Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir (Iceland) – WHEN THE BLEEDING STOPS

Duration: 45 min.

Language of performance: English.

When the Bleeding Stops is a performance work by Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir. In this work Lovísa addresses the silence and taboo that seems to engulf menopause in Western society, as well as her personal experience of aging as a dancer.   After suffering an injury five years ago, Lovísa was forced to reconsider her relationship with dance and the body. This process opened her eyes to the silence around menopause and her own lack of knowledge on the subject. She began researching and posted an open invitation online where she invited menopausal women to participate in her project. Before she knew it, she was working with a large number of women from across Icelandic society.  

When the Bleeding Stops invites the audience into a world of vulnerability, shame, empathy and humour. The work transports us into the privacy of the participants’ homes, and dives deep into the many layers of the female experience associated with menopause and invites us to laugh, cry and celebrate with these women.

Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir is an award-winning dancer and a choreographer. The trauma led her to a masters degree in Performance Practice at Iceland ́s University of the Arts where she further developed her artistic practice and conducted research that revolved around aging, connecting to the body ́s knowledge, history and to the big taboo, menopause. Out of this research and Gunnarsdóttir ́s artistic practice, the stage piece When the Bleeding Stops was born.

CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY AND TEXT: Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir

LIGHT AND SOUND DESIGN: Brett Smith

VIDEO DESIGN: Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir and Brett Smith

PERFORMERS: Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir, Ólöf Ingólfsdóttir, Kristjana Stefánsdóttir, Sveinbjörg Þórhallsdóttir or Arndís Guðmundsdóttir

THANKS TO: SIgrún Ólafsdóttir, Egill Ingibergsson, Alexander Graham Roberts, Brogan Davison, Rebekka Ingimundardóttir, Valdimar Jóhannsson and Reykjavík Dance Festival.

PRODUCER: StepTurnMove – Wim Casier

Premiere: November 17th, 2021, in Reykjavik Dance Festival, Iceland.

Website: whenthebleedingstops.com/

Instagram: @whenthebleeding

Facebook: @WhentheBleedingStops

Photos by Owen Fiene, Danny Danisch and Tale Hendnes.

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This presentation is happening with the support of Perform Europe as part of the When the Bleeding Stops project.

Perform Europe, supported by the European Union, is a funding scheme for the European performing arts sector. It facilitates international networking and supports inclusive, diverse, and eco-friendly touring projects across the 40 Creative Europe countries. Perform Europe emphasises practices rooted in sustainability and inclusivity, aiming to transform the performing arts sector and ensure a balanced distribution across the continent.

Perform Europe is co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union and implemented by a consortium of six organisations: IETM – International network for contemporary performing arts, European Festivals Association (EFA), Circostrada, European Dance Development Network, Pearle * – Live Performance Europe and IDEA Consult.