Not only a medical symptom but a vast metaphor for disorientation of all kinds, vertigo describes the moment when reliable bearings dissolve and equilibrium becomes unanchored. This sensation—or sense—comes sooner and more readily to some than others; to those whose bodies, identities, or social positions have never been granted the luxury of a steady foundation. For 3hd’s Shifting Ground program, Lewis Walker presents their MOVE HYPNO workshop collaboration with hypnotherapist Michele Occelli and a second performance of Bornsick at HAU Hebbel am Ufer on Saturday.
Walker explores inherited illness and identity formation within systems that shape us before we can define ourselves. Through gymnastics and dance, Bornsick reveals the self as a construct—built from learned movements, imposed roles, and cultural echoes. The queer body navigates tension between conformity and freedom, layering and un-layering itself in search of stability. Conditioning creates a machine; unlearning returns us to the animal. The work confronts the paradox of seeking fixity on a foundation in flux.
Preceding the evening performance of Bornsick, Walker and hypnotherapist Michele Occelli lead a three-hour daytime workshop combining music, movement, and hypnosis techniques for embodied inquiry and altered states. MOVE HYPNO is designed to invigorate breath, deepen sensory awareness, and regulate the nervous system. Participants are invited to join the playful exploration and deep personal release within a supportive, high-sensory environment.
Credits Bornsick
Choreography and Performance by Lewis Walker
Hypnotherapy and Live Narration by Michele Occelli
Dramaturgy and Rehearsal Direction by Elisabeth Mulenga
Look Engineering by Straytukay
Lighting Design by Laurie Loads
Lighting Programming & Codesign by Edward James Saunders
Graphic Design by Marco Andrea Cacioni
Set Design by David White
Physiotherapist & acupuncturist Atsue Morinaga
R&D Gymnast Louis Alexander
Music by Oliver Coates, “Throb, shiver, arrow of time” and “skins n slime” and Underworld, “Born Slippy” (Nuxx)
Additional Sound Design and Mastering by Harvey Causon
Serpentine, London: Kostas Stasinopoulos, Curator, Live Programmes, Daisy Gould, Assistant Curator, Live Programmes, Isobel Peyton-Jones, Producer, Serpentine and Andy Downie, Velocet EAF, Edinburgh: Kim McAleese, Director, Eleanor Edmondson, Curator
Rehearsal spaces: Richmond Gymnastics Association, Studio Wayne Mcgregor
Special thanks to Tuur Van Balen, Melanie Saunders, Salme Naylor, Lizzie Haynes Blackburn, Angela & Hugh Walker, Courtney Deyn, Studio Wayne Mcgregor & Sarah Lewis
The performance will feature some loud sounds, flashing lights, and chalk that produces dust in the air.
