We start from the assumption that we remain in a problem, and our strength lies in our weakness. What if

instead of celebrating a woman's strength, we conjugate her weakness and acknowledge how okay it can be?

Can we be emotional, fragile, sentimental, naive, while also being fierce, manic, hysterical, erotic, ecstatic, and

vulgar at the same time?

We observe studies that calculate the gender pay gap. We perceive the heavy emotional labor and care that is

taken for granted. In addition to all this, we should stand upright and act determinedly, unflinchingly. But we have long been broken, and together we are shaping ourselves into a new form that may not fulfill societal patriarchal norms.

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In the collaborative duo "Weak Women, "we draw attention to the emancipation of weakness, vulnerability, sensitivity, pain, and the emotional labor of women around us. We also address unpaid female labor, chronic pain and fatigue, and the figure of strong, unyielding representation of women in contemporary society. In the dance piece, we will try to translate these themes into movement qualities through a creative method that we have been exploring together since 2018. Through Intention, Improvisation, and Interpretation, we delve into the exploration of a meticulous movement language, which we shape and choreograph to articulate the aforementioned themes towards the audience through comprehensibility, strong imagery, and imagination. Two female fossils holding on until the last moment. The moment before exhaustion equals the moment before ecstasy. Since 11.00, we have been grinding to the last. In a state of constant exhaustion, we kneel and bend our limbs into various shapes. Towards our female ancestors, to the gestures, tics, and nervousness that we have memorized from our grandmothers and from the photos of women in the Slovak National Uprising.

Petrified and stiff bodies participate in the dance marathon of the precarious profession of the "independent" artist in Slovakia. We can dance for dignified working conditions, for the right to rest, for the engagement of artistic organizations in global issues. We are broken and wounded, yet we ceaselessly seek playfulness, sensuality, and bliss. In the dance performance "weak women, "we emancipate weakness, fatigue, pain, and exhaustion. We try to view these states as sources that help us shape the work. To embody our idea of a contemporary woman who

tries not to pretend and calm the situation. On the contrary, she seeks excitement in moments of distress and exhaustion.

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Premier: co.labs Brno, 19.12.23.

Further performances in Telocvicna Bratislava, Kiosk Slovak Theatre Festival Zilina, ROT Festival San Francisco, Studio Alta Prague

Concept and performance: Eva Priečková, Zuzana Žabková

Music: Antonia Beeskow

Costumes and set design: Nik Timková, Vojtěch Hlaváček

Light design: Bohdana Sýkorová

Production: Klaudia Klembarová, co.labs Brno

photos: Karel Kunc