ALBA BOUSTANJI
BETWEEN TWO WORLDS
Initiative and production by Apox
Composition by Alba Boustanji and Apox
Performed by Apox, Majd Unfolds, Ankur Kaushik, Rahul Upadhyay, Ali Thompson, and Alba Boustanji
Costumes, painting, set design by Marija Dava
Sound mix by Hannah Hakkenberg
Photography by Smurov Sergei
Duration 35 minutes
22 February 2024
Arambolians, Arambol, Goa, India
















'Between Two Worlds' was a butoh performance created during a two week workshop taught by Alba Boustanji, organized by Sebastián Vasquez (Apox). The performers all have different backgrounds, some with experience in butoh and/or dance, some without. During the workshop, they dove deep into butoh and into themselves, allowing for shadows - personal and collective - to emerge through dance and to transform them, through dance. In the final piece, the aim was to transfer this to the public and invite them. By going through it themselves first, the performers aimed to open up a space of liminality between the conscious and subconscious, the seen and the unseen, life and death. Then, in conclusion, the public was brought in for a collective dance, allowing for release.
What drove the piece was a deep concern with the current status quo in global human society. Everything seems to be crumbling under our feet. Contact with worlds beyond our material realm seems to be lost. In order to tackle any of this, first, change must happen within oneself; one must deal with their fears and shadows.