The research Consonants is a choreographic exploration inspired by the hypnagogic state, a perceptual phenomena that happens in the transitional phase between wakefulness and sleep, when the frequencies of our brain shifts from beta (12.5–30 Hz) to alpha (8–12 Hz). 

While the thoughts are transitioning from the objective into the subjective rhythm of the mind, our sensorial body can at times translate this shift in neurological activity into hallucinatory images, sounds or bodily sensations. Unlike dreams, in which the subject is fully immersed, hypnagogic visions appear as if observed from a distance, positioning the individual as a spectator of their own perception.

Rather than approaching hypnagogia as a theme, the project seeks to reflect its perceptual qualities into the performative space. By echoing the ever-changing quality of hypnagogia the project aims to expand on the complexity of the relational space between two people, piercing through the rigidity of binary interpretations of the world that are proposed by dominant narratives.

The project foregrounds the complexities of one-to-one connection, and searches ways to invite the viewer to be confronted with semantic instability, a site where the interpretation of the relational dynamics is in constant flux.

Credits

Choreography, Space, Sound & Performance: Fernanda Libman
Performance and Collaborator: Victor Conto
Mentor: Carolina Mendonça
Light: Paulina Prop
Space Advise: Andoni Zamora
Supported by Workspace Brussels, Espaço Desterro, Goethe Institute Madrid & El Amor
Special thanks to Juliette Lizzotte, Eloy Cruz del Prado, Juli Frodermann, Lucia Fernandez Santoro, Carolina Repetto & to the whole team and students of Das Choreography