Arno Schuitemaker

Work

O S C A R

Marked by roots, scars, and unspoken dreams, portraits are more than depictions. They carry stories, hold a person’s essence, and exist at the meeting point of outer and inner worlds - the seen and the unseen. Often regarded as static, as moments frozen in time, they can also be a process of becoming. Yet whether fixed in stillness or unfolding through time, each encounter is shaped by the eyes of the viewer; it is at once a reflection and a projection. But what happens in this space between? How much distance do we choose to take, and how much do we allow?

O S C A R explores “togetherness” through a shared portrait of both the performers and the audience. Far from selfies, filters, and facial recognition, the work turns its questions into a physical experience. Through successive solos, the three performers each express their identities, grounded in their personal histories, while also moving in one another’s presence.

Conceived during the Covid pandemic, O S C A R sprang from a longing for human connection, proximity, and the power of shared space. With the performers and the audience occupying the same stage, a mirrored floor, transparent gauzes, and countless shadows create a multidimensional encounter that merges performance and installation. Intimate, poignant, and propulsive, O S C A R builds the shared act of authorship into a source of freedom and empowerment. No human is limited.
 
Press
“One of the big highlights of the Biennale des arts vivants (...) Three dancers amidst the audience. And that is it. And it is brilliant.” — Culture Déconfiture (France)

Alongside the full piece, each solo can be performed independently, unfolding new meanings in every context where it is staged, from galleries and clubs to outdoor public spaces.

Find upcoming performance dates and credits by scrolling down.

Photo: Bart Grietens

Photo: Bart Grietens

Photo: Bart Grietens

Photo: Bart Grietens

Photo: Bart Grietens

Image: Dammes Kieft

Photo: Bart Grietens

Calendar

Credits

Creation: Arno Schuitemaker
Performers: Ivan Ugrin, Mark Christoph Klee, Paolo Yao
Dramaturgy: Guy Cools
Music: Aart Strootman
Lighting design: Jean Kalman
Scenography: Jean Kalman, Arno Schuitemaker, Paul Beumer
Costumes: Sarah Nixon
Technicians: Vincent Beune, Paul Beumer

O S C A R is a production by SHARP/ArnoSchuitemaker in coproduction with DansBrabant, La Place de la Danse – Centre de Développement Chorégraphique National / Toulouse-Occitanie and Théâtre Garonne, supported by Dutch Performing Arts, and Sala Hiroshima. O S C A R is created with contributions by Performing Arts Fund NL, Amsterdam Fund for the Arts, Ammodo, Fonds 21, and NORMA Fonds.