With Or Without You by Fia Neises

You squeeze my hand right before the steps begin.
We dance together after the hospital calls.
You lead me, hands holding, are we on a date after all?
I say thank you and you ask: What for?

Intimacy is the ungraspable feeling of warmth, eroticism, vulnerability or tenderness. It can mean familiarity and discomfort at the same time. Access for us, the crip community, means being ourselves. In the society we live in, we must allow intimacy in moments of assistance with both fleeting strangers or loved ones. "Access intimacy" is the term for this specific connection that Mia Mingus, disabled, queer writer and activist of color, has gifted us.

In WITH OR WITHOUT YOU, the disabled dancers Fia Neises and Irene Giró invite the audience into spaces of “access intimacy". They will disrupt prevalent habits of seeing, hearing and time. And while lifting themselves up into the air, they will surrender to the illusion of independence. Accompanied by musician Jana Sotzko, they generously share stories of ambivalence and intimacy in assistance. Those who wish can participate or otherwise witness with pleasure.

Duration: 60 minutes Admission and access intro 30 minutes before the start of the performance.

Artistic direction/performance: Fia Neises
Silktraining/Performance: Irene Giró
Live music/audio description post-production: Jana Sotzko
Dramaturgy: Tanja Erhart
Artistic co-creation: Liv Schellander
Production management: Agnieszka Habraschka/Anne Rieger (Making a Difference)
Technical direction: Lola Tseytlin
Stage design: Lea Kissing
Light design: Gretchen Blegen
Costume design: Xenia Taniko
Overalltitles: Maria Wünsche
Film documentation: Tanja Brzaković
Photos: Xenia Dürr, Mayra Wallraff
Communication assistance: Florian Köhler
Public Relations: Gina Jeske (Making a Difference)

A production by Sophia Neises, supported by the Making a Difference network in cooperation with Uferstudios. Supported by the Senate Department for Culture and Community / IMPACT funding.

Fotos: Xenia Dürr