SYNOPSIS

Evolutionary biology has paid little attention to sport. Sport probably begins as training
for man to develop the skills needed for hunting and war. Later it would end up as a
display of strength in which male athletes and spectators could assess the qualities of
potential allies or rivals.
The popular sports of Euskal Herria remain very close to the daily labours the Basques
carried out in times past, later turned into challenges between neighbours who in their free
time bet on their skills in certain tasks of both field and sea (who mowed the grass first,
who cut more logs, who rowed faster, etc.). The Basques’ fame as people of great strength
can be seen in stone-lifting trials, weight-carrying races or group soka-tira (tug of war).
Animals too have been trained to compete through stone-dragging trials, ram fights or
sheepdog contests.
Taking rural sport as a starting point, TEN PEN CHii has reinterpreted and
metamorphosed this material into a contemporary, energy-filled interdisciplinary
performance.