Amae no Kōzō

Eliana Stragapede and Borna Babić, founders of the Paper Bridge company and former performers with the Peeping Tom company, are staging a contemporary dance performance at the Teatro India that explores the complexities of human relationships.

The name of the performance (Amae no Kōzō, Anatomy of a Dependency) is taken from the title of the famous essay by the Japanese psychoanalyst Takeo Doi, who, in the early 1970s, analysed the psychological and cultural concept of amae – a mixture of emotional dependency, a need for indulgence and a demand for unconditional love. On stage at the Teatro India, the performance navigates the complex terrain of relationships, where closeness and distance, need and freedom, care and autonomy coexist in a fragile and shifting balance. By examining a broad spectrum of relationships, the work explores the tension between stepping outside one’s comfort zone and seeking refuge in protection, highlighting the universal themes of co-dependence and delving into the forces that drive individuals to stay together or seek an escape route.

The two bodies on stage seek each other out, support one another, hold each other back and drift apart, giving rise to a constantly shifting landscape. Each encounter opens up new possibilities for connection, but also new forms of resistance; every gesture highlights the delicate balance between the desire to belong and the need to preserve one’s individuality. Through intense and physical choreography, Eliana Stragapede and Borna Babić explore the vulnerability of being together, questioning what unites us, transforms us and, at times, forces us to let go.