The dying swan
1998

Performance, 25 min, performed at Goldsmiths College's exhibition space and in the gallery DFKU in Denmark

The dying swan is based on the famous solo ballet with the same title, about the last dance of a dying swan. Dressed up in a homemade Ugly Duckling costume I try to dance the ballet. Not succeeding to do the ballet properly with my big feet, I put on a pair of ballet shoes. I try again and again, but my attempts never succeeds. Later I start to paint my fur white, which doesn't turn me into a swan. On the contrary I become even more ugly, and the paint just makes the floor slippery and the dance more staggering and dangerous. The dying swan is about identity and change. During the performance several layers of identity are revealed. This tragicomic performance do not only ask questions about identity, it also creates a space of tension and emotions - as well as the bodily expressions and movements in the space gives the viewer a physically experience.