Two destination language presents
Katherina Radeva
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Two
Destination
Language
Why I made it
In October 2021 I was sitting in a dance house in London. I saw a show where two white middle aged men danced. I was bored. There was nothing wrong with the men, their dancing or their words but I asked myself why I was watching them. I wanted to watch more bodies like mine — female, changing, complex, and very much knackered.
So, I literally gave myself the permission to place my body in front of the dance eyes and attempt to hold that gaze with the raw and vulnerable and joyful energy I hold.
To help me with this, I invited the dance legends Liz Aggiss, Rachel Krische and Lucy Suggate to support me to embody slightly new textures and forms for me and my body. We spent many hours moving together and the biggest learning I took away from this process is permission. The only person who should ever give me permission to do and embody who and what I want to be — is me.
In this solo I dance my heart out and it feels really good.
The work speaks of labour and it embodies labour.
It speaks of joy and embodies joy.
It speaks of hard work and embodies hard work.
It speaks of heritage and migrations and embodies these too.
And in the end it speaks of new futures and it paints these — embodied with my body.
Katherina
Created, designed and performed
Katherina Radeva
Hired help Liz Aggiss
Wing woman Lucy Suggate
Clever clogs Rachel Krische
Supervision Artist Wellbeing
Stage Manager Helen Mugridge
Costume Maker Rositza Radeva
Lighting design Marty Langthorne
Outside Eyes Alister Lownie
Sound design and editing Alister Lownie and Tim Blazdell
Press Storytelling PR
Photography Beth Chalmers
Produced by
Two Destination Language
producing@twodestinationlanguage.com
Alister Lownie | +44/0 7786 911954 | alister@twodestinationlanguage.com
Katherina Radeva | +44/0 7790 402521 | kat@twodestinationlanguage.com
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“You are 40 and so fucking courageous. You have blown me away. Shattered me with your power as a performer. Confidence and vulnerability combined. Risk too. I wondered about the affect of the piece, about why it came across so powerful: does it have to do with who you become when on stage; is it about me, as a spectator, allowing myself pleasure in watching you and drifting in your narrative, in your emotions, trying to feel and understand… At Maki maki song I began to cry, I couldn’t help it. But it wasn’t just the song, the power of Bregovic’s music and the intense emotion contained in the singing, it was about nostalgia for all the things I’ve lost… Migrant feelings, migrant connections. I also felt for all the things you lost. For the feeling of being alone. For so long. As you say since the age of 16.”
—Dr Lena Cimic
