Subterranéa 

A Solo Dance Performance by Kirstie Simson

Saturday 21st June, Main Lecture Theatre  

The SIO co-presidents are honoured that Kirstie Simson will be giving a special, solo dance performance of Subterranéa which explores our resilience in the face of adversity, how we make sense of life through telling our stories, and Kirstie’s experience of the intersection between her health crisis & the planetary crisis we are collectively facing. 

In the solo Subterranéa, Kirstie shares her story of dealing with a life-threatening health crisis, cancer, and its recurrence. Traversing movement and text, she conveys the underlying philosophies that have emerged through her embodied practices, which have informed her engagement with life’s challenges. In particular, having to come to terms with a diagnosis of breast cancer, and the further shock of discovering she is BRCA2. 

Kirstie has dedicated her life to the exploration of embodied intelligence through a dance practice that spans forty-five years of experience. She is considered a leading light in the art of dance improvisation, which she teaches and performs world-wide. 

When life is good there is a thrilling sense of freedom that calls to be fully engaged with, and joyfully expressed. When difficulties emerge, as they inevitably will, and the path forward seems perilous, the work begins in earnest and our understanding and grounding in holistic practice is put to the test. Emotionally this is not pleasing for us; yet it is where the profound satisfaction of humble learning, deepening understanding and strengthening occurs. Life inevitably will present us with challenges. Where did we get the idea that it should be easy? The good news is that as an integral part of the whole, we have everything at hand to be able to adapt, transform, uncover, and explore life-generating solutions, that are so much needed at this time. 

This solo features excerpts from Ánima, created by Kirstie in 2021 with director Isaac Zambra, which was filmed in the Yucatán Peninsular, Mexico. 

Ánima Film credits: 

Director/Editor/Camera– Isaac Zambra 

Dancer – Kirstie Simson 

Camera – Mario Morales Rubí 

Music - Jorge Zambra & Aaron Gibran 

Costume – Agueda León 

Poem – Itzel A. Valle