Bodies In Progress (Extended)
Martina Hajdyla Lacová and collective
„Once a woman becomes aware of conception, she ceases to be an individual and becomes an inhabited collective.“
— Joan Raphael-Leff
Across cultures, the body of a pregnant woman is both protected and celebrated. At the same time, it loses its autonomy, existing in a liminal space between past and future. It is a process of embracing the unknown—not only in the form of a growing child but also in discovering the unfamiliar within oneself. Pregnancy brings a whirlwind of emotions, a physical and existential shift, a redefinition of boundaries, responsibilities, and identity.
But what if this pregnant woman is a dancer, an artist, or a performer?
Does she have the right to her profession, or does her value suddenly lie solely in the pregnancy she must protect? Should she retreat and wait for this phase to pass? Or could she see it as an opportunity to reveal her transformed reality?
Performer Martina Hajdyla Lacová explored this path in Bodies in Progress, a dance solo of two bodies that earned the Thalia Award in the Alternative Theatre category. Now, the concept of this work expands to include other pregnant performers. The experience of bodily transformation, shifting states of mind, and the imminence of birth will be multiplied—offering something never seen before.
In Bodies in Progress (Extended), a group of performers in the advanced stages of pregnancy will engage in an active, movement-based dialogue with their transformation and the second body growing within them. The theme of pregnancy, as well as different perspectives on motherhood, will then unfold in a discussion led by Linda Bartošová and her guests.
Bodies in Progress (Extended) is a one-time, unrepeatable event—its premiere and its finale at once—taking place on April 7, 2025, at 7 PM.