August 2024
CYCLOTOPIA: Nora Tormann’s Residency in Bratislava
Nora Tormann participated in the CYCLE UP! residency program in Bratislava, immersing themself in the city’s cycling culture and exploring the concept of ‘Cyclotopia.’ With a focus on cycling as both a practical and symbolic act, Tormann engaged the local community, looking at how Bratislava’s cycling culture can be both lived and imagined.
Their project investigated the intersection of cycling and utopian ideals, incorporating themes of somatic experience, community engagement, and artistic archiving. Their approach was heavily influenced by their background in choreography, placing the human body at the centre of the research. Tormann questioned how cycling shapes our awareness of public space, asking, “What if the city were a stage, and every cyclist a performer?” Through this lens, the politics and sensations of cycling were explored, including questions of accessibility, community, and the impact of cycling on the body and mind.
Community Activities and Engagement
To connect with Bratislava’s cycling community, Tormann organised one-on-one bike rides, inviting participants to share their experiences, observations, and visions for a more bike-friendly city. Participants captured images as well as their perspectives on the city through analog cameras. During a workshop, participants explored the sensory dimensions of cycling through a narrated, imaginary ride and created poetic collages that reflected the sensory and emotional aspects of riding in a group. In a third step, Tormann set up an interactive installation during Dobry Trh, Bratislava’s popular community market, inviting participants to contribute their visions for a cycling-friendly city. This participatory manifesto captured ideas in English and Slovak, embodying the diverse voices of Bratislava’s citizens.
Artistic Outcomes: A Book as Archive and Performance
Tormann’s residency experience underscored the power of participatory art and their work in Bratislava reveals how artistic practice can foster community dialogue, reimagine public spaces, and make utopian ideals visible in everyday urban life.
Thanks to: Czech Centres, Punkt, Eye to Eye Studio, Chiara Némethová, Kristína Uhráková and Pavol Štefanovič
About: Nora Tormann (@noratormann) is a Berlin-based choreographer, curator, and dance dramaturg. With a background in political philosophy and contemporary dance, their practice navigates the intersections of artistic and theoretical research. Nora is interested in creating choreographic work in public and non-theatrical spaces, generating conversations between bodies, landscapes, histories, and the unrehearsed rawness of the present moment. In their artistic and organisational practice, Nora prioritises care and works towards sustainable structures and methods in the performing arts.
Choreographic works include the site-specific audio walk “TURN – cartography of a movement” (2022) and “physical prospects” (2021+22), performed as a trio and solo. They have co-curated festivals, conferences, and collective research laboratories, including the annual conference of the International Theatre Institute „Conflict & Care“ (2023), the research lab “performing for peers – audiences of (post)pandemic emerging professionals” (2023) commissioned by Fonds Darstellende Künste, and various formats within the frame of Celestial Bodies - a travelling platform for artistic exchange and research throughout artistic practices.
Their project investigated the intersection of cycling and utopian ideals, incorporating themes of somatic experience, community engagement, and artistic archiving. Their approach was heavily influenced by their background in choreography, placing the human body at the centre of the research. Tormann questioned how cycling shapes our awareness of public space, asking, “What if the city were a stage, and every cyclist a performer?” Through this lens, the politics and sensations of cycling were explored, including questions of accessibility, community, and the impact of cycling on the body and mind.
Community Activities and Engagement
To connect with Bratislava’s cycling community, Tormann organised one-on-one bike rides, inviting participants to share their experiences, observations, and visions for a more bike-friendly city. Participants captured images as well as their perspectives on the city through analog cameras. During a workshop, participants explored the sensory dimensions of cycling through a narrated, imaginary ride and created poetic collages that reflected the sensory and emotional aspects of riding in a group. In a third step, Tormann set up an interactive installation during Dobry Trh, Bratislava’s popular community market, inviting participants to contribute their visions for a cycling-friendly city. This participatory manifesto captured ideas in English and Slovak, embodying the diverse voices of Bratislava’s citizens.
Artistic Outcomes: A Book as Archive and Performance
Tormann’s residency experience underscored the power of participatory art and their work in Bratislava reveals how artistic practice can foster community dialogue, reimagine public spaces, and make utopian ideals visible in everyday urban life.
Thanks to: Czech Centres, Punkt, Eye to Eye Studio, Chiara Némethová, Kristína Uhráková and Pavol Štefanovič
About: Nora Tormann (@noratormann) is a Berlin-based choreographer, curator, and dance dramaturg. With a background in political philosophy and contemporary dance, their practice navigates the intersections of artistic and theoretical research. Nora is interested in creating choreographic work in public and non-theatrical spaces, generating conversations between bodies, landscapes, histories, and the unrehearsed rawness of the present moment. In their artistic and organisational practice, Nora prioritises care and works towards sustainable structures and methods in the performing arts.
Choreographic works include the site-specific audio walk “TURN – cartography of a movement” (2022) and “physical prospects” (2021+22), performed as a trio and solo. They have co-curated festivals, conferences, and collective research laboratories, including the annual conference of the International Theatre Institute „Conflict & Care“ (2023), the research lab “performing for peers – audiences of (post)pandemic emerging professionals” (2023) commissioned by Fonds Darstellende Künste, and various formats within the frame of Celestial Bodies - a travelling platform for artistic exchange and research throughout artistic practices.