Jefta Tanate presents: ‘Even onions don’t make me cry’


24 - 02 - 2023

Jefta Tanate concludes his residency at SHIFFT Utrecht with a studio presentation.

Even onions don’t make me cry
“Even onions don’t make me cry” is a collaboration between Matilde Tommasini and Jefta Tanate. It’s portraying a perspective on the balance of how thick a skin you need to have and when and how vulnerability is needed in life. Due to numerous situations or experiences in one’s life, we tend to create a system for ourselves, which either works, doesn’t work or has worked previously in order to survive in society nowadays.

The duet is about an encounter between two systems that have met the end of their compliance, they fail to integrate any longer. They’ve both met a point in time, where they investigate how much vulnerability is needed to overcome oneself and to rebalance the relation they have towards each other. They do so by researching the following question: How many layers can we peel off? And should we peel off any layers of ourselves at all in order to comply to changing times and relationships? These two entities encounter paths of self-destruction, insecurities and the fire within us all that will burn everything to the ground. But let’s be honest, we all cry sometimes, when we’re peeling and chopping up layers of our precious onions.

About Jefta Tanate:

Jefta Tanate graduated at ArtEZ Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Arnhem, The Netherlands. His internship at Scapino Ballet Rotterdam launched him into the Dutch dance scene. Since than he has adopted multiple techniques and methodes such as contact-improvisation, martial Arts and circus. He had the opportunity to develop this within companies like INNE, SHIFFT Utrecht, Arch8, Panama Pictures and MAAS TD. In Maas TD he developed a new perspective on movement. Other than big, majestic tricks and flips, he learned to appreciate the small and subtleness use of the body what could change outcome of a scene completely. Nowadays he often goes towards the Spanish island Ibiza where he has met people from all walks of life but sharing the same urge to create.

Credits

Concept and choreography: Jefta Tanate
Dance: Jefta Tanate and Matilde Tommasini
Duration: 15 min
Even onions don’t make me cry is supported by SHIFFT – Performing Arts Utrecht and De
Nieuwe Oost.

About the residences of SHIFFT
Shifft provides studio space and artistic, production and business coaching. Before the premiere, the residents receive feedback from the audience during a presentation in the open studio. The residents are actively introduced to our national network of talent developers, which increases their network, chances of promotion and visibility. The partners involved are the traveling festival Moving Futures, Korzo Productions, DansBrabant, Dansateliers and De Nieuwe Oost

Jefta Tanate presents: ‘Even onions don’t make me cry’