The Bird Experience

We all go through rough patches, but sometimes (well, most times) our busy lives don't allow us the time needed to really experience and accept the feelings that come with. This is where art steps in. At the heart of The Bird Experience, a dance and movement based project, is the concept of loss. It's about dealing with loss in a world full of challenges such as war, migration and climate crisis.

In Greece, choreographer Iris Karayan collaborates with the Melissa Network, which aims to empower migrant and refugee women and encourage their active participation in the community. Eleven women from the network take part in the performance sharing their own stories, memories, and emotions through dance, voice, and a powerful symbol of loss: a black bird.

The Bird Experience is a cross-european project in collaboration with five independent dance companies: the Next Door Project (Denmark), The Symptoms (Hungary), ZITA (Greece), Northern Sustainable Futures (Sweden) and Asociacion Compania Danza Vinculados (Spain). Through simultaneous and interconnected artistic activities in five European cities, the programme invites its audience/participants to experience a sense of community and of belonging on both a local and European level, offering artistic spaces in which to share their emotional response to crisis. It will conclude with four live performances simultaneously taking place in the participating cities.