My tail and I / interactive dance performance

Small or huge, inconspicuous or twisted. Ladies and gentlemen – the tail as it is! How come we, humans, don’t have one, while other animals do? How would we move if we did have a tail? Mind you, we are left with a peculiar souvenir – the tailbone. Can you feel it in the body? Can you move it in space? How do other limbs relate? A humorous, light-hearted dance performance, suitable for preschool audiences and their parents/guardians, explaining the mysteries of evolution and the history of our tailbones.

The event allows exploring the fun of movement and experiencing it together in an artistic space. It also prompts reflection on the function of the tailbone, being somehow a taboo topic in our culture. The artists first unfold their dance and movement tale, then invite the audience to play along. We’ll have a chance to engage and activate our tailbones thanks to specially prepared props in the form of large, attachable tails. For kids, this will be the opportunity to use their natural mobility and fulfill their need for exploration and experimentation. For adults – even those accustomed to sitting, preferring chairs and comfortable couches – a reminder of what it’s like to look at the capabilities of your own body with curiosity. Together we will all discover how much vitality, joy, and creative energy that shaking a tail can give us.

My tail and I is the collective’s first-ever performance, moving away from abstraction to a concrete prop created in Mr. Tail’s studio. In the performance, the artists contemplate the somatic capabilities of the human body. All Holobiont initiatives are multidisciplinary: they operate with light, sound, movement, and words. As a result, you are presented with a sensory-friendly space that you just want to step into. The group, pioneering in the field of experimental choreography for families, is not only popular with audiences but also has an established reputation on the dance scene. Where Shapes Have Necks, a 2019 performance produced for the 22. Children’s Art Biennale was enthusiastically received by Poznań’s audiences.

During the event, the creators will invite families to join in the movement with the performers and release the creative energy that often sleeps dormant in our tails.

The performance was co-organized by the National Institute of Music and Dance as part of the PolandDances / Choreographic Residencies project, co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

The performance was selected for the set of evenings of the Polish Dance Network 2022 and the PolandDances – Tournée 2022 programme of the National Institute of Music and Dance. Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.