CONTEMPORARY (33)

Hi!

Its been a while, but I wanted to share the link to download this past year's Contemporary Performance Almanac 2018. The Contemporary Performance Almanac 2018 is a crowd-funded and open-source overview of contemporary performance created or presented during the 2017/18 season available for touring now.

Here is the link!

https://contemporaryperformance.com/2019/04/09/free-download-contemporary-performance-almanac-2018/

Best,

Caden Manson

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Big Art Group

Contemporary Performance Network

Special Effects Festival

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Thanks to Dancing Opportunities I'm happy we have been selected to FIDCDMX (Mexico City)

with my last work The Rebellious Body (Connecting Fingers Company)interpreted by Nicola Campanelli12249590665?profile=original.

You can read the entire article here:

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Are you a choreographer based in Europe?

Aerowaves is a hub for dance discovery in Europe. Each year the Aerowaves network selects 20 of the most promising emerging choreographers, promotes their work, and creates performance opportunities with Aerowaves' Partners. Apply to Aerowaves and get a chance to have your work programmed by the partners of the network, whether or not you are selected as Aerowaves artists. Around 100 performance opportunities are guaranteed by the partners and supported by Aerowaves each year.

Applications open at 9am on 1 June 2016 and close at midnight on 12 September 2016.

Should you be selected as one of the Aerowaves Twenty, your work will be promoted by Aerowaves via its website for one year by an artist profile, with images, video and calendar all in one place. You may be selected to perform your work at our Spring Forward Festival. We guarantee to programme at least 10 of the current Aerowaves Twenty artists in the festival each year.

Eligibility criteria:

• You must be resident in Europe to apply

• You may apply with only one work per year

• The work you are submitting must have been made in geographical Europe

• Your work must be 15-40 minutes in length

• Your work should be easily included in a double or triple bill and have simple technical requirements

• Work by postgraduate students is eligible, but not work by undergraduates

• You must fill in the Aerowaves application form correctly, upload your video to Vimeo, providing us with the link and the password if necessary and send us the original video file by We Transfer

• Previous Aerowaves applicants, successful or unsuccessful, may apply again - but you cannot apply with the same work twice Should artists be programmed by Aerowaves partners, they will be paid an agreed fee plus travel, accommodation, and per diem.

APPLY HERE: http://www.aerowaves.org/artists/opportunities-for-artists

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When I dance at Rollout Dance FIlm Festival in the World Competition

After the opening with Mr Gaga,

When I dance will have a Premiere in Macao
Rollout Dance Film Festival/ World Competition 18th December 2016 Icentre Macao

12pm12249573254?profile=original

www.whenidancefilm.com

http://www.rolloutmacao.com/programme_rollout.html

https://pontofinalmacau.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/danca-e-video-num-festival-que-congrega-producao-filmica-global/

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The VI Contemporary Dance and Performing Arts Festival will take place from the 2nd to the 6th of September 2015.

The festival is conceived as an annual meeting where artists and amateurs interested in Contemporary Dance and Performing Arts gather together to create, interact, attend performances and take part in high quality workshops.

Dancers, performers and amateurs will stay for 5 days together again in the Natural Park Cabo de Gata, Almería,

Nature, culture and creation will merge again in this breathtaking landmark in the south-east of Spain.

Programme Costa Contemporánea 2015

This year the festival offers 4 workshops in contemporary dance and performing arts led by Spanish and international well-known teachers :

– Guillermo Weickert (Weickert Cia)

– María Muñoz y Pep Ramis (Mal Pelo)

– Alexis Fernández y Caterina Valera ( La Macana)

– Elías Aguirre Imbernón

Morning Workshops will be in charge of Guillermo Weickert and María Muñoz & Pep Ramis (Mal Pelo). Guillermo Weickert offers his experience in contemporary dance and physical theatre, which he has developped in a physical vocabulary of his own. Mal Pelo has been developed its own artistic language through the movement, incorporating the theatricality with the creation of dramatic arts that include the word. They offer their experience as a creative group characterized by a shared responsibility, which has given like result more than 25 performances.

Afternoons will be dedicated to research, interaction and experimentation in connection with nature. Elías Aguirre will work on the physicality and theanimality, getting the inspiration from nature. La Macana will explore the inner tools to control your actions and emotions, using all your potential and being aware of it to redirect it in a performatic way.

Performances, pieces and artists confirmed:

The festival will hold its opening gala on the 2nd of September 2015, when the three finalists of the II Choreography Contest Mujer Contemporánea will perform their pieces and the jury and the audience will decide on the winner.

The next three days will be the time to enjoy the works of experienced and well-known artists as well those of emerging artists.:

3rd September: Variety Show Night

Ana Cembrero, Lost Archive (Valencia). Videodance

Nicolas Rambaud, ¡Valgo? (Madrid). Dance

Irene de Paz, The skein, (Madrid/ Almería), Contemporary Circus

Elías Aguirre, Longfade (Madrid). Dance

4th September: My great Night

Francisco Córdova & Kiko López, Postskriptum (Barcelona). Dance

María Muñoz, Bach (Barcelona). Dance

Alberto Cortés + María del Mar Suárez, Mariché López. Omar Janaan, Yo antes era mejor (Málaga). Flamenco-theatre

5th September: Dance Fever

Guillermo Weickert, non defined yet (Sevilla). Dance

Alexis Fernández y Caterina Varela (La Macana), Ven (Galicia). Dance

Poliana Lima + Lucia Marote, Stefano Fabris, Aitor Galán, Ángel Perabá, VidAL Marina Santo, Atávico (Madrid). Dance

Smantik, screening “II Costa Contemporánea” (Melilla). Videodance

Jam Session, Dance



VI Costa Contemporánea: 2 – 6 Sept 2015
Pack – Price: 385 euros
It includes:
– 4 workshops
– Entrance to all shows
– Accommodation from 2nd to 6th September and full board

More information: info@costacontemporanea.es

The entrance fees for the shows outside the pack:
II Contest Contemporary Women -Award Gala – 6 /*4 €
Variety Show Night – 8 / *6€
My great Night – 10 /* 8 €
Dance Fever – 10 / *8 €

*Discount: Unemployed people, children 5-10 years old.
Free entrance for 4 years old children and younger.

Web: http://costacontemporanea.es/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/costacontemporanea

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoContemporanea

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CostaContemporanea/videos

Email: info@costacontemporanea.es

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Introducing Beat Cultural Lab

My name is Vanessa Vargas. I was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. I'm a contemporary dancer and performer, BA (Licenciate) in social communication, MA in communication for social development. I have worked in these areas for over 10 years. I recently moved to Astoria, NYC -I have been an American Resident for more than a decade, traveling from Venezuela to the US for studies, formation and specific projects-, and  I would love to continue sharing this project. I am openly looking  for the opportunity to continue developing my work in these fields and expanding my horizons in this city. 
 
As a dancer and social researcher, with my husband Daniel Esparza (art historian-philosopher and musician) we have undertaken a project of social development through arts -Beat Cultural Lab-. We have already developed this project in Venezuela but we want to give it a try in NYC, with the support and collaboration of institutions like yours. If you want any more details on our project, you can check my website at http://vanessavargas.me/2014/07/07/beat-cultural-lab/I am interested in your feedback, recommendations and insights on the matter. 
 
Very best,
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Costa Contemporánea 2014: V Contemporary Dance & Performing Arts Festival

September 3 – 7 2014, Cabo de Gata, Almería, Andalusia, Spain

Workshops: from 3 to 7

  • Contemporary Dance Workshop “Points of view” with Daniel Abreu (Cía. Daniel Abreu)
  • Dance Composition/Choreography Workshop “Leche del sueño” (Milk before Bed) with Michelle Man and James Hewison ( Edge Hill University

Masterclass: Saturday, Sept 6 

  • Contemporary Dance: “Technical training in contemporary dance” with Chevi Muraday
  • Flamenco: “From dance to flamenco” with Anabel Veloso
  • Videodance: “Dancing for the camera” with Ana Cembrero 

Performances / Program:

Sept. 4:  Noche de Varieté – Varieté Night
venue Rodalquilar

  • Sandra Antón: “The Big Solution Clown” (Las Hortichuelas/Barcelona)
  • Alberto Cortés, Rebeca Carrera: “EXIT” (Málaga)
  • Cromática Pistona: Swing Party (Madrid)

 

Sept. 5: Noche Espectacular – Spectacular Night
venue Centro de Artes Escénicas (CAE), Níjar

  • Daniel Abreu: “Gigantes” (Madrid)
  • Performance of the Winner at the Choreography Competition Mujer Contemporánea
  • Javier Barandiarán: “No estoy para nadie” (País Vasco)

 

Sept. 6: Fiebre del Sábado – Saturday Fever
venue Centro de Artes Escénicas (CAE), Níjar

  • Chevi Muraday y Alberto Velasco: “Cenizas” (Madrid)
  • Anabel Veloso: “La generación del 80” (Almería)
  • Michelle Man y James Hewison: “Imaginarium” (England)

 

Costa para Todos -  Costa for everyone (free entrance)

  • Irene Cantero: “El vuelo” (Sept. 3, venue Camping Los Escullos) (Madrid)
  • Ana Cembrero: “Europa Endless” (Sept. 3, venue Camping Los Escullos) (Valencia)
  • Cromática Pistona: Swing Concert (Sept. 5, venue Plaza San José) (Madrid)
  • Andrea Quintana: “Ángel cojo sin pierna” (Sept. 5, venue outdoors CAE) (Galicia)
  • Smantik: Audiovisual Projections (Sept. 6, venue CAE)
  • Open performance dance experimentations (Sept. 4, 5 & 7, outdoors: El Playazo, Isleta del Moro, etc.)

See promotional video: Costa Contemporánea - Encuentros de Danza Contemporánea y Artes Escénicas from low visuals on Vimeo.

See Youtube Canal: https://www.youtube.com/user/CostaContemporanea/videos

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Here is the premiere of our wearable tech / contemporary dance piece at the HASTAC conference last week. 

Our clumsy bows aside, we got some good feedback, and I am interested in continuing this line of research where new media technologies can be employed to enrich the affectivity of performative art. 

Would love to get your thoughts on it.

Enjoy. Click!

Watch it at night. If you don't I'll know. :)

MG

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From 22 to 27 August 2011 the international summer course will for the first time organised by two  schools, accredited by the state of Geneva and members of the CEGM: The dance department of the Conservatoire Populaire de Musique (CPMDT) and the Ecole de Danse de Genève (EDG).

 

The course is aimed at dance students from 12 to 23 years old, level intermediate to advanced.

It will take place in the Plainpalais area where the studios of both schools are situated.

 

The course will include technical classes et ballet, contemporary, modern jazz. Students will also be able to follow workshops around the work of famous choreographers such as Jiri Kylian and Hofesh Shechter as well as a  workshop with choreogrpher Karine Guizzo.

 

Timetable :

Studios of EDG / L'imprimerie - 6 rue du Pré Jérôme

09:30 - 11:00 Ballet advanced Wim Broeckx

11:30 - 13:00 Contemporain intermediate / advanced Chien Ming Chang

14:00 - 16:00 Workshop Repertoire Hofesh Shechter with Chien Ming Chang

16:30 - 18:30 Workshop Repertoire Jiri Kylian with Karine Guizzo

 

Studios of CPMDT - 9 rue Pictet de Bock

11:30 - 13:00 Ballet intermediate Wim Broeckx

14:00 - 16:00 Choreographic Workshop  with Karine Guizzo

16:15 - 17:45 Modern'Jazz intermediate / advanced Mena Avolio

 

An end of course presentation will take place Saturday 27 August at the end of the day.

 

The whole program is available on the website of the Geneva Dance School.

 

Registration online.

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BALLET JUNIOR OF GENEVA AUDITION 2012

The next audition for the professional course with Ballet Junior will be held on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th May 2012.

This audition is aimed at young dancers between 17 and 23 years old.

An excellent level in ballet and contemporary dance is required as well as an interest in today's choreographic world.

More information on our website.

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Peridance Capezio Center's Certificate Program

Have you heard about Peridance Capezio Center’s newCertificate Program? It is a two-year training program designed for serious dance students 17-28 years old, looking to invest 2 years into an intensive quality training program. Students have daily interaction with top dance instructors and choreographers. The program is currently auditioning for the Spring Semester beginning January 31st.

For more information visit the website:http://www.peridance.com/certificate%20program-1.cfm

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Contemporary Workshop

Nacho Duato Workshop with Africa Guzman

Juan Ignacio Duato Barcia, also known as Nacho Duato, is an acclaimed Spanish dancer and choreographer. He began his dance career with the Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm and has received multiple awards in recognition of his achievements as a dancer and choreographer. In 1990, he was invited to become the Artistic Director of Compañía Nacional de Danza by the Instituto Nacional de las Artes Escénicas y de la Música of the Spanish Ministry of Culture. In July of 2010, he left the Compañía Nacional de Danza after twenty years. This January, he will become the Artistic Director of Russia’s Mikhailovsky Ballet.

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This move represents an exciting step for both Mr. Duato and Russian ballet. He will be the first foreigner to direct a Russian ballet company in over a century, the last was France’s Marius Petipa. For Mr. Duato, it will be his first time leading a large classical repertory company. Russian ballet is not known for its malleability and has had a history of ignoring modern dance influences like Mr. Duato’s, in favor of preserving tradition. Vladimir Kekhman, the businessman who took over as Mikahailovsky’s general director in 2007, feels that a strong contemporary influence is exactly what the company and Russian ballet needs.


Peridance’s Nacho Duato Workshop will be taught by Africa Guzman, another Spanish native. Ms. Guzman trained at the “Escuela de Ballet y Danza Española Africa Guzmán” and at the “Escuela del Ballet Nacional de España.” She became a member of Compañía Nacional de Danza in 1988, two years before Duato became the director. She has received many awards for her achievements as a dancer, has also danced with Netherland Das Theater, and has worked with many of the world’s highly acclaimed choreographers. For 20 years, she has been involved in Nacho’s choreographic and creative process. This workshop is an excellent opportunity to both take from a very accomplished dancer and to learn the style and repertory of one of today’s most celebrated dancer/choreographers and possibly the new face of Russian Ballet.


Preregistration for the Workshop is encouraged. Click here to register.


To learn more about Mr. Duato’s move to the Mikhailovsky Ballet read the New York Timesarticle

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DANCERS! online

The project DANCERS! is officially online at www.dancersproject.comvisit the site and browse among 130 2-minute solos of professional dancers all filmed in full HDWe have filmed in Brussels and Paris and are looking to come to other cities throughout the world during this five-year project. Register online for future shootings and as a potential dancer-partner-organizer-sponsor-installation presenter!Bud Blumenthaldirection@dancersproject.com
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TenduTV announces the launch of the digital Dance on Camera Festival on Hulu, at www.hulu.com/network/tendutv. The digital Dance on Camera Festival is an extension of the Dance Films Association's Dance on Camera Festival (DOCF), which it has produced annually for the last 38 years, the last 14 of which have been co-presented with the Film Society of Lincoln Center.


"This new venture presents an exciting opportunity for dance film artists to expand their audience. The bulk of today's viewers consume their media digitally. Our partnership with TenduTV widens our distribution while offering an excellent, new venue for our participating artists," said Deirdre Towers, artistic director of Dance Films Association.


"We're excited to take this first step forward towards meeting the needs of the dance field. Finally, dance audiences can begin to get the access they eagerly desire. The Dance Films Association is a great partner and we're looking forward to doing all we can to help them fulfill their mission," said Marc Kirschner, General Manager of TenduTV.


TenduTV will be adding new films on a regular basis, providing viewers with a diverse range of dance on screen. While the initial films primarily represent contemporary works from prior editions of the festival, the Dance Films Association and TenduTV will also curate focused collections of dance films. Planned themes include "Past Masters," "Africa" and "Animation."


The first six films are available now, and feature dancers from some of thedance world's most renowned companies, including Tanztheater Wuppertal, Frankfurt Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and Armitage Gone! Dance.


These films are:

Arcus, a jury prize nominee, DOCF 2004
directed by Alla Kovgan and Jeff Silva

Arising,from DOCF 2009
directed and choreographed by Ben Dolphin

FoliesD'Espagne, a jury prize nominee, DOCF 2008
directed by PhilipBusier
choreographed by Austin McCormick

Madrugada,from DOCF 2005
directed by William Morrison
choreographed byDeborah Greenfield

Vanishing Point, DOCF 2009
directedby Patrick Lovejoy

Wiped, Jury Winner, DOCF 2002
directedand choreographed by Hans Beenhakker

TenduTV also announced the addition of Cory Greenberg to its advisory board. Ms. Greenberg is Director of Operations & Special Projects for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as well as Ailey's in-house counsel. She received her undergraduate degree cum laude in Art History from Duke University and her law degree from New York University School of Law, where she was an Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Fellow and a recipient of the Vanderbilt Medal for Public Service.


About TenduTV

Founded in 2008, TenduTV seeks to deliver dance to audiences through the highest quality digital distribution network available to the art form today. Through TenduTV's platform partners, dance artists and organizations will be able to transport their vision beyond the physical theater and engage audiences through computers and 200 million digital devices including internet-enabled televisions, portable video players and mobile devices. By empowering artists to connect with audiences on a global scale, TenduTV believes that the dance field can be as strong financially as it is creatively.


About Dance Films Association, Inc.

Dance Films Association, Inc. (DFA) is dedicated to furthering the art of dance film. Connecting artists and organizations, fostering new works for new audiences, and sharing essential resources,
DFA seeks to be a catalyst for innovation in and preservation of dance on camera. DFA was founded by Susan Braun in 1956, and included Ted Shawn, the founder of Jacob's Pillow, as its charter member, as well as modern dance pioneer Jose Limon and ballerina Alicia Markova as members of its first Board of Directors. A tireless advocate, Ms. Braun devoted her life to finding, showcasing, preserving dance films and videos until her death in 1995. Today, DFA seeks to carry on her spirit of creativity and collaboration in a time of extraordinary transformation.


For more information, visit www.dancefilmsassn.org and www.tendu.tv.

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Over the past 10 months we have been creating a dance theatre work which strives to take the bboying dance form into new territory. "White Caps", a live and film performance for the Bristol Old Vic in England, aims to explore the full expressive depth that the bboying technique holds, following the journey of two young men as they embark on an epic adventure in a compassionate, exhilarating search for completeness.We documented the process we went though to create this work, which i would like to share with you. Here are links to an episode of our production podcast and the latest teaser trail we have for the work.Hope this is of interest to you.Podcast Episode 3:http://www.vimeo.com/7805344Trail:http://www.vimeo.com/8910088Thank youWilkie Branson
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AUDITION


Audition for new creation by Juraj Korec

For his new dance creation for Tanzplan Dresden at semper kleine szene (studio theatre of Semperoper) in Dresden Slovakian choreographer Juraj Korec is looking for two male versatile dance performers with a strong contemporary dance technique, improvisation skills and creativity. The audition will be held at Palucca Schule Dresden - Hochschule für Tanz on February 20th, 2010. Registration necessary.

Production and performance period: April 27th until June 19th, 2010.

Deadline for application is February 18th, 2010.

Application: Email with CV and picture to Juraj Korec at: habitat2010@gmail.com

For further information please check our homepage: http://http://www.tanzplan-dresden.de/v2/aktuelles.html

 

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Raimund Hoghe is certainly one of the most intriguing dancer and choreographer in contemporary dance these days. I had an opportunity to interview him in May, during Queer Zagreb Festival, where his company performed ‘Boléro Variations’.Raimund Hoghe always pushes the boundaries of dance perception through profound and minimalist way of analyzing thingz. The public and dance experts from Ballettanz Magazine obviously recognized this by giving him The Dancer of the Year Award in male competition for the season 2008.

Raimund Hoghe, photos by Rosa Frank (c)

I really have to mark here that in female competition the same award was given to ex-ballerina Sylvie Guillem. They are both completely different in bodily physics and kinetics, but the result is actually the same. The result is strong and authentic.I already blogged about ‘Boléro Variations’ I saw back at Queer Festival, so I’m letting you to Mr. Raimund Hoghe and his ways of seeing thingz on the stage and in life…

Raimund Hoghe, photo by Rosa Frank (c)

While I was watching your performance ‘Bolero Variations’, I constantly thought about the line: tinny little thingz… You like to ‘dig’ through those hidden moments in our lives… exploring society and its reflection on your own inner landscape… What was the initial trigger that has brought you to this?RH: It’s different from each piece, but I don’t make pieces with big effects, for example. I’m not interested in virtuosity or how people can jump or do incredible things. I’m interested in simplicity, so very simple and the personality of dance. To share with audience the quality of dancers, and there are these very little things; and sometimes maybe you are wondering why it’s interesting?For some people, of course, it’s not interesting, but for many it’s interesting. Like for me, last time when I was here in Zagreb, three years ago in 2006 with ‘Swan Lake, 4 Acts ‘, there was a 3-year old child in the performance. And this child didn’t want to leave the performance in the break, because it was so interested. The child wanted to see the whole story. The mother wrote to me a letter and this child had very interesting comments. It was also a long piece. So, for some adults it’s very boring, for a 3-year child is different. It’s different for each person.

Lorenzo De Brabandere and Raimund Hoghe

Photo from Tanzgeschichten by Rosa Frank (c)

You have spent many years working with Pina Bausch … her pieces have a specific dramaturgy… and the set of dancers in your piece reminded me on some performances you did with Pina… having a strong female character on the stage… Ornella Balestra’s character reminded me on Mechtild Grossman…RH: Yeah, but it’s very different from Pina’s work now, because it’s much more entertain and light, not too long; all dancers are more or less young. So, I’m interested just in strong personality. And now, my works could be compared with early works by Pina, not with her works from today. Because she is working a lot with video now, and older pieces were used in films, too. I don’t use this kind of technology.And, the roads are different, like in Pina’s dance pieces women are women, and man are man. So, women have long hairs, very beautiful colourful dresses moving like women. Man wear white shirts with trousers, like this classical image of man and woman. I’m not really interested in this.

Ornella Balestra, photo by Rosa Frank (c)

People tend to stuck when they try to use canons of classical dramaturgy in contemporary dance… As dramaturge how do you make this distinction, because your field is dance dramaturgy? You are directly connected with the scene that coined the term Tanz theater…RH: For me, in dramaturgy you have to come from one point to the other and you have to know why. That’s something everybody has to find out. There is no recipe or so. For me it has to be clear how you come from one point to the other, and that you can repeat it easily… this outthinking. The dramaturgy has to be so clear, that you can just jump into the piece.We don’t have long rehearsals before performances. It’s just one day, but people do different things… Maybe one piece is for one night play and then you have one rehearsal. And it is possible, because for me, and also for dancers, the dramaturgy is very clear. You don’t have to think about it. In many dance pieces you see today, they have to sing or think a lot what is coming next. In my work you have to know why you are here.

Photo by Patrick Mounoud (c) taken from fipa

How would you describe your work with Pina Baush?RH: It was very interesting to work with her. People talk about her and her work in terms of personality and strong person. This is very personal related, but it could be said also for her art form. It was not that sort of work where you present only the feelings.Could you be so kind to describe a little bit your working process… from the beginning till the end…RH: I’m very inspired by music. So, this is the point, when I’m listening the music! I made a piece on Maria Callas, and she sang about all that: If you really listen to the music, the music tells you how to move. And this is what I’m also trying. Then this dramaturgy is coming together, I feel it. I just have to do ‘this next – this next – this next’…In this piece about Callas ‘36, Avenue Georges Mandel’, she wasn’t visible in the first performance. But I had a feeling I missed something and had to think why is this happening and then I put this motif in it as a scene or an aria or something.

Emmanuel Eggermont and Raimund Hoghe, photo by R. Frank (c)

How do your dancers react to these processes because they are all very physical, but seems like there is always a layer of trust?RH: Yeah, the trust. So, that everyone can be exactly what they are. For me, it’s also important that there is no competition between dancers. Everyone is so different, you can’t compare them, each has its own quality. For example Lorenzo (De Brabandere), who was also in ‘Swan Lake, 4 Acts’; and Emmanuel (Eggermont) have really big part in this piece. They cannot be compared. They have very different backgrounds, from education and so. This is important, that there is no competition.It’s interesting how they are bringing different experiences…RH: Yeah, different experiences … like Lorenzo, who wanted to become a football player, and he was underway to football player; and Emmanuel not at all. And Yutaka (Takei), the Japanese dancer – he did also martial arts and he have this background. Nabil (Yahia-Aissa) is a medical doctor and dancer. They all have this different backgrounds.

Charlotte Engelkes and Raimund Hoghe, photo by R. Frank (c)

Yeah, they enriched the performance…RH: Yeah! This is something you might feel when you’re in the audience – different personalities. And it’s important that they respect one another. This is also not so often on the stage.I got the impression that their bodies are not talking differently, not in a sense of different languages, but it’s something in their way of presentation, some thin line that makes them different…RH: Yes. I’m interested in which way they are different, and also to keep this diversity. This is one main point, you have this diversity – not one body, the ideal body.

Raimund Hoghe, photo by Rosa Frank (c)

One of your main drive is music, too. When did you discover this, or was it the sound itself that attracted you, or rhythm, or classic music…RH: …also popular music. It’s very simple. I grew up surrounded mostly by popular music.Which artists inspired you?RH: Oh, there are so many of them. So many movies… For example, Maria Callas inspires me, because she was so aware of the movement. She talked a lot about it. And also Japanese dance, Butoh dancers like Kazuo Ohno, Sankai Juku… I know them well, and this is something I’m very interesting in… I was also very interested in this concept of Bauhaus. This combination of fine arts, dance, theatre…

Raimund Hoghe, photo by Luca Giacomo Schulte (c)

I can relate your work with Butoh, because seems like you have similar aesthetic ground and this ‘less is more’ approach….RH: Yeah, less is more. I’m really into this, thinking about this very often. I’m into artists like Joseph Beuys, Christian Boltanski, Wolfgang Laib and his installations…I know you like Pasolini…RH: …and Pasolini, of course. So, there are many, many artists… from music and literature… I like German and Russian authors. I like a lot Anton Chekhov. But there are also some pieces by Maxim Gorki. In German literature I like Johann Gottfried von Herder, Heinrich von Kleist… Many, many artists…Mr. Hoghe, Thank You Very Much!(Originally published on blog Personal Cyber Botanica: www.lomodeedee.com)
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Hiroaki Umeda was certainly one of the most interesting performers I saw this year at Dance Week Festival. Being completely aware of all possibilities and consequences of our modern society, Umeda strikes you directly in your mind if you are enough opened to recognize or perceive the voices, soundz and flashing of today’s digitized generation.You know that I was writing about him almost two months ago and I promised then to publish soon all the interviews I did with some dancers. So, the first interview from that series is here…Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Hiroaki Umeda…

Photo: Fred Villemin (c)

Since you’ve studied photography and then started to work intensively with your body, what I’m interested in is how you managed to connect those two disciplines? They certainly interact on many levels…U: I actually drop out photography (laughs). To me it is the same thing to express something because when I was studying photography I’ve tried to find what I can’t express with photography. Actually, I think that after ten years of studying dance I find it very difficult to work only with photography and I wanted to express changes in some circumstances. Since photography doesn’t have a time and dance have a time… This is for me the main difference between dance and photography. I can’t express the same thing I want in both of them.What do you think is right NOW more essential for your work… kinetic or visual aspect? … and why?U: My pieces don’t have a meaning in a way to say something. So, for me the important thing is to feel the experience of my piece. I mean, I want to stimulate the sense for the audience to feel my dance with eyes, heart, ears, so… I think… Also, I want to stimulate a reaction in their bodies.

Could you please describe me a little bit your working process from the very beginning?U: I make a drawing… Well, actually I am starting making music first, because music has a time. So this is very easy, to define the time. Then drawings; and dance comes the last.So, dance is then the latest accent in you artwork…U: Yeah, that’s right.

Photo: Dominique Laulanne (c)

You have a strong background in ballet, hip hop and butoh which are all different in social, physical and even, psychological meanings… Can you tell me what particularly fascinates you in street culture on one hand and the subtle powerful inner silence of butoh on the other hand? How do you connect them, as different techniques or as a source of inspiration?U: Basically, I’m very selfish, ok? I ’steal’ everything and put it in my pieces (laughs). Actually, I use butoh because I’m only influenced by Japanese culture, something like that…

Today’s use of technology and modern urban cyber punk society seems to be something that is occupying you? Staying a human being in modern ‘skyscrapers’ oriented landscapes looks like a hard quest… it reveals many questions…U: Yes, yes… Because I am a human being and I am nature.

Photo: Getty Images (c)

How do you use then technology in your artwork, as an equal performer, an extended part of you or only as a tool?U: I use computer only as a tool. But it is possible that it can become a part of me. The most important thing for using technology in my work is to use it to expand my possibilities as dancer. But I don’t want to be used by technology. No, no.

You have started recently with blogging on your site, having a kind of your personal diary with working processes. Obviously you are supporting this kind of expression…U: Yeah, it’s a great tool. I want to communicate with people. Because I don’t speak about my pieces in public, so sometimes is important to put something to a web site about your work and share it with the public.

Photo: Shin Yamaga (c)

Which artists had the most influential impact on you? Do your influences include manga and anime?U: Yeah, I like manga and anime. I was very influenced by the Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama when I was starting studying photography. And also painting… music… For example, in painting I like the work by Gerhardt Richter.Mr. Umeda, tnx 4 ur time!This interview was originally posted on Personal Cyber Botanica
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