Be Like Water, 29 August 2020
synchronised swimming performance in the IJselmeer
in collaboration with De Dolfijn Synchroonzwemmen
You float gracefully through the water, like a dolphin ballerina. Your body is in perfect unison with the currents. You lift a leg, do an aqueous twirl, wave to the audience, and fall back in a dance with the elements. Applause! You’re a synchronized swimmer!
The performance Be Like Water was part of the exhibition Inside Poolside and reflected on the idea of collectively moving, in unison, like water, through the water – as synchro swimmers. It uses the topos of water ballet as a narrative to think about collective embodiment and (shared) wellbeing. Do we stay together when one person drifts off? Do we support each other beneath the surface? For Be Like Water Rik Dijkhuizen invited 12 people for a public workshop and final performance in the cold and wavy waters of the ‘Hoorse Hop’.