THE HUGGING
PROJECT
Site-specific Contemporary Dance
Choreographer: Scarlett Perdereau.
Dancers: Irad Timberlake &Hui Chen.
Co-Designers: Jiayi Ding, Greta Dietz, Leshaun
Williams, Nathan Leung, Serafima Denisova
Sound design: Jiayi Ding
Location: Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Our concept draws inspiration from the magnetism of push and pull a metaphor for two dancers in a constant rhythm of collapse and resistance, attraction and repulsion.At the heart of the piece lies the beauty of stillness two bodies in an embrace, frozen in time, sculptural and tender.
Movement drawing
The choreography places emphasis on the act of hugging as a central motif—symbolizing both the connection with another and the intimacy of self-embrace. Through shifting distances and changing tempos, tension rises and recedes. Movements oscillate between closeness and separation, softness and intensity—capturing ideas as particles in a universe of ever-forming, never-finished collages.
To embody this magnetic tension, we embed small magnets within the costumes, creating a literal force that draws the dancers together.UV lighting reflects off their costumes, casting glimmers across the stage—evoking a cosmic atmosphere, as if their movements unfold within a quiet universe of invisible forces.
Photography
Photo by Jiayi Ding