How quickly these accidents
Alexis Steeves and Rain Saukas

"How quickly these accidents" is a first-time collaboration between Alexis Steeves and Rain Saukas. As artists nurtured in different cultures, nations and movement styles, an essential aspect of this dance is the illumination of our own cliches and assumptions in both physical and dramatic contexts. In dedication to discovery we have allowed our aesthetic tendencies and preferences to be corrupted by the process. What began as an experiment in translation has become a game of serious play initiated between two naive yet driven characters. The unavoidable narrative of the "love duet" is neither denied nor relied upon. Structures evoking heterosexuality, romantic love, and power dynamics enjoy particular attention in this dance. As movement artists we believe that the fluctuations of the intellect and the body are inseparable. As our pigeon-aesthetic falters towards fluency we celebrate conflict as much as consensus and search for the barely graspable moments of becoming something new.

Alexis Steeves (USA) is a contemporary dance artist living in Tallinn, Estonia. Alexis has choreographed collaboratively with 10Queens (NYC) since 2001. Alexis has danced for Susan Osberg, Onye Ozuzu, Beth Simons, Bryan Hayes and Cid Pearlman. Alexis received a BA in choreography from Bard College (New York) and a certificate in therapeutic massage from the Desert Institute of the Healing Arts (Arizona). Since moving to Tallinn in 2009 Alexis established "Body of Knowledge Movement and Massage", an enterprise which anchors her work as a movement educator (dance, yoga) and professional massage therapist. Alexis currently teaches in the Tallinn University Institute of Fine Arts and Tantsuakadeemia as well as private workshops and classes. Website: bodyofknowledge.edicypages.com

Rain Saukas (Estonia) has trained intensively with Fine5 Dance Theater as well as Jyrkki Karttunen, Carolyn Carlson, Jane Comfort and Noemie LaFrance among others at several international dance festivals. Rain became a performing member of Fine5 Dance Theater in 2004, touring throughout Estonia and in Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Vitebsk, Warsaw,

Yerevan and Busan, Korea. Among many applauded productions Rain participated in Fine5’s original five-time production of Carmina Burana, conducted by Carl Orff at the Birgitta Music Festival of Estonia and "Phases" which won the 2009 Estonian Theater Award for

Best Dance Production. In 2010 Rain performed in four premieres: dancing for Jenni Kivela and Cid Pearlman while collaborating with Mihkel Ernits in "Bodysnatchers" and Alexis Steeves in "How quickly these accidents". Rain studied graphic design at the Estonian Academy

of Arts and currently works as a full-time designer / 3D artist at Taevas Ogilvy.

Choreography - Performance: Alexis Steeves, Rain Saukas
Sound: Renzo van Steenbergen
Costumes: Liisi Lill
Photo: Reio Aare
Produced by Kanuti Gildi Saal
Supporter: Cultural Endowment of Estonia
Special Thanks to Eesti Tantsuagentuur

Photos