Ice has been broken with the group Deciertopicante. We are entering in a new phase. The first difficulty in this creative process considered the introduction of contemporary dance as artistic language. It was necessary to built a mutual trust and respect for our work. The challenge was, and still remains, how to make "dance" actors, who have never had any dance training nor have seen any performance of contemporary dance? Fortunately, with the director Roberto Palza, they used strong physical training in their daily rehearsals before my arrival.
How to teach basics of contemporary dance without getting them bored, frustrated and with maintaining the excitement for dancing?
In the first weeks of our project, a.k.a. Takora (see post), it was important to establish a language, a tool box, that will accompany us in the next 6 months. It was the matter to find the balance between training of:
A) BODY (dance techniques, anatomical exploration, shaping energy)
B) SPACE (constellations, relation body/space, site-specific art)
C) IMPROVISATIONS (practice of instant composition scores)
I also focused on choosing where do I want to take them in this 6 months and what do I want to leave behind after my departure back to Europe. This transfer of experience and knowledge runs not only on the level of introducing new artistic language but also on the level of personal development, where limitations transform into opportunities.
Indoors the theatre space, we practice body and space awareness, anatomical functions of th body, generating energy, bases of release and flying-low dance technique, among others. Our improvisation sessions are focused on exploration of the space, that introduces the group into site-specific performance art. I observe also the need to break strong habits of conventional theater and encouraging search for new options in terms of using the body, the space, the time the word.
Outdoor the rehearsal room , I have showed them videos available on Internet to give a hint what contemporary dance is now days. I introduced them to several streams and concepts, encouraging to make their own research surfing in the web. Internet is the main source to get information, but still, with slow conection and broken keyboards does not make it so inviting... One more time I reflect here, that the limited access to knowledge is stopping any process of development.
Now we are ready to sink deeper into our creative process and rehearsals. The new phase consists in searching for material and content of our main performance. End of May (30&31) we have the first work-in-progress presentation. This meeting with the audience is important for both sides- for the actors, in order to cross step-by-step borders in perfroming arts, and for the audience, to develop inside them a need&curiosity for art and culture within the aim to generate a demand for more in future... Be welcome to visit us any time..
