ON and ON and ON ON and ON

“ON and ON and ON ON and ON” moves between performance, social gathering and ritual, creating a space for togetherness without requiring us to be the same. The performance begins with one of our oldest social rituals: moving together in a shared rhythm over an extended period of time.

Some of Malmö’s finest dancers move to a house music score in a warm and intimate setting. The pulse never breaks, the rhythm is constant, and the space vibrates with life. The choreography consists of the same eighteen steps, The Electric Slide, repeated continuously for sixty minutes. The steps do not change. Everything else does.

The professional dancers hosts the gathering, each bringing their own physicality, musicality and presence to the movement. As time passes, our attention shifts, and what first appears simple and familiar begins to reveal new details. Through repetition, the smallest differences become increasingly visible.

The audience is invited to experience the performance on their own terms: sitting, standing, lying down, observing or joining the dance. There is no required or correct way to experience the work.

In a time marked by unrest, polarization, and distance – where conflicts and crises shape our daily lives – choreographer Maria Naidu presents a work that moves in the opposite direction. “ON and ON and ON ON and ON” is a powerful reminder of the human need to gather, share, and move together.

The Electric Slide is a social dance that has been passed from person to person and across generations. Maria Naidu has used it as choreographic material since 2004, exploring how repetition, duration and shared movement affect our perception of ourselves and one another.