Trace of the Movement, Movement of the Trace
Rituals of Encounter in a Divided World

In this era of deepening geopolitical divides, growing social polarization, and escalating
environmental crises, rituals of encounter those acts that bring us together and carry us
beyond borders have become more vital than ever. Within this context, performance
emerges as a fertile ground for reimagining boundaries and cultivating spaces
where collective energies, shared values, and embodied connections can take root.
“On The Road” is a performance-installation in which drawing and movement are
intertwined, centering the healing potential of the ritual and exploring the unifying power of
collective action. By engaging with the physical, symbolic, and imagined borders that divide
us, this project creates a space of deep empathy where our bodies, histories, and
geographies are intricately woven together.

In this context, the line becomes a ritual:
It weaves space, opens time, and recalls the body. We set out on a journey to collectively
weave an empty spaceto dress it with a line.

We find a point for ourselves on the surface, then let the line flow.
As we draw, we experience the new through continuity; we are here now.
This awareness is reflected in our encounters, in our touches, and in the relations we co-
create during the performance. As bodies share the same path, their boundaries blur; lines
pass through each other, welcoming one another. The rule of this performance is courtesy
openness and acceptance applies to everyone.

Participants are invited into a choreographic practice through simple but transformative
gestures like moving in small groups or drawing a continuous line. The traces left by the line
on the paper curves, zigzags, parallels, circles turns into the data of the journey that sets us
in motion. These layered lines coexist without canceling one another out. Like life
itself: parallel lives, the zigzags of economies, constant cycles of returns and reverses. The
memory of the body also participates in this flow; the traces of the past find new expression
through movement.

These performative encounters invite participants into a state of listening and attunement,
offering reflective spaces where personal and collective boundaries intersect, alter, and
evolve. By opening ourselves to the unknown, we begin to accept the fluidity of the
boundaries we have constructed whether psychical, social, physical or political.

“On The Road” reimagines performance as a constantly evolving laboratory a shared space of
creation where diverse forces collide, dissolve, and reconfigure. Through gestures, words,
movements, and lines, participants become not only witnesses but co-creators of the ritual.
It is a space where we confront difference not with fear, but with curiosity and attention.
In these ritual spaces, the body becomes both map and terrain, a living archive of
interaction. Every presence leaves its own unique mark in the shaping of the ritual. As lines
are drawn and dances unfold, borders dissolve, and meaning arises through the encounter
itself.

Like the hidden motifs in Anatolian rugs, these lines extend both toward our roots and the
horizon. To draw together is to dance together. We discover the depth of acting together
with unfamiliar bodies of moving together, of creating a ritual together. Since we are
seeking the choreographic in unexpected places.

Inspired by the philosophy of CRUZO a framework that celebrates the dynamic interplay of
seemingly opposing forces this project embraces critical uncertainty, radical inclusivity, and
political liberation. Participants are invited to step beyond the stable identities and into
a fluid space of belonging, where new forms of togetherness can emerge.
Ultimately, “On The Road” invites us to view ritual not as a fixed form, but as a political,
spiritual, and creative practice a way of relating anew to the world. These encounters offer a
chance to connect not only with one another, but with a wider network of existence,
opening the door slightly to a meaningful dialogue across cultural, geographic, and political
boundaries.

Through a drawn line or a moving body, these rituals invites us to embrace uncertainty,
reshape our collective identity, and imagine a future grounded in connection, openness and
transformation.
This is ritual: a meeting in a shared flow.

This performance is supported by Bülent Turan and Janet Molzan Turan, for which the artists express gratitude. 
Sound design: Sair Sinan Kestelli; 
Production support: Maya Çelem; 
Thanks: Bülent Turan, Janet Molzan Turan, Çatı Contemporary Dance Association; 
Co-author: Julie Nioche.