Rise 2026: Serpentine

Serpentine is an installation performance created and choreographed by Daina Ashbee.The work vibrates the essence of Ashbees dark and feminine pieces and is intended as an intense summary of her previous three works, Unrelated (2014), When the ice melts, will we drink the water? (2016) and Pour (2016), highlighting resilience and reclamation.The research explored the occupation of space/time/attention in what becomes a cathartic solo for the interpreter based on repetition and insistence.Ashbee uses simple imagery in order to allow the work to resonate with many viewers. The piece includes original electric organ composition by Jean-Francois Blouin which is both disturbing and powerful. The juxtaposition of the haunting electric organ and the slow, sensual movement that escalates in its violence, is confidently, beautifully and earnestly performed.Reviews:
Ashbee pushes the boundaries of live art by attacking the disciplinary norms that govern it. Known for creating viscerally cathartic work, she uses repetition and slow movement as a critical lens, shaping narrative arcs in her choreography through accumulations of physical and temporal fatigue. Considering themes of female sexuality, trauma, environmentalism, and her Mtis identity, Ashbee generates carefully detailed and affectively charged pieces . - esse arts + opinionsSerpentineinvites the audience to view the naked body not as sexual object, but as art form itself an instrument of movement and expression. - Winnipeg Free PressCredits:
Artistic Direction, Choreography & Scenography: Daina Ashbee
Interpreted by: Irene Martinez
Rehearsal Director: Gabriel Nieto
Original Sound Design: Jean-Francois Blouin
Producer: Daina Ashbee
Presented in Glasgow in partnership with TramwayAbout the artist:
Recognised as one of the most prolific choreographers of her generation, since 2015 Daina Ashbees work has been presented over one-hundred times in 20 countries abroad. Her work has been presented in some of the most prestigious festivals (The Venice Biennale, Oktoberdans, the Munich Dance Biennale, Montpellier Danse) and on the stages of the world.After residing for 8 years in Montral, in 2020 she relocated to Gabriola-Island, where she re-sources her creative and energetic practices on the west coast of Canada while she is not touring or creating abroad. Her work, firmly established in somatic and energetic practices, reinvestigates and transforms trauma and violence. Her repertoire has been recognized internationally for being unafraid, bold and brutally honest.She has created a unique artistic signature, and won numerous awards including a 2019 New York City Bessie. In 2021, at the age of 31, she had two separate Retrospectives of her performance artworks; one in Montpellier, France and the second in Montreal, Canada. In 2022 she became the recipient of The Clifford E. Lee Choreographer Award from The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada. Daina aims to continue developing her career in performance art and is currently investigating her subconscious mind as well as modalities that address how trauma leaves its imprints on the physical body.Dainas newest creations: Hello, Buffalo (2023) premiered in New York City at The Bill T Jones Theatre: New York Live Arts. The work is a 80-minute intimate piece solo performed by Imara Bosco. We learned a lot at our funeral (2024) also performed by Bosco, premiered in Montpellier, France at the prestigious Montpellier Danse Festival directed by Jean-Paul Montanari. My Tale on a Fish's Body (2024) Ashbees largest group piece to date was produced in Banff, Alberta at The Banff Centre for The Arts. Presently, Daina is looking forward to a new creative residency in New York City in 2026 as well as an invitation to Glasgow International Biennale and Dance North Scotland in Findhorn, to present her classic performance piece Serpentine in Scotland.
www.dainaashbee.com