Dance to Ecstasy: Gwen Kassenaar, Petra Haller, Outside the Zone - trailer
This is a trailer to Live Mural Painting by Gwendolyn Kassenaar, Danced by Petra Haller, commissioned by Outside the Zone
Dereham Place, Shoreditch, London on 14th April 2021
As the city emerges from lockdown, an artist will depict the human struggle and subsequent unshackling of societal and cultural suffocation, felt by many over the last year. She achieved this by painting dance artist Petra Haller in an innovative and beautiful improvised representation of reaching liberation and ecstasy.
“I am thrilled to be able to share my work in this way. Music and dance are not only my subject matter but they are integral to my creative process.” Says Ms Kassenaar
“I aim to shift the boundaries between art and dance disciplines and become a simultaneous performer with Petra. I am truly excited about what we will achieve and I want to ensure that visitors leave the experience wanting to embrace life on a higher level. Ultimately, I will encourage people to find out who they are and have the courage to live true to themselves regardless of expectations and judgements of others.”
Gwendolyn Kassenaar is a Dutch visual artist based in London. A graduate from Chelsea College of Art, she also studied at the Royal Drawing School. She engages in both painting and drawing, which lies at the heart of her practice.
Her art is based on rhythm, music and dance. She creates live-art at live music and dance performances, in her studio and through close collaborations. Her work combines figurative and abstract and is characterised by expressive gestural mark-making, bold lines and a vivid use of colour, stemming from synesthesia.
Through transcendence, following sound or movement, she unlocks universal human concerns within, which have become recurring themes in her work: self-discovery, surrender, empowerment, personal liberation and spiritual awakening while also conveying her energetic zest for life.
Being an active participant in the improvised and experimental music scene in London, she is resident artist (and occasional curator) at monthly improvised music event Freedom, usually held at Vortex Jazz Club, Dalston; visual artist at regular avant-garde musical gathering Skronk; and part of the recent Spherical Improv series. She currently collaborates with internationally renowned musician Beibei Wang, fusing their art forms into a simultaneous performance.
In dance, her active practice of esoteric movement method Five Rhythms and a background in ballroom and Latin dance further informs her work, as does her ongoing collaboration with inspirational contemporary and tap dancer, Petra Haller.
Her artwork features on album covers of well-known London jazz musicians, such as musician/ composer Loz Speyer and experimental jazz band Apocalypse Jazz Unit. Her art has been shown at group shows in London, including multidisciplinary Nexus Art and Kindred Upper Gallery. She was specifically commissioned for a corporate collection in Germany. Her live mural in Dereham Place, London, is her debut public art commission.
PETRA IS AN INDEPENDENT DANCE ARTIST AND TAP DANCER BASED IN LONDON.
HER TRAINING AS A CONTEMPORARY DANCER TOOK PLACE MAINLY AT OPEN CLASSES. SHE STUDIED AT TANZPROJECT MUNCHEN UNDER ADRIANA RADU BEFORE MOVING TO LONDON.
SHE STARTED HER CAREER AS A FREELANCE DANCER WORKING ON BBC1, THE ONE SHOW: SKY1, LUIE SPENCE’S SHOW BUSINESS; ELLEN KENT PRODUCTION, AIDA AS WELL AS VARIOUS MUSIC VIDEOS AND LIVE EVENTS.
AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF SOLELY WORKING FOR OTHER PEOPLE SHE STARTED CREATING , PRODUCING AND PERFORMING HER OWN WORK AS WELL.
HER FIRST OUTINGS AS A CREATOR, DANCER, PRODUCER INCLUDE: “CHARLIE: MY MESSAGE TO HUMANITY“, LAKE STUDIOS BERLIN AND THE SOLO THEATRE SHOWCASE “SOLO ROULETTE” AT THE BLUE ELEPHANT THEATRE IN NOVEMBER 2018 PERFORMING “DELIVER ME” A THEATRE AND DANCE PIECE WHICH COMBINES SPOKEN WORD AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE.
SHE IS CURRENTLY THE RESIDENT DANCER AT RÉSONANCES PERFORMANCES, AN INTERDISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION OF IMPROVISED MUSIC, POETRY, DIGITAL ART AND LIVE PAINTING LED BY AURELIE FREOUA AND SUPPORTED BY THE VORTEX JAZZ CLUB.
PETRA HAS BEEN THE FIRST TAP DANCER NAMED IN JAZZWISE MAGAZINE’S: RISING JAZZ ARTISTS SECTION IN: WHO TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2020.
SHE WAS INTRODUCED TO FREE IMPROVISATION BY CLEVELAND WATKISS AT THE FREEDOM OF ART LOFT JAM AND IMMEDIATELY FOUND HERSELF AT HOME.
www.petrahaller.net
@petrahallerdancer
@gwendolynkassenaar
@outsidethe_zone
Music: Free Music Archive: Roman Stolyar & Ilia Belorukov
Last Photo: Chris Ketsugi
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