2024 – Le chant des Louves
Quartier am Hafen – Diversitätfonds
At the center of this residency is the question of identity – how it is formed, performed and sometimes imposed. Through movement-based research and creative collaboration, Willie Stark and Yasmine Calasse of Stark Dance Company will delve into the nuances of personal and shared identities, exploring the often unspoken intersections between ethnicity, gender, sense of belonging and the body.
Concept, idea, dance: Willie Stark and Yasmine Calasse – Stark Dance Company
2024 – Chapt(her)s
Tanzfaktur – Kunststiftung NRW
This work deals with the constructed hetero normative gender norms rooted in society. It is a complex encounter between 3 female dancers who address, confront, and contradict the notion of the female body and the place of women in society with a deep dive into women’s gestures, the objectification of the body, double standards, social media, and political oppression and social marginalization through research, voice, and movement material. Dance here is understood as a political and empowering tool. Historically, numerous dance styles have emerged as forms of expression and as acts of resistance against social constraints and oppression. This work explores how culture, gender, race, history, and socio economics influence one’s expression or suppression of anger, empathy, oppression, love, understanding in form of chapters.
Women have been represented as being oversimplified through their stereotypical portrayal as housewives and mothers in the media, alongside being hypersexualized through their clothing and body image. Both of these forms of portrayals have had negative effects on women.
What do we need in order to be truly free and equal? And what stands in the way of this? These are just a few examples of the many practices of living together and coexistence that exist in societies worldwide. These practices play a crucial role in fostering peaceful coexistence, promoting understanding and empathy across diverse communities, and building inclusive and resilient societies.
2023 – Précieuses (group of 3 dancers)
PACT ZOLLEVEREIN
The research “Précieuses” is based on the expression of the concepts of sisterhood and empowerment wrapped into strength and delicatesse. The movers were combining a great number of movements, gestures, and spiritual meanings to create a common language. Circles in African dances symbolize the infinite continuity of life, rituals, incantations, it is a spiritual shape and represents a group of people connected. In this work, there is a strong relationship with movements, emotions, ancestry, and power.
WORK SCORES:
*Images: circles, a shield, a throne, a sword, a statue, a strong posture, a battlefield, to be proud
*Verbs and gesture: to show skin, to defend, to attack, to throw (as a movement of protest), to be hit or punched, to protect one’s face, to be hurt …
2023 – Silent storms
DIS TANZEN 5
This is an interdisciplinary work which deals with oppression, togetherness and cross-cultural narratives of endurance and transformation. Willie Stark is responding to oppression and marginalization with movement resistance through several physical exploratory ateliers and visual material. For the elaboration, she uses Urban and Contemporary dance technics. She will explore this topics with delicate understanding, strength and care placing the body in the center of the work.
Does the dancing body have the expressive power to speak and tell beyond itself?
This will lead to a materialization of the forms through the body and the understanding and construction of movement quality.
It is a way of work which claims the passage by the experience.
2022 Afro dances – Technics and origins
FREIRAUM DÜSSELDORF
Exploring several Afro dances and their origins is a fascinating journey through the rich cultural tapestry of Africa and its diaspora. Afro dances encompass a wide range of styles, each with its own unique history, significance, and cultural context.
In recent years, there has been a resurgence of interest in Afro-inspired dance forms globally. Contemporary Afro dances blend traditional African movements with modern styles, often serving as expressions of cultural identity and empowerment.
Afro dances are not just forms of entertainment; they are expressions of cultural identity, history, and community. By exploring their origins and significance, we gain a deeper understanding of the rich and diverse heritage of Africa and its diaspora.
2021- BELONG
TAKE HEART – TANZHAUS NRW
This residence deals with post-colonialism, race and power structures deeply rooted in society.
This work in progress is a container for muscle memory of decades of systemic oppression and trauma translated into movements. Willie Stark questions the representation of POC women and transforms the oppression into a powerful message as she reinvents herself.
2020 – The power of decision making in improvisation
DIS TANZEN 1
What is decision making ? What influences it?
How does the use of external object, sound or music is influencing the creativity? What is happening between the moment you make the decision and you take action? Is the pool of information enough to create new ways, new movements?
Decision making is the process of making choices by identifying a decision, gathering information, and assessing alternative resolutions. The first step in making the right decision is recognizing the problem or opportunity and deciding to address it. In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. Decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values, preferences, experiences, knowledge, and beliefs of the decision-maker. Every decision-making process produces a final choice, which may or may not prompt action.
WILLIE STARK 