Figuring Age is a transgenerational, immersive and haunting performance – installation set at the liminal space between film, dance and theatre. In a fictional ghost séance hosted by Börcsök and Bolm, visitors encounter three elderly dancers: Éva, Irén and Ágnes –aged between 90 and 101– were once part of the development of modern dance in Hungary in the 1930s. Based on recordings of the dancers filmed in their private homes, the artist duo has sculpted a meticulous choreography of embodiment that lets their protagonists return on stage through Börcsök’s body and voice.
Retracing how each of the women transformed their life and dance practice to survive the socio-political changes of the 20th century, the artists explore how resilience, silence and trauma are inscribed in the body and in the movement.
Note: The introduction speech is based on Jacques Derrida’s reflections on ghosts in Ken McMullen’s film Ghost Dance (1983).