Beautiful new work from two rising female choreographers as they share personal stories of illness, love and loss in a moving and inspiring double bill.

THE EPHEMERAL LIFE OF AN OCTOPUS by Léa Tirabasso

The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus is absurd and grotesque, playful and liberating. It questions the strangeness of having a body: healthy and vigorous, suffering and damaged, punctured and probed, wild and animalistic. Based on the choreographer’s personal experience of ovarian cancer, the piece is inspired by studies of the evolution of cancer cells and the lived experience of illness.

FALLING FAMILY by Yukiko Masui

Falling Family is a visceral dance piece which explores in movement those moments in family life that are simply not expressible in speech. It taps into that dark, conflicted, emotional space that cracks open when we encounter a loved one’s illness, mental breakdown or even death.

Commissioned by a new partnership between DanceXchange, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and The Place

Supported using public funding through Arts Council England

Falling Family is supported by The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

The Ephemeral Life of an Octopus is co-produced by Kinneksbond Mamer, TROIS C-L Centre de Creation Choregraphique Luxembourgeois, KLAP Maison pour la Danse Marseille.