Stumbling—and with it, falling—is usually seen as something embarrassing. And it kind of is. Most of the time, we’re up again before we’ve even hit the ground. Instinct kicks in: cover it up, move on, act asif it didn’t happen.
But every now and then, the stumble gets a softer role. Especially in language. It can make one joyfully fall into butter, luck/ a prize/ love/ comfort. Bob Ross had his happy little accidents. There’s one saying, a most intriguing, most whimsical phrase—one of those sayings that makes the body wince from kitsch— it’s the kind of thing you might see printed on a beach towel or whispered poolside on a warm summer day: Here it is—may it please you: when life makes you stumble, turn it into a somersault.
Salomé is playing with the stumble too, in Study of the Stumble. She’s performing the piece this August in Switzerland, on the 9th and 10th in Nyon. Switzerland has four official languages—who knows, she may stumble across a particularly stumble-worthy thing to say.