top of page

Gravity as Belonging

Gravity as Belonging is a collective research process carried out through the format of a Performance Project proposed by Tanzfabrik Berlin Schule and facilitated by movement artist and educator Melissa Ugolini.

The research spanned seven weeks over which Melissa and the participants met every Monday and Wednesday night to exchange, reflect and move together, embodying reflections on the topic of belonging. 

The process culminated in a sharing open to the public on Wednesday, 2nd of April 2025 at Uferstudios, Berlin.  

Lass mich wissen, was für mich ein wir ist, dessen Teil ich bin.

Gravity as Belonging

DSC07858.jpeg
DSC05948.jpg
bb2ffe2c-c323-4aab-b018-5fea235a78a1.JPG
DSC07304.jpeg

Process

The process constituted of embodied explorations on the themes of belonging and not belonging, delving into the concept of identity in its multifaceted, diverse, and ever-evolving forms. 
How do we physically experience the landscapes we inhabit? 
How do we draw borders as reference structures and what happens when we cross them?
Why is the duality of belonging so heavy to carry?
Departing from the premise that our body itself is a landscape, we eagerly explored how we can recognise and access its organic heritage. The insights that emerge served as a foundation to observe how we interact with our surroundings and with one another, transforming the spaces we occupy into places rich with references to our individual and collective experiences

Proposed research methodologies aimed at developing strategies of self-empowerment and self-establishment of a collective identity of our group of 27 participants, all coming from very different backgrounds and perspectives. 
The practice opposed critically the imposition of pre-determined assumptions on what such an identity may sound, feel and look like and fostered instead a balance between safe space and brave space in which the participants were given tools to support their exploration and to allow that identity to emerge in its diversity and richness. 

The body in movement acted as our foreground and common language, as a tool for negotiation, connection and discovery. 

DSC07061.jpeg
Participants

Aneah Grella
Ann Esswein
Anja Breljak
Anja de la Peña
Asma Al Hajal
Carla Marco
Emma Schicker
Evgenia Charlafti
Fam Ullberg Anderson
Helena Bröker
Katharina Markschat
Lin Britta
Lisa-Maria Damm
Luna Auler
Lynne Scharf
Maria Hartmann
Mireia Casanas Dalmau
Mona Hartel
Mylena Winkler
Nahid Ansari
Olivia Peter
Ronja Landtau
Seraphina Wälle
Ulrika Eglite
Amina Vormann

Texts

As a collateral practice that informed the core of our artistic process rooted in physicality and embodiment, we have produced content in written word which we shared in a public reading following the performance on the 02. April 2025 at Uferstudios, Berlin. 

dancers

Acknowledgements

Melissa would like to express her sincere gratitude to the incredible work and generosity of all the participants, to Gisela Müller and the whole team at Tanzfabrik Schule Berlin, to photographer İlkin Eskipehlivan and Marc Wiesener. 

Sources

Screenshot 2025-06-09 at 12.14.27.png
bottom of page