Ladylike
Are you a heroine? Or feeling a bit chicken?
Our stories do not have to define us, and Ladylike is the super-heroines journey of four wonderwomxn undoing the repressions of their past to create their own future.
In a ceremonious un-dressing, they become a sisterhood, uniting using hip hop theatre and sexually charged Rumba to take a fierce, frank and funny look at gender roles and transform their deepest fears and desires.
*womxn: we are using this alternative spelling to avoid suggestions of sexism perceived in the sequence of m-a-n and m-e-n, and to be inclusive of trans and non binary women.
About the piece: In Cuba, there is a dance called Yuka: a sensual dance between a chicken and cock to make love. Often women are defined as a type of animal (and not in a good way). This piece used the words ‘chick’, ‘bird’, ‘hen’ to explore how womxn are boxed in and stereotyped in this patriarchal world, and how (and if) we womxn can step out of those stereotypes and beliefs to create our own destiny. We used breaking, rumba and Yuka to explore four very different womxn’s stories and create a sisterhood to help them each break free.
*womxn: we are using this alternative spelling to avoid suggestions of sexism perceived in the sequence of m-a-n and m-e-n, and to be inclusive of trans and non binary women.
About the journey: Ladylike began its journey at Casa Festival in 2015 and premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2017. The show has also been performed at Richmix, London (2017),Trinity Centre, Bristol (2018), The Womxn’s Leadership Conference, New York City, (2018), VAULT Festival London (2018), IETM, Hull (2019), Offbeat Festival, Oxford (2019), Dance City, Newcastle (2019), and was runner up in the Lukas awards for Best Production (2018). The show was most recently performed at Casa Latin American Festival in July 2019.
THEMES: Gender, Gender roles, Stereotypes, Gender Abuse, Me Too, Identity, Sex, Power, Fear, Love, Self Love, Sisterhood, Transformation, Herstory, Orixás, Mythology, Healing, Shamanism, Chickens, Breaking, Afro Cuban, Circles, Rituals
Programme Notes
- Todo nace de la Rumba (Everything is born from Rumba), 2. Womxn who run with wolves, 3. Little Anna, 4. 50 shades of chicken, 5. The Maverick reigns her roost, 6. My dress is not yes, 7. Guerreras (Warriors)
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WATCH NOW: Watch the show using a fully immersive 360° VR experience via our collaboration with technology experts LIVR at their virtual reality content platform here
Promoters: For the full length show and Q&A click here
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