'A surprisingly fresh and mature debut from an emerging choreographer. Lili Stern’s knowledge is nurtured by bold experimentation, conscientious research, as well as intuition, all of which she delivers in her original movement language. She makes excellent use of her genuine and arresting personality as a performer. The subject of distorted body image, to be more precise, anorexia nervosa, resonates with more than just her generation of young women. Lili’s inspiration for this has come from the experience of a close friend. The intense kinetic experience that this piece offers, opens up an inner dialogue about how we see, inhabit and occasionally exploit our body. The set resembles a pool without water, where everything from sound to lights seem to give the impression of gradually tightening loops. As the performer moves in this space, she creates a heavy feeling of being eaten up alive, as if an insatiable greed of self-destructive power consumes her from within.' Orsolya Bálint, curator

CREDITS

Performers: Lili Stern, Hanna Stern

Set designer: Angéla Csúcs
Light designer: Bence Olajos
Light technician: Zoltán Fogarasi
Audio: Botond Csizmadia
Creator: Lili Stern

REVIEWS

‘The medical finding is accurate, or nonetheless genuine. The show observes all the self-torturing phases that a distorted body image goes through, without using realistic acting or being educative. The movements are well-deconstructed and abstract projections of an inner hell that gradually becomes more and more unbearable. They begin with seemingly insignificant twitches and compulsive actions, which are then followed by wild outbursts of exceedingly violent self-blame. The complete personality is distorted, and it all ends in a state where one hates their own body so much, that they would willingly cut it open and shed their skin. Further analysis is unnecessary, because it is basically Lili Stern’s charismatic figure that defines the whole performance.’ Csaba Králl

‘Stern hits the heart of things, sparing neither herself nor the viewer. She grasps the theme of her performance, anorexia, from the best angle: by experience. However, the fact that Stern's apparent fitness does not necessarily associate the viewer with anorexia this is not disadvantageous, as it is more like an explicit advantage of LOOP POOL.  It allows us to view the disharmony between body and personality from our own world, our own body experience.’ Dorottya Albert

‘Looping sounds, pool-like set design, a woman in flesh-coloured underwear trying to swim on land in imaginary water, where the inner personal and outer social environment denote what was a once--fluid milieu. The terrifying thing is – thanks to the metaphoric audio and set design – how, dazed and gazed, you get lost in this shoreless, vortical abyss, in this seemingly endless SPArty, where you can bet, you are not there to feel good. Actually, you don’t know how you got there, and with the music and the movements being as repetitive as they are neither do you know how to get out.’ Kristóf Farkas, dancefeed.org

LILI STERN

Lili Stern started her studies in 2018 at the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest as a drama instructor. In 2016 during her high school years she founded her company; A-LIST, which has created various performances over the last three years. She was the first performer of the Ambition Series at Bethlen Theatre which she thinks is a really important theatrical initiative in Budapest for those who want to experiment more. Stern is interested in applying strong visual elements mixed with heavy philosophical content and social challenges. She always examines the individual in different situations, and researches the social location. At the moment she is the youngest active choreographer in Hungary, who is really trying to create new styles of movements in the field of contemporary dance.

CO-PRODUCERS

Workshop Foundation

SUPPORTERS

Bethlen Theatre

CONTACT

Lili Stern
sternlili@gmail.com
+36.20.532.9799