nagement is a choreographic work developed by Anne Juren in collaboration with linguist Fouad Asfour. The piece examines the mechanics of competitive swimming by deconstructing its rules, movement logics, and social dynamics. Created as part of the APAP IV project, the performance emerged from an intensive collaboration with the competitive team of the swimming club FISICA TV. The participating swimmers and coaches contributed their expertise and commitment, shaping a work that explores the boundaries between athletic discipline and artistic practice.

At its core, nagement questions the structural conditions of competitive swimming through a series of exercises that challenge and redefine the sport’s conventions. The performers engage with themes such as synchronisation (“ARRIVE AT THE SAME TIME”), individual technique (“COMPETITION VERY SLOW”), and the invention and imitation of movement styles (“INVENT AND COPY IN ONE LINE”). By deliberately breaking or modifying competitive rules, the work reveals new physical and spatial experiences. For instance, in the sequence “COMPETITION WITHOUT ARRIVING”, the competitive logic is subverted by swimming backward at the end of the lane, while “CREATE ROUGH AND CALM WATER” transforms the dynamics of the water itself into choreographic material.

A key aspect of the project is its exploration of collective movement and negotiation. Exercises such as “START ONE AFTER THE OTHER IN 8 LINES AND TELL TO CHANGE” or “MEET IN THE MIDDLE AND GIVE ORDER” require swimmers to give instructions to one another, identify styles, or communicate underwater. These moments highlight how deeply athletic practice relies on implicit rules and social interaction. Simultaneously, a tension arises between individual freedom (“INVENTING STYLES ONE BY ONE”) and the necessity of synchronising within a group.

nagement is not merely a performance of swimming movements but a reflection on the conditions under which movement emerges—whether in sport, dance, or everyday life. By playing with competition, rule-breaking, and collective creativity, the swimming pool becomes a laboratory for new forms of collaboration. The piece demonstrates how artistic practice and athletic discipline can challenge each other to rethink familiar movement patterns.