In April Home of Art has hosted 2 Zvov Sensory performances and from our own experience we can tell you that attending a Zvov Sensory show will sure leave an impression! We happily remind you that there will be another Zvov Sensory Performance at Home of Art on Tuesday July 18.
Just in case you are as curious as we are, we have interviewed the makers and musicians behind the Zvov Sensory performance. The Zvov Sensory Team consists of:
- Zvov Trio:
Maya Felixbrodt (Violin), Clara Riviere (Cello), Shaya Feldman (Double bass), - Yvonne Freckmann (Composer & Sensory maker),
- Iro Karampampa of Artists in Tune (Manager of Zvov Trio & Sensory maker).
Zvov Sensory at Home of Art, July 18 2017
I would like to know more about Zvov Sensory. What is it exactly?
Zvov Sensory is a theatrical - musical & sensorial performance where the audience is blindfolded. It's an immersive and unique experience, inviting the audience to a new type of journey within the world of new music.
It sounds very mysterious and interesting. Could you elaborate further?
Maya:
Zvov Sensory is about exploring what we call ‘communication’. In our daily lives we use mainly visual and verbal communication, and therefore tend to neglect the other communication channels. Touch, smell, sound, space. These all are mostly in the background. In Zvov Sensory we bring them to the front and challenge ourselves together with our audience when trying to understand and communicate with each other through different means.
What was the inspiration behind this performance? How did everything start?
Maya:
This performance was born from an experience of Sensory theater we had during a tour in Romania few years ago. We were then called “Zvuv” and had a violin instead of a Double-bass. All three of us had very strong experiences from the Sensory theater. While I was in the audience, the other two members were ‘sensory leaders’. Entering a very unfamiliar zone, a vague state of mind, I was sort of paralysed. My consciousness faded away. Few months later we were asked, as a trio, to create a project with composition students from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. Being a creative trio, we wanted to bring a concept which will take the composers mucisians and audience to a unique and new journey, hopefully with a surprising end. Its now 3 years later and we’re still travelling in this maze we’ve created together called Zvov Sensory.
What does the performance aim for?
Maya:
Zvov Sensory is about communication and connecting, bringing people closer to themselves and to others. I aim for freedom, of the body and the mind. for imagination to run wild, for creativity to blossom. to create an imaginary reality for a while. to allow people to enter a new invented world and share these with each other. Of course by assisting others (the audience) to do so, I mostly help myself in achieving this. This is the magic of giving and receiving as a performer and audience, in my eyes.
Shaya:
Zvov Sensory is a unique sensorial experience where we explore different types of (nonverbal) communication. Through the performance we explore the borders of what music do, how can it engage people to react to the music physically, to really feel it in and through the body, rather than sitting passively and listening to a concert. It is a laboratory where senses are more active and sharp and when different senses are active together in a specific moment, (smell and touch, sound and taste etc..) something new and inspiring happens. This intense input of senses somehow makes people be more open to receive new types of music, sounds and experience. Isn't it what every performer wish for when he perform in front of an audience?
Can you share some highlights from the performances? What is the best experience so far while performing Zvov Sensory?
Shaya:
For me the most beautiful moment of the performance is the end when we take out the blindfold. After an intense ending which build a huge crescendo, the sound suddenly disappeared and we all share a magic moment of silence. After all the action everything is so calm and peaceful. We share a meditative silence experience all together. As a performer it's even more significant because you can actually see the transition, you see how each participant enters the room/space, usually with hesitation or even fear and how during the performance all the layers of protection disappeared. It's like making space for trust and to love people. Nevertheless, the best experience I had from Zvov Sensory was actually to be part of the audience.
What has been motivating you (the artists) so far to be performing this sensorial experience?
Shaya:
Zvov Sensory is a space where I can test and challenge the limits of a performance in general as well as my own limits. After performing Zvov Sensory many times I realised that my motivation is to explore not only what the audience want, but what humans need and how can you give/offer it in the performance. Suddenly you realise the potential of music to touch people to make them move, play, smile. Personally I never imagined myself to be touching a complete stranger, but the great thing about this experience is precisely the fact that you make the "stranger" feel trust and comfortable with you. I think this trust and responsibility is something I want to keep in mind in all my artistic activities but in Zvov Sensory it's much more direct and intense.
Does the closeness you create with some of the members of the audience change your perspective/opinion towards this person? Have you created any friendships so far?
Iro:
I personally find it hard to not form an idea or imagine more about the people you have on the audience. I always try to see and observe very carefully their reactions to the sounds and touch, if they will open up themselves fast or not. All those observations and thoughts make you come closer to a person that you have never met and interacted before (prior to the performance). ‘Friendship’ not, but definitely Zvov Sensory brought me closer to people and ‘strangers’ that i would not have come close to otherwise.
Does your closeness to one of the members of the audience (friend) change your perspective/opinion towards this person after the performance?
Shaya:
At the beginning it's much harder to perform Zvov Sensory to someone you know because you already assume you know what the person like and what he doesn't like. But in many cases we found ourself were really surprised by the tastes and reactions of people.
Iro:
You do come sometimes even closer to people that you know already. It is always fun to see a different side of friends and how do they react when they are outside their comfort zone.
Shaya adds;
I remember some performances where shy people really let themselves go, I think that the fact that everyone is blindfolded makes people much more free. Personally, I believe that people that are more close or shy have the best experience from the performance.
What can we expect in the future from this project?
Shaya:
What I like about this project is the fact that the performances are never the same. We always change or add new ideas, tools, materials and we also invite people to perform with us. Collaborating with different artists from different fields is really great. To share experiences, to learn from different people is a key to make the performance bigger.
Another direction we want to explore is the academic research. As a PhD student in Artistic Research at the Leiden University I decided to use the performance as a study case for my thesis. When I talk to other researchers, I feel that they would love to use this frame to investigate different phenomena of music and performance. This type of collaboration is also a direction I imagine we will explore in the future.
Thank you.
Do YOU have more questions about Zvov Sensory or to the Zvov Sensory team? Send us an email and we'll get back to you!
More info about Zvov Trio and their upcoming performances and projects HERE
More info about Zvov Sensory at Home of Art on July 18 HERE .
Join the Facebook event HERE.
BE AWARE; There are limited spaces available! Send an email to home@homeofart.org to reserve your spot
(Clicking on "going" on Facebook, does not ensure your spot! Please reserve by email as well!). The entrance fee for this unique experience is € 10,-.
