A solo figure stands at the edge of the proscenium stage – the place often used for speeches and stand-up comedy – and silently morphs from one pose to the next, like a body shaped by time. Iconic and mundane images emerge in a dramaturgy that exposes a nuanced embodiment of what it means to sustain a place, a pose, a representation. Maria Hassabi merges the strength and vulnerability one experiences on stage – to be uncovered. She frames her signature style of stillness, slowness and aesthetic precision, and invites her audience to awaken their own references to a parade of images as they unfold. What happens when the process of an image is revealed? In a contemporary culture fiercely flooded by images, does it lose its appeal when compared to our expectations? Hassabi has presented her work in the world’s leading museums and exhibition contexts, and at the festival in 2014 and 2017. On Stage is undoubtedly one of her most radical and personal works, offering a feminist reflection and a piercing insight into her artistic trajectory. Before an audience, Maria Hassabi’s intensity is visible, almost tangible, in a work of rare power that leaves no one indifferent.

“When Hassabi holds her hands before her body, time appears to flow through her hands. (...) Always on the edge, right before eruption. She proves that even in a time where innovative ideas are scarce, it's possible to pioneer new horizons in the field of dance.”
Der Standard