And What Did You Say? Taus Makhacheva. Performance

In And What Did You Say? , Taus Makhacheva approaches gossip with an inquisitiveness on its potentiality, ruminating over the idea of «metabolizing gossip,» i.e. turning it into movement and speech. The work consists of a durational performance, as well as this bench before you, which houses its ephemera. The opening compartments include props and costumes designed for the performance, taking place during Biennale Danza 2026, the 20th International Festival of Contemporary Dance. The headphones play dialogues that move from inner monologues to scripted conversations, and into narrated commentary on gossip’s historical and contemporary uses and consequences.The choreographed dance includes three performers, each representing and embodying a different stage of gossip: the source, the spread, and finally, the result of gossip. Taken together, this two-part work explores the multiple utilities of gossip, some of which include care and allyship, horizontal knowledge sharing, coping strategies, political commentary, and gatekeeping and harm.Bana Kattan, Tala Nassar

Text: Ksenia Skorytchenko, Kate Sutton, Taus Makhacheva
Costumes and props design: Panika Derevya
Props design and 3D visualisations: Victoria Daue
Performers: Anna Abalikhina, Salvatore De Simone, Rei Kassandra Co
Research: Ksenia Skorytchenko
Producer: Alexandra Maleeva
Jewelry props producer: Anna Pavlova
Sound design: Roman Kurochkin 
Text consultations: Deborah Pearson
Costumes design and fabrication: Sonya Kutuzova, Marina Bainova
Voices: Gemma Paintin, Jon White
3D avatar printing: Nika Peshekhonova
Textile print design: Ksenia Kazmina
Textile print: Nikita Skrip
3D jewelry visualisation: Nika Peshekhonova, Yuri Yakushev
3D jewelry production: Alexander Kalinin, Vache Manukyan, 3D Cult 
Glass props: Alexander Sorokin, Dmitry Suzyumov, Ivan Panchenko
Props production: Tactic Studio | Askarbek Abdikarimov, Vladlena Gromova, Dmitry Kayurov, Sofia Kolontaeva, Tatiana Korosteleva, Alexey Mazur, Ahmed Magomedov, Artem Paramonov, Ekaterina Pleshkova, Timofey Rybka, Leonid Sokolov, Alexey Tyapkin, Timur Veliev 
Gossip bench fabrication and AV team: Marco Altan, Mazzocco Alessio, Jacopo Baio, Giovanni Bergamo, Francesco Carrer, Michael Comelato, Roberto Dal Corso, Carlo de Silvestri, Koray Duman, Mateo Ivan Eiletz, Lorenzo Ferrari, Anna Ghiraldini, Mauro Graziano, Nicola Graziano, Andrea Norbiato, Claudia Ortigas, Angel Rodriguez, Niccolò Salvato, Samuele Tulio
Edible cup 3D modelling and printing: Evgenia Tuliankina
Edible cup: Liudmila Ergoglo
Consultation: Victoria Parkhaeva
Guest relations: Leila Salavatova
Props photo documentation: Anastasia Krupina
Installation photo documentation: Ismail Noor (Seeing Things Studio)
Performance photo documentation: Alvise Busetto
Performance video documentation: Yana Isaenko, Sergei Korsakov
Video editing: Yana IsaenkoStudio Taus Makhacheva: Anastasia Chebotareva, Yana Dvoenko, Anastasia Krupina, Helga Lyubartovich, Ekaterina Muratova

Open call contributors: Alexey Maslyaev, Anastasia Lander, Anna Dimova, Andrey Misiano, Andrey Shental, Elizabeth Molchanova, Hattie, Bogdana Skorik, Chris Clarke, Julietta, Kim Sluijter, Leila Salavatova, Leyli Salayeva, Lina Serova, Liza, Liza, Maria Dubodel, Olivia Abächerli, Sveta Amova, Wasilysa KrasnojarowaWith special thanks to: Tarek Abou El Fetouh, Sabih Ahmed, Andrei Aikashev, Mays Albaik, Rawdha Al Hosani, Rawan Al Ramahi, Dana Al Sadek, James Baldwin, Laila Binbrek, Anita Buscaino, Bart De Baere, Alexandra Chistova, Sasha Dykhne, Mats Ek, Tim Etchells, Farah El-Rafei, Ksenia Faresova, Maksim Frolov, Cristina Innocenti, Yana Isaenko, Olga Glagoleva, Rahul Gudipudi, Bana Kattan, Natalia Krymskaya, Claire Marsden, Hugo Marchand, Esteban Mereles, Tala Nasser, Monica Narula, Arina Rakhmanova, Antonio Scoccimarro, Emanuela Semiani, Charles Simonds, Polly Sinelnikova, Nedko Solakov, Mikhail Spasskiy, Nikita Starikov, Ksenia Tertyshnikova, Olga Tsvetkova, Vincent van Velsen, Lantian Xie, Jay Yambao, Margo Yushkova, lgor Zolotov, People who gossip, People who don’t.