Lyn Bentschik on presence and vulnerability

Creating art with one's own body – that is what Lyn Bentschik does. Lyn performs her own works both inside and outside Switzerland. Lyn's works were awarded the City of Winterthur's sponsorship prize in 2024. I want to know from Lyn what such a prize changes and what happens when the body becomes a tool.
Foto: Lea Reutimann
Foto: Lea Reutimann
Working with the body means investing in the body – maintenance costs, so to speak. Because grants and fees are always tied to specific projects, they do not include money for a studio, holidays, time for new creative ideas or childcare. There is no room for relaxation in the precisely calculated budgets. The grant Lyn received from the city of Winterthur is a rarity: "It's not often that you get money for yourself and your work that you don't have to justify or request for something specific – it's a huge luxury!" The money awarded means that Lyn can pay for everything that is part of this work with the body and is not otherwise remunerated. Art is often seen as something creative and less as physical work. For Lyn's work, however, it is essential to pay attention to the body as a whole, even if this is not seen as part of the work. "The maintenance costs are there, I just have to pay them, otherwise I can't work with my instrument. If my body is in bad shape, I can't make good art either."


To a certain extent, all performers or professional athletes in general are dependent on their bodies. It has to do what is expected of it; careers and livelihoods depend on it. There is often a fear that at some point it might no longer function. When I ask Lyn if she has such fears, she responds with a counter-question: What does 'function' mean? The Western idea of a dichotomy between body and mind that shapes us goes hand in hand with the demand for domestication; the wild body must be tamed by the mind: "You have to teach the body dance steps, you have to press the body into the ideal, it must be slim, it must be beautiful, it must not be hairy." But there are many other ways to dance, move and be with your body. Lyn's concern is that judgements should be dissolved. How much could we learn if we didn't ask what the body can do, but how it feels and what it needs? Being present with what is and seeing the creative potential behind change. "I strongly advocate that not some bodies are good and others bad. I would like us all to be able to approach our own bodies, but also other bodies that fall a little outside the norm, with less fear and more curiosity," says Lyn. And: "We can learn so much from our bodies if we learn how to listen and how to perceive ourselves. The body is a rich world that is constantly changing – a book in which new pages are written every day." How exciting it would be to simply listen to the body?

Experience Lyn Bentschik live:

27 February 2026 Dance your Pain, Wild Card Pain Edition, Tanzhaus Zurich 14 March 2026 Collective Rhythms of Pain, Sharing, DOGO Lichtensteig
12 April 2026 Dance your Pain, Wild Card Pain Edition, Dampfzentrale Bern
7 May 2026 Dance your Pain, Festival Zürich Tanzt, Tanzhaus Zürich
9 May 2026 Dance your Pain, Festival Zürich Tanzt, Gessnerallee Zürich
10 May 2026 Workshop Dance your Pain, Tanzfest St. Gallen

lynbentschik.com

Foto: Lea Reutimann
Foto: Lea Reutimann

Published from Coucou Kulturmagazin on February 19, 2026.

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