How can we succeed in finding our way back to nature, in drawing upon renewed energy and connecting with our origin? As part of #RewildOurHearts, we hope to find answers to these very questions together.
In early 2021, when winter was gradually on its way out and the days were beginning to grow longer, choreographer Mike Planz and dancer Elke Waibel were already inspiring us through their performances to use the power of movement to regain that feeling of connection to the world around us.
Today we’re talking with Cozy, a dancer who shows us how he uses his Wildlings to maintain that very connection. He shares the creative impulses that city life offers him and why, in spite of – or perhaps precisely because of – his urban lifestyle, he always finds his way back to nature. The acoustic inspiration comes from musician Vikja with director of photography Jim Gramming capturing the evocative twilight mood. You can watch the full video here.
And of course, like Mike and Elke before him, Cozy was kind enough to satisfy Wildling’s curiosity by answering three questions:
What does freedom mean to you?
For me, freedom is the moment when everything around me fades away and I can lean entirely on myself and my feelings. Especially in dance, you tend to spend a lot of time thinking about particular steps and movements instead of just sensing them. Where exactly is my foot? How does the movement of my arm feel in my shoulder? Can I feel the breeze when I twirl? All questions that can often get pushed into the background. That moment, when not my thoughts but my feelings are guiding my movement, THAT is freedom.
What mattered to you in terms of your performance?
It was really important for me to capture and portray this exact sensation of freedom in my performance. In the video, I also talk about how I use nature to paint music. Together with the proximity to nature, being completely immersed and at one with the music really helped me a great deal. I was able to just let myself go and enjoy Vikja’s incredibly beautiful song. Having someone like Jim by my side was terrific, too, and even while holding a big camera, he made me feel very confident and at ease. So to answer the question in one sentence: What was important to me was a sense of security, freedom, and an authentic visualization of my movements.
What makes your heart beat faster and wilder?
Like I talked about in the video, I tend to vacillate internally: In nature, I can spend time on my own and replenish my energies. In this context, nature can represent any other place where I can retreat and recharge my batteries. The city and all the people around me inspire me, making sure that ideas keep flowing one after the other in my mind and really supporting me in the process of creating my art. Both things combined fulfill me completely and make my heart beat faster. Apart from that, being surrounded by my loved ones, having a good time and laughing a lot fills me up immensely.
How did movement feel in the Wildlings?
I was really positively surprised at just how close you are to the ground, while at the same time you don’t feel like you’re not wearing any shoes. As a dancer, I actually love wearing big heavy shoes because I like to feel grounded when I dance and to bend my knees deeply, which provides the best overall feel and the most control. But despite how light they are, the Wildlings felt really good. Especially on the damp forest floor, it was an experience that was genuinely new and exciting for me.
Cozy, thank you so much for your rendition of #RewildOurHearts and for inspiring us to dance again ourselves!
Cover image: Jim Gramming
