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The Moebius Strip by Gilles Jobin
This seems to be choreographed and performed specifically for video. The dancers are in a studio with a black background so that they immediately stand out, as they begin to move, twirling and intertwining within each other, the camera begins to move in closer. It is as if we the viewer are a participant. The music is haunting as if from a sci-fi thriller and the slower and steady camera movement and jump cuts work in partnership with the sound.
The movement is slow and pedestrian, the dancers walk, stand, crawl, sit around and on each other. Honestly if it weren’t a well produced and edited video it would be an insanely boring to watch despite the story progression, costume changes and set and lighting changes.
As a visual artist I appreciated the cinematography, work and dedication awarded to the video project.
One Flat Thing by William Forsythe
This particular video the camera is distant and still as a silent observer. The dancers fill a large ballroom or hall. In the foreground stand several rows of wooden tables. There is a feeling of a cafeteria present. The dancers one by one travel downstage toward the tables and begin what seems to be an improvisational performance, climbing, dancing, and laying on, under and around the tables. The only sounds we hear are the dancers moving about. I think the idea is best suited for a live performance. I felt the need to be more present in the space and closer to the dancers than what the camera allowed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLz_AiOEnZY&feature=player_embedded#!
"Pan" a piece inspired by Guillermo del Toro's film Pan's Labyrinth, explored the journey through emotion and experience. An exploration of fear and anxiety, "Pan" used a lot of short and repetitive movements both on the floor and standing. Set in a small abandoned house, the dance took on a eery and fearful tone which was matched with its frantic and dramatic movements. Much of the dance was put together using short and abrupt cuts, with a lot of zooming in and out focused on the faces of the dancers to capture emotion. The camera was also moved around frantically to match the dancers frantic movement, making the piece more emotionally driven.
I think that what made this piece so interesting to watch was the match in the movement and the way the camera was used. Using the camera in the way it was used, shows the viewer the deep emotional connotations the piece is clearly trying to show.
http://www.dance-tech.net/video/15-steps
http://www.dance-tech.net/video/this-is-concrete-by-thiago-granato-and-jefta-van-dinther
The video that I chose to look at was called 15 steps, and was very interesting because of all the combined effects instead of the just the choreography alone. The movement by itself was very simplistic and repetitive. There was a lot of stillness, and by itself, would probably have been pretty boring to watch. The elements of lighting, sound, and camera angles combined with the simple movement, however, created a very interesting video.
The piece was about decision-making, and choosing a direction in situations. The dancer wore a black dress against a black background, and followed an arrow of light around the stage. Eventually, the arrow of light developed into the arrow plus white lines of light making patterns and appearing and disappearing all over the stage.
The camera changed angles many times, and created a lot of cool views that an audience member in a live performance would not get to have. At one point, the camera is at a bird's eye perspective directly above the dancer. Because of that, we get to see the pattern of the lines on the stage whereas if you were watching from an audience seat, you wouldn't see what the light lines actually looked like. It was necessary for this dance to be a dance film project, because technology and views were needed to understand the concept that are not available to the regular observer in an audience.
With very intricate choreography and all of these effects, the visual outcome would have been overwhelming. The simplicity of the piece is beautiful and clean looking, and allows the viewer to take in the light and create an impression about the meaning. My only question is about the light. I am wondering if the lights were projected on the actual floor while she was dancing and being recorded, or if they were edited in later. Both seem like hard things to achieve, but I would be interested to know how they did that.
The second piece that I watched was very different from 15 steps. It was called This is Concrete and instead of a solo it was a duet between two men. They were dressed in gray clothing and dancing to a techno beat. The movement seemed to be in slow motion and first and was mostly very flowy, body ripple sort of dancing. As the music sped up and increased into a stronger beat, their dancing changed into more individual, fast, movements on the floor which reminded me more of a hip-hop style.
The camera angle in this video didn't really change as much as it did in 15 steps. It started with a side view, then moved to a front view, and then at one point cut to a closer up view of the dancers when the music changed. Though at one point there was a shot from above, I think that this dance could have been viewed from an audience perspective without losing too much meaning.
This dance also made use of light, but in a simpler way than the 15 steps video. In This is Concrete, it started out with a big white spot light and darkness everywhere else. Then when the music change happens, the camera angle changes and the light switches to two green spots moving about the stage. The key thing with these lights was that the dancers stayed fairly stationary so you only caught glimpses of what they were doing when the lights washed over them, which I thought was interesting.
As for similarities, both videos had a fairly grayscale color scheme, made use of the bird's-eye camera perspective, and used distinct lighting choices to enhance the choreography and videography. But as I stated before, 15 steps was more of a dance for the camera project than was This is Concrete.
http://www.dance-tech.net/video/kampa2
The first video I viewed was called KAMPA and it was directed by Lucie Mirkova. The dancer's movement was very interesting in this video. Most of the mobility of the movement came from the upper limbs, head, and torso. The dancer only used her legs to bend and walk a few steps. The majority of the movement was in consistent contact with the concrete wall. The dancer's attachment to the wall created a feeling of longing and/or connection. The dancer also chose not to look directly into the camera. This made her movement more internal and personal.
The different camera angle choices made it seem like the viewer was only an observer. For the most part, the camera remained distant from the dancer, creating space between the audience and the performer. The editing effect that used still shots that left a "mirage-like" image were also intriguing because it looked like the performer was moving around and through herself. However, the most interesting effect in the video had to be the lighting. The lighting created large shadows which made the movement seem bigger than what it was.
http://www.dance-tech.net/video/muan-60secondsdancedk
The second video I viewed was called Muan and was filmed by Shumpei Nemoto. The movement in this video was unusual and chaotic. Unlike KAMPA, this clip had camera angles that were very close and invasive. The closeups on the performer's face, invite the audience to take a closer look as to what the performer is thinking/feeling/experiencing. The editor decided to end the film with a similar shot that the performer started the film with. There was also the use of speed in the editing process. Many of the shots were played very quickly, right after another, sometimes creating a blur of images. These editing choices insinuated the idea that we are viewing the dancer's reaction to something that is going on in his mind.
“uValo”
http://www.dance-tech.net/video/uvalo-2012-for-screendance-africa-pty-ltd-workshop-albany-grove-d
I found this video to be very interesting because the choreographer and the videographer both appealed to human senses in a very striking way. The dancer was in a small hallway with a barred exit, and although in reality there was plenty of space, the choreographer and videographer worked together to make it seem like the dancer was trying to escape from a very confined area. The dancer performed movements that were too big for the space and stretched and expanded to his fullest potential in order to make the space seem smaller. He worked against the two walls to create shapes to seemingly fight the confines of the walls. Much of the movement was directed towards the exit with a sense of desperation.
The camera would pan from down the hallway so we could see the confinements of the hallway in full, as well as zooming on the dancer in such a way that made the viewer feel as if they are also stuck in this space because we are so close. The camera zoomed in on the dancer’s sweat, the rising and falling of his chest, and his expressions so we could sense his anxiety. When zoomed away, the dancer was backlit and we were able to see the contrast between the space he occupied and the very little space he wasn’t. The editor also cut to different clips very quickly, and one moment that was particularly interesting was when it cut from a back-lit silhouette to a fully lit shot of the dancer’s face. This effect, combined with the focus of the camera going in and out, created tension and almost felt like the panic was hindering the sight of the viewer. A choice that I thought was incredibly effective in creating tension was the increased volume of the dancer’s breathing and the white noise in the background. This made it seem like we were inside the dancer’s mind and the viewer and the dancer became the same person.
“The Astronaut”
http://www.dance-tech.net/video/the-astronaut
This was a film project done by a student, and although I disagree with some of the choices, I think there were smart choices made in regards to the spaces chosen. In the beginning of the video, we see the dancer in a brown and grey, rocky, plain area. The dancer is dressed in a bright orange astronaut costume, and the focus of the shot is on the hay in front of the dancer. This makes the dancer seem separate, smaller, and less significant than the actual space. The camera zooms to the dancers feet as she takes a few steps, and because it is slow it seems like she is walking somewhere without the force of gravity, making it look as if she is on another planet. She leaves this barren place and arrives at a green, luscious field, and she moves within a few small places that aren’t covered in plants. The shot is filmed from above, so the dancer still seems small and in space, but like she’s on another planet as the scene is so opposite from the first. We later see the dancer backlit by a sunset over the ocean, and while this is beautiful, I wondered how this was relevant or if the videographer just wanted to seize a great opportunity for filming. The choice of spaces to film was the most striking part of this video, as the main film and editing techniques were zoom and the manipulation of time.
I had questions about the choreography of this video. Because it was titled The Astronaut, I had some preconceived notions about what the dancing would be like. Most of the movement was grounded, inherently slow, and inward towards the dancer. I am not sure what the intention of the choreographer and videographer was, but because it seemed as if she was on another planet, I wanted to see the dancer leap in slow motion over the camera or suspend in positions that could be manipulated to look like she was floating. Again, maybe this wasn’t the intention, but I feel like there were missed opportunities. The second choice I did not agree with was the use of text and lyrics in the music. There were too many words to focus on, and eventually I had to ignore them all. I feel as if the music and lyrics were the only words or the poem was the only text, than it could be more effective. Overall I thought this was a good video, but served as a learning experience for me as a future dance videographer!
From 6 to 9 July 2012 the Festival DIES DE DANSA held its 21st edition with many contemporary dance companies in different venues of Barcelona. We thank to dancers their participation as well as to collaborators and organizations that helped making this artistic and human event happen. Thanks also to all the team and especially to the public, without whom the festival would have no sense!
With the participation of:
Liant La Troca (Catalunya) / James Wilton Dance (Anglaterra) / La Macana/Unusual Symptoms (Espanya/Cuba) / Kaori Ito (Japó/França) / Arthur Bernard Bazin & Candelaria Antelo (França/Argentina/Espanya) / makinadT (Mèxic) / Sachiko Fullita-Cia. Recorridos (Catalunya/Perú) / Laila Tafur (Catalunya) / Compagnie 7273 – Laurence Yadi, Nicolas Cantillon (Suïssa) / Roser López Espinosa (Catalunya) / Itamar Serussi/Danshuis Station Zuid (Israel/Holanda) / Company Eléonore Valère Lachky (Hongria) / Sònia Sánchez (Catalunya) / Sol Picó Cia. de Dansa (Catalunya) / Compañía Israel Galván (Espanya) / Sònia Gómez (Catalunya) / Compagnie IETO (França) / Tumàka’t Danza Contemporánea (Mèxic) / Shang-Chi Sun (Taiwan/Alemanya) / Par Terre/Anne Nguyen Dance Company (França) / Miryam Mariblanca (Alemanya/Catalunya) / Roser Tutusaus i Joan Català (Mataró) / D’BLOCK, the on stage company (Mataró) / Alumnes de dansa de l’Aula de Teatre de l’IMAC (Mataró)
http://dance-tech.tv/videos/dies-de-dansa-2012-21st-aniversary-documentary/
Take a look at my reflection on Marlon's lecture, "Social Remix", that I attended at The Ohio State University last week. I really enjoyed the talk!
Graduada en la Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Profesora en Artes Plásticas orientación Pintura y Cerámica; Licenciada con orientación Pintura y Cerámica; y Magíster en Estética y Teoría de las Artes.
Jefa de Trabajos Prácticos cátedra de Didáctica y Práctica de la Enseñanza, y en Dibujo I y II, FBA, UNLP. Coordinadora de Educación Artística, Dirección de Gestión Curricular y Formación Docente de la Nación.
Instigadora categorizada III y becada por la UNLP, para el estudio de las interrelaciones entre las disciplinas del cuerpo y el espacio escénico.
Especialista en performance interactivas en tiempo real. Trabaja en instalaciones interactivas con captura óptica de movimiento, en dos obras:
Proyecto Hoseo de su autoria: Invitada a Cuerpo Digital, Festival Internacional de Videodanza, Cuerpo y Nuevas Tecnologías, Cochabamba, BOLIVIA, Octubre 2010. FIVU 09, Uruguay, Centro Cultural España en Montevideo, http://www.cce.org.uy. Fase 1 Expo-Trastiendas mayo 2009, Curadora: Graciela Taquini. Proyecto en representación de la FBA, UNLP. http://www.fase1encuentro.blogspot.com; Museo de Arte Contemporáneo 2009(Salta): Diálogos Montevideo 2008 /; Interfase, Cuerpo Y Nuevas Tecnologías, Santiago, Chile, octubre 2007; Festival de Arte Contemporáneo AONI, Viedma, Río Negro, Argentina, Diciembre 2010; Seminario POETICAS TECNOLÓGICAS MAPAD2, Directora Ivanni Santana, Salvador de Bahía, Brasil. Noviembre del 2010 y 2011.
Proyecto Speak junto al artista sonoro y músico programador Fabian Kesler <www.fabiankesler.com.ar> y el creador del software MOLDEO <www.moldeo.org> programador de video e imagen Fabricio Costa. Invitados la Intervención “El insomnio de los monumentos”, instalación de Norberto Laino, Hall Central Carlos Morel del Teatro San Martín; al Festival Internacional de Videodanza del Uruguay FIVU, Octubre 2011, Montevideo Uruguay, http://www.fivu.org/; NHT. Septiembre 2011, C C. Recoleta, http://www.iuna.edu.ar/wordpress-2/?cat=10; VIII Festival de Nuevas Tendencias LA MENAGE, Teatro Real, Agosto 2011, Córdoba http://lamenagefestival.blogspot.com/p/programacion-2011.html; Ciclo La Plata Arde, plataforma para artistas locales, Teatro Argentino de La Plata, Sala TACEC, julio 2011, La Plata, http://www.teatroargentino.gba.gov.ar/2011/tacec2011/la_plata_arde.html.
Trabajos de Video Danza con el Proyecto Webcamdanza: exploración desde las posibilidades técnico-expresivas con la cámara Web, en donde indaga sobre esta relación entre cuerpo y dispositivo a través de la creación de “piezas audiovisuales”. Participa de ponencias y publicaciones en diversos medios en Internet y en papel:http://territorioteatral.org.ar/html.2/dossier/pdf/n5_02.pdf ; “Terpsícore en ceros y unos. Ensayos de Videodanza”; editorial Guadalquivir Festival Internacional VideoDanzaBA; Compilación: Silvina Szperling; ISBN: 9789872213879 “Estudios sobre Danza en la Universidad”, Universidad de la República de Uruguay. Compilación: Lic. Diego Carrera. 2009. ISBN 978-9974-0-6-0605-8, http://cuerpoytecnologia.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/estudios-sobre-danza-en-la-universidad.pdf.
“Pensar La Videodanza”, I Simposio Internacional de Videodanza “Espacio del cuerpo y de la imagen en la video danza” PG: 76 a 93; http://www.videodanzaba.com.ar. Danzanet Argentina es la revista de Danza Contemporánea. Red Escena Virtual. http://www.danzanet.com.ar/
Dicto talleres: Taller de Vídeo Danza dentro del marco del FIVU09 http://www.cce.org.uy ; “Taller / Producción / Video Danza A Partir De Tecnología Low-Tech” Biblioteca Nacional, Sala Cortazar. http://www.VideoDanzaBA.com.ar ; “Realización de una pieza de videodanza-Proyecto WEBCAMDANZA” en Cuerpo Digital, Festival Internacional de Videodanza, Cuerpo y Nuevas Tecnologías, Escuela de cine La Fabrica, Cochabamba, Bolivia, Octubre 2010.
Convocada por los directores Marcelo Delgado y Emilio García Wehbi para “El Matadero. Un Comentario”. Obra dramático-musical. CCR. Rojas, 2009; Ver publicación Libros del Rojas, UBA, ISBN 978-987-1075-90-4. Convocada por los directores de El Periférico de Objetos, D. Veronese y E.G. Wehbi, para la realización de la obra “El Suicidio Apócrifo I”, 2002-2004.
Invitada a trabajar bajo la dirección de Emilio García Whebi en un evento performático “El Matadero, Slaughter House” 2005/08. En línea, 2005/06/07/o8. Ciudad Konex, jueves 7 de febrero.
Ver material en línea:
http://www.alejandraceriani.com.ar
https://www.youtube.com/user/Danzainteractiva
https://www.youtube.com/user/WEBCAMDANZA
Great interview of Trisha Brown. Touching, smart and funny!
Go to interview!
In ocassion to the last performances of the Trisha Brown Company.
The screening of the two part film OLYMPIA directed by Leni Riefenstahl in 1936 made the women in re:PLAY 1913's audience to acknowledge the power of the female gaze. How often do we see evidence of that? Riefenstahl's exquisite framing of superb bodies in action, rhythmic editing, and the surreal dance film at the close of the diving sequence makes OLYMPIA a natural for a sports and dance film festival. Since Manipur had not largely been affected by the atrocities of WWII, the students openly studied the merits of this masterpiece without fear of condoning the motivations of its producer, Hitler. Sadly, this FESTIVAL OF BEAUTY, as the second part of the film is called, had no impact on the monster, nor has there been another film on an equivalent scale that celebrates the glories of athleticism and young graceful bodies united in a peaceful purpose.
New York based Somi Roy founded the film festival and workshop re:PLAY three years ago at the invitation of the Governor of Imphal, Manipur. Known for its prowess in sports and dance, Manipur theoretically has an audience ready to embrace a sports and dance film festival, the only one in the world. When he first got the invitation, Somi asked me to curate the festival as we had gotten to know each other when Joanna Ney and I showed in Dance On Camera Festival, ISHANOU, a trance inducing feature written by Somi's mother that is still the only Manipur film to have been invited to Cannes.
For the first time, my schedule allowed me to attend the festival in 2013, lead the discussions and workshop on film appreciation and criticism which opened every day with a dance class. Never having been to Asia or India, I was unsure what to expect of the audience, students, the country, facilities. A stop in Delhi had a dizzying affect so that flying into Imphal, Manipur which is surrounded by mountains was a relief and promised more green, less people, less smog, more calm. Indeed it offers more green, but as much stimulation! The festival screenings for the public were delayed to a date still to be set because a Naga guerilla assaulted a Manipuri film actress, whereas the screenings for the 100 workshop participants and the workshops continued as scheduled.
In my workshop, I was instructed by Somi to spur the growth of criticism in a culture where everyone is an artist and no one a critic. Besides exploring the various ways we could work to instigate a critical forum for the nurturing of Manipur films, we watched and discussed 5 videos made by the students: a martial arts feature, documentary short on a reformed terrorist, amusing commercial and short documentary, and a short travelogue on Andro, made on a lark. I found this unambitious film by Nelson Elangbam so appealing, I won a trip with him to see this mountain village that makes a vodka that I found tastier than Ketel One. And I am a Ketel One fan!
The offerings this year beside OLYMPIA included LATCHO DROM, Tony Gatlif's tale of the gypsies in 9 countries, a program of Dutch filmmaker Clara van Gool's shorts, THE LAST TIGHTROPE DANCER OF ARMENIA, MAO'S LAST DANCER, and DANCE OF DARKNESS, chosen because Somi had indicated the people of Manipur are eager to learn more about the dance from their Asian neighbors.
DANCE OF DARKNESS, shown at right, is one such poetic documentary on the Japanese art Butoh by Edin Velez created in 1989, provoked, disturbed, and intrigued the students. One woman warned that the film should not be shown, without warning families that the images could be disturbing to children.
Quite apart from the Bollywood style, and the violence of Butoh is the traditional dance of Manipur, more of a Tibetan-Burmese culture than Indian. Among my students was a dancer on her way to earn a Phd who informed me that you have to move a figure eight around your heart when you dance the traditional Manipurean dance. "That way, your dance will be graceful."
In addition to my workshop, Iben Trino-Molenkamp and Alexandra Viets led their own workshops so that all the students joined for the screenings and fruitful discussions. Somi who knows how to sustain an atmosphere of intense investigation and awareness is to be applauded for his leadership of this fascinating festival.
Albany Grove is a site-specific dance film documentary project produced by Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre in collaboration with Durban University of Technology.
Albany Grove Film Project Screendance Workshop - 22 Nov to 10 Dec 2012
Conceptualised and Facilitated by Dominique Jossie and Jeannette Ginslov
Albany Grove is a busy street in Central Durban. Home to Siwela Sonke Dance Theatre, where you will find the playhouse theatre, a hotel, a hairdresser, a church, a pub, a dance studio, a restaurant and a gentleman’s massage parlor. This little street receives a daily flux of residences, workers and visitors from various cultures and classes in the city of Durban.
The aim of the project is to give the audience a glimpse of the lives of the people from Albany Grove through the medium of dance on film.
5 choreographers and 5 film directors will join forces to tell these stories in the form of 5 short dance films of 5 to 8 minutes each.
After a four day intensive workshop, the students formed teams and were tasked to interview residences found in Albany Grove. Each team created a short dance film inspired by the interview subject.
A project like Albany grove encourages young choreographers and filmmakers to develop and explore real life stories in their communities through dance on film. The collaboration between filmmaker and choreographer provides and exchange of skills amongst young artists in the creation of new cutting edge work. The idea is to create films with high production value whilst using basic production resources.
The project was sponsored by the National Arts Council with production support from the Durban University of Technology.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON SCREENDANCE AFRICA (PTY) LTD VISIT: http://www.screendanceafrica.com/
COMPANY AND WEBSITE LAUNCHED!
Specialising in Dance on Film for Africa|making dance films that move you.
Based in Cape Town South Africa, Screendance Africa is a (Pty) Ltd company, dedicated to the development, production and distribution of local and international dance films in Africa. Screendance Africa develops and produces dance films in a service, co-production and/or production capacity. Screendance Africa endeavours to push the boundaries of dance on screen giving audiences visual and visceral experiences. Founded by Jeannette Ginslov & Dominique Jossie
Thursday, January 24, 3:30 – 5:00 p.m., Room 165 Thompson Library
Marlon Barrios Solano (creator and producer of dance-tech.net, dance-tech.tv and more than 400 video interviews and webcasts) will share his experience on developing horizontal architectures for knowledge production, exchange and distribution afforded by the new internet and portable technologies. His projects explore social networking and internet video production and distribution, live video broadcasting, online curatorial strategies and tactics, collaborative creativity/learning and mobile augmented reality technologies. He investigates the internet as a participatory creative ecosystem and as a space for social innovation and collaborative action. He interfaces and recombines the crowd and the cloud within hybrid knowledge landscapes.
co-sponsored by the Digital Arts and Humanities Working Group, Humanities Institute and the OSU Libraries.
Roberto Oliván estrena "A place to bury strangers" (ver vídeo) en el Mercat de les Flors del 18 al 20 y del 25 al 27 de enero de 2013.
Por este motivo, compartimos con vosotros este artículo de Nerea Aguilar para Danza Ballet sobre el artista:
Roberto Oliván, la coherencia de un artista comprometido y multidisciplinar
De Roberto Oliván (Tortosa, 1972) podemos valorar su paso por PARTS (Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, fundadora de la compañía Rosas, para la cual él también bailó), su contacto, también en su residencia en Bélgica durante doce años, conBob Wilson y Trisha Brown, su estudio de las artes circenses; es decir, podemos valorar su poderosa y potente trayectoria artística.
Pero lo que diferencia a los grandes artistas no es su currículum, sino el uso que hagan de él, de sus experiencias, de su entorno, del tiempo que va cambiando a su paso por la vida, de su filosofía sobre el arte, sobre la vida, sobre la sociedad, sobre el ser humano, y cómo esto realmente sepan fusionarlo, como camino obligatorio de entenderse a sí mismos y su arte, para darle forma en un espectáculo.
Roberto Oliván es por tanto un artista contemporáneo, que se ha dejado seducir sin miedos por las disciplinas, que ha sabido fusionar lo popular y lo elevado de la técnica, porque su mente es dinámica y enérgica y no entiende el arte de otra forma que, por tanto, no sea de varios ámbitos; un arte nunca estático, siempre en movimiento porque el artista se alimenta de todo lo que le rodea. Y consigue que su coherencia traspase la escena y no sea simplemente un propósito de creación, en el que se decide llevar a cabo una fusión de elementos, gentes, temas porque es lo bueno o lo que se lleva, sino que consigue una coherencia consigo mismo a partir de entender el arte como algo orgánico en continuo movimiento, como es el ser humano en sí mismo, que “entra en una cadena de acción-reacción”.
Roberto Oliván es por tanto un artista contemporáneo, que se ha dejado seducir sin miedos por las disciplinas, que ha sabido fusionar lo popular y lo elevado de la técnica, porque su mente es dinámica y enérgica y no entiende el arte de otra forma que, por tanto, no sea de varios ámbitos; un arte nunca estático, siempre en movimiento porque el artista se alimenta de todo lo que le rodea. Y consigue que su coherencia traspase la escena y no sea simplemente un propósito de creación, en el que se decide llevar a cabo una fusión de elementos, gentes, temas porque es lo bueno o lo que se lleva, sino que consigue una coherencia consigo mismo a partir de entender el arte como algo orgánico en continuo movimiento, como es el ser humano en sí mismo, que “entra en una cadena de acción-reacción”.
De farra cartel
El arte como expresión de lo que está sucediendo, y lo que sucede a nuestro alrededor no es algo aislado, no podemos extrapolarlo de tantas otras cosas de las que se alimenta. Lo que está sucediendo hoy día se da en las calles, en los barrios, en los pueblos, en las plazas, en los mercados. Algo pasa también en nuestras cabezas, cuando nos hacemos las preguntas de siempre sobre nosotros mismos y nuestro camino a la felicidad, cuando buscamos disfrutar de la vida y aprovecharla al máximo, cuando nos preguntamos qué queremos. Porque como un animal, Roberto, está olisqueando a su alrededor, saboreando las cosas y generándose preguntas.
Roberto Oliván arriesga, crea espontáneo, evita el miedo y se sale del formato típico de la danza contemporánea y del público que se espera de ella y del espacio que le sirve de acicate para sus creaciones.
Su compañía Enclave es de nuevo otra muestra de su contemporaneidad. Es trabajar en grupo pero no olvidar al individuo, porque no podemos olvidarnos de nosotros mismos en estos tiempos, pero estamos en sociedad y rodeados satisfechos de individuos de muy distintas procedencias.
El kiosko de las almas perdidas
Y se lo ha querido comer todo desde sus creaciones. Porque ve de absoluta naturalidad y orgánico un arte que junte todas estas cosas y las muestre bajo las formas del arte circense y la danza contemporánea. Los artistas de circo son fuertes, son enérgicos, son hábiles físicamente, y si consiguen salirse del bloqueo muscular pueden ser grandes bailarines. Y el circo no tiene por qué reñir con la danza. De la danza le interesan otras cosas, la técnica, pero sobre todo ese camino a lo personal, esa indagación en el yo del ser humano. Se le abre entonces un gran abanico de posibilidades que coge con la soltura de quien no le teme a la acción, sea física o interior.
La modernidad está también en lo cotidiano, y Roberto se alimenta de lo cotidiano para sus creaciones. Lo cotidiano como muestra de las gentes que le enseñan. De ellas aprende las filosofías que descubre en sí mismo, y sin darse cuenta repite métodos de creación que le llevan a esa cercanía con la gente, se sale de su sala, de la típica cerrazón de los “artistas”, encerrados en su ego, para abrir sus puertas a lo normal, lo popular y lo inmediato por ser cercano y vivo.
El hombre contemporáneo es aquel que también sabe de sus contradicciones y que aprende de ellas, como Roberto, de sus raíces de pueblo y su vida en las grandes ciudades. De todo se puede aprender y todo nos enriquece.
De todo este conglomerado salen piezas como De Farra. La fiesta en la calle es el origen, la música, la mezcla de personas, de influencias de diversos países, la mezcla de colores, sonidos y energías, como el mismísimo Kusturica.
Homeland supone el verdadero reflejo de la fusión bien hecha de gentes de circo, bailarines y músicos en directo. La cercanía entre los mundos se produce poco a poco, mientras los de circo se despojan de su rigidez y se van adentrando en el mundo de las emociones, los bailarines deben trazar su línea en sentido contrario, hacia lo acrobático. Así, Homeland no puede ser ni danza ni circo, puede serlo todo o puede no ser nada, porque no tiene por qué tener una etiqueta, porque al llegar a la coherente naturalidad no distingamos tan claramente los mundos, sino que los disfrutemos como lógica de acción-reacción bajo esa proximidad física e interior en la que indaga.
El kiosko de las almas perdidas nace de nuevo de un hecho cotidiano, del movimiento y la vida que se produce en una lonja de Vigo. Esta pieza es un encargo del Centro Coreográfico Gallego y por tanto el proceso es diferente, las dificultades son otras, pero a pesar de eso ahí está su cabeza, buscando en las preguntas eternas sobre las normas de la sociedad, la búsqueda de la felicidad, el lugar del individuo, etc.
Roberto quiere volver a su trabajo multidisciplinar; quiere retomar el circo para sus creaciones, porque lo echa de menos. No sabemos si lo que echa de menos es la diversión que aporta con energía el circo y lo gustoso de verlo dado de la mano de la belleza de la danza, o si, por el contrario, lo que echa de menos es tener la sensación de que abarcando más y sin miedo está llegando a sentirse más en su yo, porque está abierto al otro, y el otro es tanto y tan grande y el verdadero artista tan abierto y tan generoso que obligatoriamente se tiene que producir un placer vital en su creación.
El kiosko de las almas perdidas
Y es que no quiero que alguien que despliega y “malmezcla” medios y ámbitos artísticos me diga que es Artista, no quiero que alguien desde lo alto, arriba en las esferas, se proclame comprometido con su sociedad, su tiempo, la vida y toda la filosofía e intelectualidad que cree poseer; no quiero acudir a grandes teatros o pequeñas salas, me da igual, para ver lo mismo mientras que quien lo muestra se cree el más moderno. No quiero, por tanto, que creen para mí, para mis ojos, es decir, artificialmente para impresionarme. El espectáculo llega a mis pelos para ponerlos como escarpias si me lo das con sinceridad. No quiero las incoherencias creativas y personales de artistas con aires de grandeza; quiero la humildad, quiero el sentido lógico y sano y natural de quienes crean desde su yo humilde y abierto, que lo ofrecen a la gente más normal, con la generosidad de saberse igual, con la espontaneidad de la energía de querer vivir-crear sin los límites que ponga ni el ego ni la hipocresía.
Pero este tipo de artista está en extinción. Roberto Oliván es ese animal en extinción, al que hay que buscar en el Delta del Ebro y “en clave” de muchas cosas, y que gracias a él, como a otros, la naturaleza artística contemporánea muestra la cercanía a la realidad de lo que creíamos ideal.
Texto: Nerea Aguilar
Publicado en Danza Ballet
Añadimos aquí un par de fotos tomadas durante la improvisación de Roberto Oliván en la Noche de Danza, Costa Contemporánea 2012:
Fotografías de @Pollobarba
Jeannette Ginslov interview with Mike Aldridge
in Screen Africa
Screen Africa p19
Ed. Screen Africa January 2013
http://medea.mah.se/2012/12/publication-prototyping-futures/
MEDEA - December 2012. Prototyping Futures – a publication exploring research themes and challenges. What research themes and challenges are we exploring right now at Medea? How can research and collaboration across borders contribute to societal change and more sustainable futures? In the publication Prototyping Futures, we summarize what is going on at Medea. We have over the past few weeks talked to a bunch of people affiliated with Medea, asking them what gets them out of bed in the morning. We have assembled interviews, essays and photo collages into a fanzine-style magazine. Over the upcoming months, we will publish most of its contents on this website.
Jeannette Ginslov article on AffeXity: Capturing Affect with a handful of techne (p.85)
http://jeannetteginslov.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Screen-Shot-2012-12-11-at-9.17.15-AM.png
Watch video Interviews from American Realness 2013.
http://dance-tech.tv/tag/american-realness-2013/
