A plot exposed, a foul deed enacted invites scandal. In the spirit of revolution or romantic musings, scandals provoke an imagining of the impossible. Utopian or mundane, how might scandal reveal what lies unwittingly close to our fantasies? And how does it expose where society places its limits? If life is a scandal waiting to be plotted, how do we position ourselves within its matrix? Immoral and lacking propriety, scandals are incidents where fantasy and pleasure take center stage. Guided by the questions of whom this pleasure is for and at what expense, Lewis's new plot explores the stage where scandals abound. 

Weaving together historical, anecdotal, political, and mythical narratives − ranging from an interest in the Enlightenment thinker John Locke, Maria Olofa (Wolofa) in the slave revolt of Santo Domingo in 1521, Cuban artist and revolutionary Jose Aponte, and Lewis’s great grandmother, a figure Lewis turns to within her plot as a guide of resistance − the choreographer constructs the poetics of refusal at the edges of representation. A dance between affect and embodiment, seeing and being seen, A Plot/A Scandal is a scene in the making where the excitement for that which does not fit might find its place.

The work unfolds through the following parts:

• Prelude
• Plot 1 : John Locke
• Plot 2: Rebellion
• Intermezzo: John Locke cleans up his mess
• Plot 3: Story of Lolon / fuck up the plot
• Outro: Repair ?

"In three parts, Lewis shows with powerful mime, body use, and comedy how we cannot 'plot against' scandals from the (neo)colonial history, which are furthermore legitimized by liberal theories of pioneers of capitalism, like English philosopher John Locke." - ★★★★☆, De Volkskrant

Another work by Ligia Lewis, Still not Still, is also part of SPRING 2023. A Plot / A Scandal is a natural continuation of Still not Still and other earlier works. During SPRING, Ligia will also participate in the Topic Talk black body - white gaze. 

Biography

Ligia Lewis (Dominican Republic, USA) works as a choreographer and dancer. Lewis’s works, often marked by expressions of physical intensity and humor, animate subjects through physical expression that disrupts normative conceptions of the body. She negotiates the ghostly traces of history, memory, and the unknown. Through choreography, she develops expressive concepts that give form to movements, speech, affects, thoughts, relations, and the bodies that hold them.

Her work was presented in multiple venues across Europe and the US. She was managed and produced by HAU Hebbel am Ufer Theater from 2017 until 2021 and was a tanzhaus nrw factory artist from 2017 until 2019. She is the recipient of the Tabori Award in the category of Distinction, a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants Award, a Bessie Award for Outstanding Production, and more. She was also featured on the German Dance Platform shortlist in 2022 and 2018. 

https://ligialewis.com/