Goddesses* dream when they bleed

Inspired by the age-old action of women washing clothes, the performance Goddesses* dream when they bleed explores the intimate relationship between two women who reclaim their bodies, power and space. Washing, carrying and twisting clothes until they become a weapon. In a space shaped by clotheslines and white sheets, two bodies dive into the physical heaviness of domestic labour evolving in a poetic landscape combining feminism, dance and scenography.

Two women, white sheets on clotheslines and buckets of water, elements we easily connect to the tradition of laundering clothes. However, in Goddesses* dream when they bleed, Anna&Goda aim to deconstruct and liberate these stereotypes by exploring a different dialogue with these elements. In an attempt to surrender to the heaviness of domestic labour, they invite playfulness on to their stage. They transform the space where their pain and pleasure intersect. Their anger becomes a vehicle for connection, joy and empowerment.

In this performance, dancers and makers Annabel Reid and Goda Zukauskaite expose their political flesh, their female bodies, and they explore how these interact, carry and support each other. It is a celebration of femininity with moments of connecting, supporting, playing, laughing, crying, screaming, fighting, carrying, protecting, exposing, surrendering, listening. There is an instinctive research of their bodies in relation to the actions: with regards to the materiality of water and fabric, the physicality of sweat and muscles and the interrelation between them. The audience is a witness of this attempt to break free from gendered power dynamics.

The physical and emotional tiredness which emanates from the action of laundering clothes, carries the dancers through different states, reminding us of the complex and powerful bond between women. They sweat, suffer and endure - but also, they play. They allow playful and childish instincts to shape their relationship, splashing water and metamorphosing the fabrics. By yielding to the heaviness of the work, the two women aim to wash away sorrow, pain or anger, they choose to let go, remember or create space for new fantasies.

Slowly, they surrender to the rhythmicality they built, transported by the sounds their tired bodies make while slapping sheets. Never stopping, finding their power - is it a celebration or a war?

“Goddesses* dream when they bleed” was born from a mutual desire as two female artists, to talk about the position of women in ancient as well as modern society, opening conversations about womanhood and the weight it carries.

The performance is a study of the uncompensated, unrecognised labour of our mothers, grandmothers, the mothers of our grandmothers and those who came before them.

Over Anna&Goda

Anna&Goda as a duo collective aims to focus and research socially present topics, images and movements through multidisciplinary formats. The strength the duo carries is the common wish to play, explore and break normative borders both through physical and visual work. Annabel and Goda both strongly believe in bringing different art forms together and in using their dance and theatre background as a tool in a tool box instead of a label. Annabel Reid (BE) and Goda Žukauskaitė (LT/NL) met during their studies in the Amsterdam University of Arts (AHK) in the Modern Theatre Dance department. After graduating in 2018, they both went their separate ways to work as dancers and performers for dance and theatre companies and freelance choreographers (Jan Fabre, Thierry Smits, Boukje Schweigman, Liat Tamar Waysbort, Kalpana Raghuraman, and more). The desire to create their own artistic identity as makers grew with time and the step to become a duet collective in 2021 became evident.