Karolina Adamczak

Live performance, 00:09:36

The performance is composed of a sultry dance juxtaposed with an unapologetic monologue that recalls the traumas of growing up, focusing on the experience of an all-girls school marked by sexual pressures, isolation, and the sexual experiences that happened outside its walls.

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The monologue takes us through the artist's relationship with dance — from the early days of dancing to leaving it behind, and eventually returning to it as an adolescent. Dance becomes a coping mechanism and a refuge for a traumatized body, while simultaneously serving as a further cause of self-hatred and frustration. The work speaks of the regret of leaving dance behind and the duality of reclaiming it: the act of reshaping the body to become stronger exists alongside a lingering sense of repulsion, as it’s too late to reach perfection.

The work argues the importance of alternatives one can turn to when lacking human connection, yet as the struggles remain, it shows that human connection cannot fully be replaced.

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The piece finds power in laying these experiences bare, reclaiming space through movement and voice.