In December 2004, I took part in the research and development of Petaloúda, Ruben de Rooij’s graduation performance at HKU, which was also presented during the university’s Christmas celebration.

Working in an intensive, 4-weeks creative process with Ruben a choreographer and three dancers, I explored how the inner world of the story, its vulnerability, loneliness and emotional complexity during the Christmas season could be made physically tangible on stage.

Performing as the woman in the bed, I experimented with embodiment, spoken word and interaction. I wrote an original spoken-word text for the performance and explored the dancers as shadow voices, responding to their physical presence and investigating how inner thoughts and emotional states could take shape through movement, voice and theatrical interaction. We also experimented with interactive elements involving a butterfly and public interaction.

My contribution centred on artistic research: exploring possibilities, testing ideas and discovering ways to make the invisible visible through the body, language and performance.