Image credit: Beth Chambers
Created, Conceived, Designed and Performed by Katherina Radeva
HOME
A middle aged woman kitchen dancing is something I can easily relate to. Heading to HOME on a Saturday night to watch someone else do it was not necessarily on my bucket list. Seated in a square around a dance floor that is taped up to resemble a unique take on Snakes and Ladders, the audience stare across at each other and wait. Katherina Radeva welcomes us as though we had actually entered her kitchen…warm and smiley…in her opening deluxe she might initially be underselling herself…until that moment when she reveals that this is what she wants to do and she just wants to f**k about and people are gonna have a real good time.
Dressed in a grey suit she opens with the frantic beat of Work! by Gnucci. It perfectly sums up the experience of many women juggling careers, relationships and family, trying to do it all but often just running on empty. Throughout the dance there is an powerful connection to the audience that is incredibly engaging. She later speaks of her childhood in Bulgaria and the body shaming of an enthusiastic child naturally good at rhythm gymnastics but told she was too fat too perform at competition level. Perhaps what makes this performance so joyful is the real sense that at reaching 40 Radeva is welcoming that chubby child unto the dance floor and centre stage.
Costume changes happen between each dance and feel like a blend of behind scenes wardrobe changes and raiding the dressing up box. They also serve to bring nudity onstage that is a statement of this is the female body at 40. This piece is all about Radeva claiming space and choosing how to define herself rather than having others pigeonhole her identity as a migrant, a wife, a set designer or a performance artist.
Image credit: Beth Chambers
Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics is a pure joy to observe as watching her footwork in the intro is mesmerising as she explores the beat and the space. Increasingly sweaty or breathing heavily never feel like the performance is a strain on her as a performer but perfectly encapsulate the sheer physical joy of being present in the moment and enjoying every second. Other pieces reflect her Bulgarian heritage such as Maki Maki by Goram Bregović.
As the 50 minute performance closes on Radeva barefoot and knickerless and wearing a loose flimsy gown she is dancing to Rings of Saturn by Nick Cave. The lyrics seem incredibly apt as this time the chorus presents the woman as the divine force beyond explanation, beyond description. She just cosmically is. A truly joyous celebration of body positivity and acceptance.
Live Art Alive 