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Superposition, erotic dance and science combined (9-10 Nov) Superposition, erotic dance and science combined (9-10 Nov)
Superposition, erotic dance and science combined (9-10 Nov)

Manchester poet, playwright and performance artist Chanje Kunda presents, Superposition, an extraordinary performance combining lap dancing and science to better understand the laws of attraction from a feminist perspective. She uses spoken word, live art and dance fusion to present her findings in a paradoxical but hugely entertaining one woman show. EBONYONLINE.NET caught up with the enigmatic Mancunian ahead of her London show to find out pole dancing, female sexuality, physics and more.

 

EO: ‘Superposition’, interesting title, how did that come about?

CK: Science is sexy. Superposition is a physics term that describes the movement of waves. But in the show context, I used the term as a double entendre to illustrate how the body can also get into Superposition

 

EO: The performance combines erotic dance, science and laws of attraction explain?

CK: Well I became interested in the Laws of attraction after reading books like ‘The Secret’ which looks at how we can use laws of attraction to create the life of our dreams. I decided to find out the real laws of attraction by interviewing a particle physicist, a philosopher and my son. I also decided to attend a lap dancing course to get a different slant on the laws of attraction. This show is about that journey and what I discovered

 

EO: Why did you choose to explore female eroticism as a solo piece rather than a collaboration?

CK: I am a solo artist that makes autobiographical work. I am inspired by  Deirdre Heddon’s book Autobiography and performance where she states that in making this type of work ‘you are a site of narrative authority offering the power to reclaim  and rename your voice and your body privately in rehearsal and then publicly in performance. The process enables you to speak the personally political in public, which is both liberating and excruciating but always enabling.’

 

EO: What did you mean when you say ‘women’s eroticism is commodified and cheapened’?

CK: In mainstream advertising and media, women sexual appeal is used to sell products. With the pornographic industry women’s bodies are used in ways that could be considered degrading. As a feminist, I wanted to find ways to elevate and celebrate women’s sensuality, and to show the divinity within it.

 

EO: What part has/does social media play into this?

CK: Women’s nudity is only acceptable online when people and namely men, are profiting from it, either financially or for self-gratification. I am not an advocate of nudity online or in the media, I just want women to take back ownership of their own bodies and to make decisions that elevate them and not pander to the needs of men.

 

EO: How can women therefore regain control of their eroticism and what part can men play in this?

CK: I used science to try and show the divinity in women’s sensuality and to reunite us with the universe in lines such as ‘the sun is a flaming cocktail of hydrogen, literally too hot to handle, hot enough to melt any landing probe, I have the same fire in me.’ We need to celebrate our sexuality in a way that empowers us.

 

EO: The lap dancing course sounded like great fun, what did you learn in particular about your own body.

CK: I learnt that you have to believe that you are divine, and you will be

 

EO: You’ve performed along great poets like Benjamin Zephaniah, what informs your poems, ie what are your favourite themes or issues of exploration?

CK: I love empowering poems, self-affirming poems that inspire people to value themselves.

 

EO: Who are some of your great acting hero/heroines and why?

CK: I love Marina Abromovich because she is a performance artist that has no knowledge of boundaries; she is constantly inventive and unconventional. She is empowered.

I also have a great deal of admiration for Lemn Sissay and how he performs his life experience as a political act.

 

EO: If money was no object what would be your next performance piece and why?

CK I am interested in Alchemy actually. I would make a piece making a metaphor of turning base metal into gold, transforming and metamorphosing the life we live into our wildest dreams.

 

EO Finally, advice to your younger self as a series of hashtags?

CK: #dance #dance #dance #enjoylife #dreamwilder #liveinthenow #morefire #morepower #WeAreTheUniverse

 

Full tour dates and venues

The Lowry / Thu 26 & Fri 27 OCT, 8pm / 0843 208 6010

Key, Peterborough / Thurs 7 Nov, 7.45pm / 01733 207239

South Hill Park / Tue 7 – Wed 8 Nov, 8pm / 01344 484123

Stratford Circus /Thu 9 – Fri 10 Nov,  7pm / 020 8279 1080  https://stratford-circus.com/event/superposition/

Camden Peoples Theatre / Tue 14-Wed 15 Nov, 9pm /  020 7419 4841

Lancaster Arts / Thurs 23rd Nov, 8pm /01524 594151

 

Photo credit: Silk Photography

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