Hearth

The centre of every forge is the hearth. Here, sparks scatter as glowing embers melt the iron, transforming it at the anvil. Touching upon kinetic and sensory memories of her upbringing in the family’s blacksmith workshop, Magdalena Forster delves into the metamorphic qualities of ore in her new solo Hearth. With the body as an instrument for affective mattering, she engages with the mysticism and semantics of blacksmithing to shape the autobiographical into a dance that is yet to unfold. Exploring the attributions and movement patterns surrounding this ancient, sweat-demanding craft, Forster strengthens the embodiment of raw pleasure, empowerment, and endurance. The space opens itself to the audience, inviting them into a realm where dances forge hidden schemes and evoke rumours – momentarily taking shape before dissolving again into transformation. Between the beat of the hammer and the heart, the voice fractures, correlating bodies, materials, and sound. Woven with Milena Georgieva’s atmospheric composition of field recordings and live sounds, a choreography of devilish transformations unfolds.

(*by Mar Szydłowska)