We present ourselves in an arena, you’re sitting all around us, close to us, as we perform for you. There is a big screen too. Sometimes we perform for the screen. You can look at us or the film being made. It is all happening simultaneously. Offscreen and onscreen narratives, reality and illusion, pulling your gaze between the two. 

Our arena and screen are a space for epic drama, ambiguity of species, rhythmic drills, sensuous fields and shameless staging. Comical and uncanny, grand and intimate, this dance performance playfully moves in-between animal and human, control and rapture, entertainment and empathy. 

In our work we propose ourselves as domesticated human animals and strive to create an intriguing connection between entertainment and shows using humans and those using other animals. Embracing the legacy of our embodied personal histories with human’s expanding existence on screens we ask: What does it mean to perform as human animals in the 21st century? 

Shows for Shows was presented as a dance performance for the black box theater, commisioned by 3:e Våningen as part of Gothenburg Art Biennale Extended Programme 2021.

Concept, performance, scenography and camera set-up by Liv Schellander, Lena Kimming and Alexandra Wingate. Music production and composition by Cha Blasco. Light design by Peter Widell. Costume by Alexandra Wingate. Dramaturgical support by Eric Sjögren. Outside eye and feedback by Ina Dokmo. With support from Ställbergs gruva, 3:e Våningen, Returkultur, BMKÖS Vienna, Västra Götaland Regional Council and Göteborg City.