Cecilia Moisio (FIN/NL)
Pink Portal
Portraits of women's bodies, with the vulva in the leading role
Pink Portal, as the title suggests, is an ode to the vulva. With a cast of women of different ages and backgrounds, choreographer Cecilia Moisio shatters taboos that surround the female body and female sexuality. Moisio wants everyone to use its name without embarrassment again: VULVA!
Julidans
Julidans NL
Run time 70 minutes
Location Theater Bellevue
Venue Grote zaal
Moisio calls herself a ‘psychological activist’. She makes performances that comment on wrongs in society. She confronts us with unspoken taboos and goes in search of the underlying, often unconscious motives for our behaviour. Her work is characterised by its dynamic character: raw acting and raw emotions in a tight choreography. She has previously made feminist performances such as OMGYES (2016), about female sexuality in the media. ‘I choreograph close to myself. My pieces are about themes that I encounter. So it is very logical that these are often women's issues,' she told de Volkskrant in 2018.
Cecilia Moisio, originally from Finland, danced with Dansgroep Krisztina de Châtel and then with Ward/waRD – Ann Van den Broek. In 2014, she won the Nederlandse Dansdagen award and in 2019 the Nederlandse Dansdagen Young Audience award.
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As a choreographer, she has already created 27 performances, which have been performed in 15 countries. In the (inter)national performing arts scene, she is regarded as a versatile and innovative maker. She was very successful with Victory (2018) and Juffenballet (2020), directed by René Geerlings, with Maas Theatre and Dance, where she recently joined the artistic team.
With Pink Portal, Moisio creates an informative, funny but also emotional performance about a woman's body – from her first menstruation to the menopause. With a cast of women of various ages, she explored the different ways in which the female body has been viewed from centuries of control, shame, and censorship. How can this oppressive view be transformed into positive feelings, into strength and energy? Moisio wants to call on every woman – or those who identify as women – to stand up for her body and sexuality, regardless of age, cultural background or social status. It is high time that more attention is paid to female pleasure.
de Volkskrant, 2018 on Moisio's collaboration with Ineke Vandoorn in I Can See Myself Through Your Eyes
‘They add a feminist dimension with the story of the mother who teaches her daughter that girls should keep their mouths shut. Gradually, you come to feel how deeply criticism can affect a person. The ironic solution of this resilient pair: they stage their own moment of fame, full of glitter, glamour, and gala dresses.’
Credits
Concept/Choreography/Direction Cecilia Moisio
Performers Katarzyna Sitarz, Yulia Kalinchenko, Gwen Langenberg, Kadri Tegelmann, Daria Titova, Bianca Casaburi, Renee Hijl en Fee-Lise Verbon
Texts Eva Maria de Wit
Decor Marlies Schot
Light Mark Thewessen
Music Joni Vanhanen
Costumes Dorine van IJsseldijk
Videocontent Paul Sixta
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PR and marketing Marjo van Lijssel
Business direction Hedi Legerstee
Head of production Lynn Meijer
Producer Stichting Cecilia Moisio
In collaboration with Julidans, ccAmstel, ICK Amsterdam
Met dank aan Fonds Podiumkunsten, Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, VriendenLoterij Fonds, Stichting Imperium, Fonds 21
