So Close, Away is a performance that reflects on the presence and absence of loved ones and how these experiences are expressed through the body. At its core, the piece explores grief—not only as the loss of someone, but as a complex emotional state shaped by memory, distance, and the quiet evolution of relationships over time.
The work traces the emotional journeys of three childhood friends as they revisit their shared history. Through flashbacks and shifting memories, moments of closeness reemerge. Their connection unfolds in fragments, revealing how intimacy can stretch, fade, or transform, and yet still leave deep meaning long after time has passed.

Grief is not approached as a linear process, but as something layered and unpredictable. Emotions such as love, resentment, gratitude, and sorrow exist alongside each other, sometimes in tension. It lives in gestures, in pauses, in the things we remember and those we try to forget. Here, growing up becomes an act of learning to carry emotional contradictions: accepting change without full understanding.

Movement is central to the storytelling, drawing from freestyle Hip-Hop to form a physical language that reflects the fragility and force of human connection. Improvisation is essential, allowing the dancers to respond instinctively to one another and to the space. This real-time exchange brings an element of unpredictability and emotional truth to the performance. As the performers navigate between closeness and distance, the audience is invited into a world where time dissolves and feelings emerge without explanation.

Light Designer: JOSHUA PAUL