Bleeding Stops was born.
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About Eva Recacha, Alberto Ruiz Soler and Lauren Potter
Eva Recacha is a choreographer who lives and works in London. Her choreographic practice weaves movement and text, creating a blend of poetic, humorous, and nonsensical juxtapositions through the interplay of both mediums.
Alberto Ruiz Soler is a Sound Artist and Composer. His work ranges from compositions for contemporary dance and animation to solo installations and new experimental music. He has worked with Igor and Moreno, Jesus Rubio, and Lavaelo amongst others.
Lauren Potter danced with London Contemporary Dance Theatre for eight years and became a founding member of Siobhan Davies Dance Company in 1988. She has worked amongst others with Lloyd Newson, Yolande Snaith, Jonathan Lunn, Ashley Page and Rosemary Butcher.
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CAST & CREATIVES
When the Bleeding Stops
Concept, Choreography & Text: Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir
Light & Sound Design: Brett Smith
Video Design: Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir and Brett Smith
Performers: Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir, Ólöf Ingólfsdóttir, Kristjana Stefánsdóttir, Sveinbjörg Þórhallsdóttir or Arndís Guðmundsdóttir
Producer: StepTurnMove - Wim Casier
Thanks to Sigrún Ólafsdóttir, Egill Ingibergsson, Alexander Graham Roberts, Brogan Davison, Rebekka Ingimundardóttir, Valdimar Jóhannsson and Reykjavík Dance Festival.
Because I Can
Choreography: Eva Recacha in collaboration with Lauren Potter
Text: Lauren Potter, Eva Recacha and Alberto Ruiz Soler
Performance: Lauren Potter
Sound and Light Design: Alberto Ruiz Soler
Voices off: Lauren Potter, Lottie Pendlebury, Molly Pendlebury
Dramaturgical Support: Amanda Recacha
Production Manager: Ben Moon
Commissioned by The Place and South East Dance. Because I Can is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.
TRAILERS
When The Bleeding Stops Trailer
Because I Can Trailer
