“Figuring Age” is a transgenerational, immersive and haunting performance – installation set at the liminal space between film, dance and theater. In a fictional ghost séance hosted by Börcsök and Bolm, visitors encounter three elderly dancers: Éva, Irén and Ágnes – aged between 90 and 101 – were once part of the development of modern dance in Hungary in the 1930s. Based on recordings of the dancers filmed in their private homes, the artist duo has sculpted a meticulous choreography of embodiment that lets their protagonists return on stage through Börcsök’s body and voice. 

Retracing how each of the women transformed their life and dance practice to survive the socio-political changes of the 20th century, the artists explore how resilience, silences and traumas are inscribed in the body and in the movement. 

Boglárka Börcsök and Andreas Bolm have been collaborating since 2017. They made the documentary film “The Art of Movement”, a portrait of three over 90-year-old dancers from Budapest. Their performance and video installation “Figuring Age”, based on the film, was presented at the Moving in November Festival in Helsinki and ImPulsTanz Festival in Vienna, among others, where it received an honorable mention.

Boglárka Börcsök is a Hungarian performing artist and choreographer based in Berlin. She studied dance at Anton Bruckner Private University in Austria and at P.A.R.T.S. in Belgium. As an interpreter, she participated in the works of Tino Sehgal at documenta (13), Stedelijk and KIASMA – Contemporary Art Museum. She dances in Joachim Koester’s video works “The Place of Dead Roads” and “Maybe This Act, This Work”, “This Thing” presented in museums worldwide. Börcsök has been performing and collaborating with Eszter Salamon for several years in her acclaimed MONUMENT series shown at RuhrTriennale, Centre Pompidou, Festival d’Avignon, Kunstenfestivaldesarts and Tanz im August amongst others. Since 2016, she has been featured in several editions of “20 Dancers for the XX. Century and even more” by Boris Charmatz/Terrain. Currently, she is touring with “Still Not Still”, a dance performance created by Ligia Lewis.

German-Hungarian filmmaker Andreas Bolm is based in Berlin. He studied at the FAMU film school in Prague and in the documentary department of the University of Television and Film in Munich. His films have been screened at numerous renowned festivals worldwide. His short film “Jaba” was premiered at the 59th Festival de Cannes and was awarded for best documentary at the Zinebi film festival in Bilbao as part of the prestigious Cinéfondation Residence Festival de Cannes fellowship, Bolm developed his first feature-length film “Die Wiedergänger”, which premiered at the 63th Berlinale in the Perspektive Deutsches Kino section and was presented at MoMa in New York. In 2016, Bolm directed his second feature-length film “Le Juge”, starring French actor and film director Jacques Nolot. In 2018, he completed the short documentary “Mein Letztes Video” in collaboration with German DOP and filmmaker Gerd Breiter featuring the upcoming YouTuber Anton “Reyst”.

There will be an after-talk with the creators held after the last show at 9 p.m. on August 4.