soft shell

In soft shell, the dancers slip in and out of known forms, casually shape-shifting as they embody different ways of being that upend the reading of each person. Movement slides between artifice and essence, with a playful ambiguity that suggests the people before us could be any one of the images they present, all of them, or none.

A work that plays with seeing and being seen, asks what we show and what we keep hidden, and where each of us might break the rules by being who we are.

soft shell highlights the power of the performer to shape how we perceive them, and looks at how dancing could create space for agency, support, joy, and pleasure; a place where lesser-known parts of us might come to light.

soft shell is a glance at something which lies beneath the surface, a celebration of the unseen elements in all of us.

Insight films

Go behind the scenes and find out about the making of soft shell.

Go behind the scenes and find out about the making of soft shell with Audio Description.

Ihsaan de Banya, dancer, shares his experience of the creative process

Annie Hanauer, choreographer, on developing soft shell

Vanessa Abreu, guest artist, speaking about exploring private and public spaces