Animate Materials is a moving dialogue for textiles and bodies. This performance project, for people with or without dance training, is a creative process which invites a shift in our self-perception and the material objects we encounter every day. Familiar and literally “hautnah” (up close, near the skin), how much do we know about the textiles we use? Could the garments we wear become partners in movement? Can elements of sewing become an outline for creating dance?

At the intersection of dance and textile arts, Victoria guided participants through the creative process while seeking new partnerships with material and clothing and questioning consumer culture. We mapped relations between our bodies, fabric, and garments through somatic exercises, sewing tasks, contemporary improvisation, and dance composition tools. Through co-creation methods with participants, Victoria shaped a performance which invites people to cherish textiles and the fabric of our own skin, muscle and bones and to imagine material cultures that care for people as well as objects.

Supported by Tanzfabrik Berlin

Performed — February 17, 2025 in Uferstudios, Berlin

Concept & Choreography — Victoria McConnell in collaboration with the participants

Participants — Svenja Kalz, Olivia Kossobucki, Anya Jasbar, Franziska Brill, Anna Maganakova, Lilith Tiefenbacher, Maja Bechert, Hye Young Sin, Svenja Mangold, Raoul Rochus, Adrian Porikys, Anne Merfort, Marta Porro, Reem Alfahad, Koray G, Farah Boukhoms, Arturo Anaya, Ian Papez

Music — Anya Jasbar, Hye Young Sin, Yosi Horikawa

Photos — Nikos Fragkou