| Maker | BackBone / Donna Chittick |
| Duration | 60 min |
| Part of | Language no problem |
Social media is slowly draining us
In Mirrors we see what the large amount of digital information that we continuously consume does to us physically. It's an effect many of us are not sufficiently aware of, and at the same time, a cause of mental health issues. We store information (often unconsciously) in our bodies and do not lose it. This creates an accumulation of emotions and feelings. This accumulation continues to grow, because 5 minutes later we pick up our phone again to look for new content. Long story short: we are always 'pulled' back into our social media.
What repercussions will this have over the longer term? Do we realize that we are gradually 'running out' and that we are increasingly withdrawing from the world around us?
In hip hop dance performance Mirrors we see four dancers dancing with the physical toils of social media, with the light as the fifth performer on stage. The struggle between participating in social media and at the same time maintaining contact with others and losing yourself.
"At one point I noticed how insecure social media made me. Am I working hard enough? Am I behind my peers? Both in the evening and in the morning I almost obsessively read the comments under posts. This became a fixed ritual. Not only mentally, but also physically it started to take its toll. I had to step out, unfollow, unplug. By breaking away from it I regained breath and peace. I found my balance again. The concept for Mirrors emerged from this experience."
— Donna Chittick
BackBone creates performances based on the principals and DNA of hip hop. They present social themes with the aim of stimulating the audience. BackBone is an organization where future hip-hop talent can grow - both trained dancers and self-taught creative practitioners. This practice of development and passing on is embedded in the very culture and lineage of hip hop.
Choreographer Donna Chittick (St. Maarten, 1986) started as a dancer with Solid Ground Movement and grew into a principal dancer and assistant choreographer for dance company BackBone. In 2016, Donna followed her first development program as a choreographer at Solid Ground Movement. From there, she continued to flourish as a maker and was invited by Korzo to create a performance for their young performers, Jong Korzo.
After this, she did the New Makers Scheme in 2019 under BackBone, in which she made the diptych Together x ALPH. She also did the choreography for Kaap Liefde, a co-production between BackBone and Raymi Sambo Maakt, as well as the choreography for So Far So Good, a co-production of WatWeDoen and Theater Rotterdam. Donna Chittick has also been invited by ISH and National Ballet to create work with their Junior Company for their Project Next Steps 2024. At the end of 2022, she succeeded Alida Dors as artistic director of hip-hop dance company BackBone.
| Concept en choreography | Donna Chittick |
| Dancers | Darion Thompson, Hannah Mahler, Teresa Costa en Laila Spee |
| Soundscape | DJ Lovesupreme |
| Light design | Jeffrey Steenbergen en Ewout van Blanken |
| Technical department | Ewout van Blanken |
| Outside eye | Alida Dors |
| Dramaturgical advies | Peggy Olislaegers |
| Production | SQ Productions | Susanne Tuny en Kristy Ilyas |
| PR & Communications | SQ Productions | Kya Su |
| Graphic design | Kenley Chittick |
| Campaign image | Sjoerd Derine |
| With thanks to | Will Fraser |
Korzo Zaal