Review: Ruff Knowledge by Camille Auer at Kanneltalo

I went to see Ruff Knowledge by Camille Auer at Kanneltalo 23.11. to its premiere, which was a part of Baltic Circle -festival. In their program it says the following:

“Ruff Knowledge is a presentation about the diversity of courtship, gender, and sexuality in nature.

Homosexual behavior and gender diversity are common phenomena in nature, yet they receive little visibility in nature media. The Ruff (Calidris Pugnax) is perhaps the most diverse wild vertebrate species. During the breeding season, male birds in breeding plumage all look different from each other. In addition, some so-called males resemble so-called females. All different Ruff engage in sexual activities with each other. Nevertheless, birds are generally classified into two genders, and their behavior is assumed to be motivated by heterosexual reproduction.

When observing nature, people tend to make a circular argument: nature observations are interpreted through their own values, and this biased version of nature is then used to justify their values as "natural."

This piece of information got me very intrigued. I think the message is very important and fascinating. So I booked the tickets to me and my friend and off to Kanneltalo we went.

The show starts in a casual way. Camille is in a camouflage clothing like a proper bird watcher. They have books in their hands and when enough of audience has arrived they grab the microphone and start to introduce themselves and the topic. Camille says they’ve studied Ruffs for a few years now and the presentation is mostly info dumping. Fair enough, go for it!

In my personal life I put a lot of value to those who have the energy and enthusiasm to study and become knowledgable in any subject. And it always surprises me that any subject or object there is always someone who knows a ton about it, whether it'd be buttons, elevators, door handles or threads. Or Ruffs! 

Overall I’d say that the feeling of Ruff Knowledge performance is like a cozy TEDTalk, as if Camille had invited us to their own living room. At times their output and rhythm had elements of a Stand-Up - if it was intentional it could have been enhanced a bit more.

Sometimes the performing got a little too cozy: Camille mentioned topics, saying “we’ll get back to this later”, but later on those topics weren’t always brought back or they had to be found in between the lines. In this area I would have wanted a bit more polished structure.

My favorite part was when Camille put on a white, puffy collar that resemled the Ruff and started to dance. It was also very touching that Camille's father was in the audience and was mentioned and appealed to through a sweet memory. Costume-wise the collar was my favorite piece but otherwise the dress looked like it was a little damaged and not intentionally. 

"The difference between me and a bird is flying"

All in all the performance and its message really brought me new viewpoints. The idea of a “culture nature feedback loop” was brilliant. It also educated us on the history of misogyny through biology. Camille was able to find excellent pin points just like the program promised. Yet I hoped the show would have had a bit more rhythm. For example Camille had saved the videos of the Ruffs in the end but the videos would have worked great in the background earlier in the show. The performance had clear parts to it but what if these parts would have flowed and overlapped a bit more, being a bit more appealing to the audience.

As a performer Camille gave a warm output, and I enjoyed watching someone who doesn't take things too seriously: "If you want to know more, just google Ruff [rʌf] sex".

Text: Rosanna Ilo Liuski
Photo: Camille Auer

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