CROWDFUNDING FOR DANCE
BUST: some attempts at rewilding the chest
Anna Riley-Shepard & Maria Pisiou
What stories does a chest carry?
Some are visible on the skin or clothes — traces of struggle, transition, affirmation. Others are hidden beneath the ribcage — embodied memories of love, fear, grief, rage. For the past year, I have been working together with my co-director, Maria Pisiou, to develop a dance performance exploring these timely questions.
BUST: some attempts at rewilding the chest excavates the femme chest as a contested body zone shaped by history, intimacy, and power. Drawing on punk's disruptive energy, two dancers move through shifting landscapes, using breath, lungs, and heart to jolt these heavily laden stories into visibility and malleability.
BUST is a multidisciplinary work blending contemporary dance, punk music, and wearable installation in collaboration with Berlin-based queerpunk duo Personbag (Lana Harris & FiFi) and Athens-based visual artist Natalia Manta (Onassis AiR) — each bringing their own distinct practice to the work. A co-production with Tanzhaus Basel, BUST will have its Dutch première 8 & 9 May at PLEIN Theater Amsterdam — followed by further show dates at Dokzaal on 17 & 18 June and COKO Space on 24 September.
We're almost there — and we need your help!
BUST has received financial and in-kind support from Amsterdam Fonds voor de Kunst, Het Cultuurfonds, Tanzhaus Basel, DANSLAB Noord, and Sky Studio. Unfortunately, although our final funding application to NORMA Fonds was positively assessed, NORMA could not award us the grant due to insufficient funds on their end — leaving us with a €10.000 gap in our budget.
While we are working to trim production costs, we are also asking for your support: help us reach our goal of €5.250 in crowdfunding donations. With your contribution, we can pay ourselves and our team of musicians, sculptors, technicians, dramaturgs, videographers, and hosts fairly for the many, many hours we have spent dreaming up, researching, developing, producing, rehearsing, and refining this beautiful and challenging piece over the past year.
BUST has been a labor of love, as art always is. But as independent makers, we also want to stand for a society that values its artists not only socially, but also financially — and we hope you will stand with us.
Gifts & rewards
As a token of our appreciation, you can choose from a selection of gifts according to your contribution level:
- €25+ — BUST postcard with link to the videotaped show
- €50+ — BUST poster with link + BUST t-shirt
- €100+ — BUST poster with link + BUST t-shirt + 2x free tickets to show date of your choice
- €500+ — all of the above + meet the artists: dress rehearsal invitation and celebratory dinner post-show
Questions?
I am here to answer any questions you may have about the piece, this campaign, or my broader work — by email or phone, don't hesitate to reach out. I would love to hear from you, regardless of contribution, and hope to see you in person at one of the shows.
In gratitude, Anna | OTHERWISE Projects