I, holobiont

In 2019, performer and choreographer Nella Turkki and Janis Heldmann created a short choreography for the Urban Art Festival in Herne. The 20-minutes performance named “I, holobiont” dealt with the topic of the human body as a multispecies entity.

A holobiont is a living ecosystem that consists of diverse cells, microbes and bacteria. These living beings share the same body and live in the interdependence of each other. Modern biology claims that the human body is such a system and therefore a holobiont.

How can we encounter the unknown in us and each other, if we are aware that our behavior is influenced by bacteria and microbes? Where are our borders to the environment, if we are not alone in our bodies?

These questions were the main motives of “I, holobiont”. Furthermore, a recorded speech invited the audience to discover their own embodied awareness of their holobionic nature.

The performance is abvailable to be shown in festivals in Germany and Europe. The full length video can be requested.