Midsummer Night 2014

On Saturday 21 June from 8pm-1am, when the longest day and the shortest night of the year meet, If I Can't Dance has presented an Emma's with Sara van der Heide to celebrate the transitional moment of the summer solstice at a specially chosen location, the Hortus Botanicus of the Vrije Universiteit. The night was interspersed by short contributions from artists, writers and curators invited by Van der Heide, who share affinities with her practice and research into time, the earth, the body and light. While working and developing her forthcoming film and performance work: Mother Earth Breathing (2012-2014).

Throughout the garden and the evolvement from light to dark small presentations were presented: (jungle) story telling, short screenings, representations of flowers and plants, poetry reading, the breaking or the bending of the light, voice performance, sound, scents of plants, golden pitchfork representing the voice of the earth, ceramics, special Australian plants and more.

Contributions by: Agnieszka Polska, Arnisa Zeqo and Laurie Cluitmans, Eva-Fiore Kovacovsky, Frédérique Bergholtz, Irene Kopelman, Jacob Korczynski, Jessica Gysel, Katja Mater, Kyle Tryhorn, Maarten van Bodengraven, Marcel van den Berg, Maria Pask, Moosje M. Goosen, Nathalie Bruys, Nelly Voorhuis, Nora Turato, Riet Wijnen, Rory Pilgrim, Sands Murray Wassink, Sara van der Heide, Susan Gibbs, Tanja Baudoin, Yann Sérandour and Vivian Ziherl

Find a report of the night here from Jessica Gysel on the website of If I Can't Dance

photography by Kyle Tryhorn

Arrival and introduction at the VU Hortus


Listening to the soundscape: l'Eclisse, from Scanner, chosen by Nelly Voorhuis



Riet Wijnen reading from her publication: Marlow Moss


Performing Yann Sérandours: Cloudy with a Chance of a Ray of Sunlight



Rory Pilgrim: Little Reflections



Sands Murray-Wassink: Vent Vert, perfume and reading



Irene Kopelman: reading from her log books from one of her expeditions