Signs.Sigils.

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Concept & Choreography - ​Victoria McConnell
Residency Showing - ​https://vimeo.com/300781664/f058dc0094
Created & Performed in Collaboration with - ​Rodolfo Piazza Pfitscher da Silva

Through symbols and gestures we speak.

Both meaningful and mysterious, we interpret alone.
We read body language, spoken language, written words
and still the translation falls short.
What is the distance between what we say and what we mean?
How to measure, and bridge, the space between you and I?

Weaving movement and body

language with humor and pathos,
physical symbols become the
guide through this dance between
understanding and
misunderstanding. "Signs.Sigils" is
a physical expression of the
human desire for connection and
the languages we use, we make,
or that we break, in order to
express ourselves.

Following the verbal and

nonverbal communication
between different individuals, this
dance theater work highlights the
influence of personality and culture on perception and interpretation of the other. Beginning as a
physical conversation through desire, emojis, and finding one’s voice, “Signs.Sigils” investigates
the awkward, the comic, and the beautiful moments that can unfold in face-to-face interaction.
Inspired by individual and cultural gestures, equations of distance and personal stories, the piece
questions these symbols and searches for language that resonates with body and mind. Despite
the miscommunications, in the end "Signs.Sigils" leaves with the possibility of resonance: a brief
moment of understanding hanging in the air.

"Signs.Sigils" can be performed as a duet or, through an upcoming residency through

Tanzzentrale der Region Nürnberg e.V., as a trio. Whether as a small group or duet,
"Signs.Sigils" always remains close to the heart of the matter: in the borderlands between
familiar and foreign, how do we understand ourselves in order to understand each other?
With international collaboration at its core and part of the research itself across cultures and
communication styles, "Signs.Sigils" features a diverse group of creators and performers
including: Victoria McConnell (USA), Rodolfo Piazza Pfitscher da Silva (BR/DE), Adriano
Fontana (IT), Nathalie Wendt (DE) and Laura Andrée Anna-Elisabeth Guy (FR/DK) with
inspiration from the visual artist McConhall (USA). Collaboration is essential to the development
of this piece and to Victoria's creative process as the lead artist who developed the concept and
choreography. Rodolfo has been a key collaborator and dancer from the beginning of the duet
research and continues to help develop "Signs.Sigils". Adriano as composer and musician
joined the creative team in late 2018. Nathalie, from a theater, acting and puppetry background,
supports "Signs.Sigils" through her assistance as dramaturg and vocal/theatrical coaching.
Laura is the newest collaborator joining the group as a key dancer and collaborator. All of the
members of the team have personal experience with either growing up bilingual, moving to new
continents, learning multiple languages, or a combination of all three. Completing the circle of
communication, after each performance the collaborative team invites viewers to share their
reactions and ask questions in an artist talk-back session.

Contact:
Victoria McConnell - www.theindelible.org - frazer.mcconnell@gmail.com - +49 0152 56976474

Photo credit: Uwe Nimmrichter