{"id":401,"date":"2019-05-27T15:07:31","date_gmt":"2019-05-27T15:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/?p=401"},"modified":"2022-02-06T20:05:19","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T20:05:19","slug":"expanding-the-boundaries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/expanding-the-boundaries\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanding the Boundaries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Tina Peri\u0107<\/strong><a href=\"#end\" name=\"back\">*<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-light-green-cyan-background-color has-background\"><strong>Belgrade Dance Festival,&nbsp;March 22, <em>2019<\/em>&nbsp;to April 12, <em>2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At\nthe beginning of spring, for the last sixteen years, the Belgrade Dance\nFestival has brought to Serbia a significant number of eminent dance companies from\nall over the world. During its rather short history, the festival, founded and\ndirected by Aja Jung, has grown steadily and earned a very good reputation in\nthe performance world, mainly for the variety and quality of the productions it\npresents. The criteria for selection are quite open. The festival hosts very\nfresh productions as well as older works, and offers a wide range of\nperformance styles and genres, from the more conventional to those exploring\nnew territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the last few years, the interdisciplinary character of the festival has become more and more pronounced, so that almost a third of the selections could also be accommodated by Bitef,  Serbia&#8217;s most important theatre festival. In my opinion, this is a good sign, since the confines of single disciplines can no longer contain an art that is growing organically and expanding in many directions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In\npast editions, we could see a genuine intersection of dance and visual arts,\nespecially performance art and video, acrobatics, music and theatre. This year,\nin particular, we witnessed the dancer as a perfectly trained and very\nconscious performer who uses a variety of languages, from physical to vocal and\nverbal ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"video-1\">Video 1<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 12px\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bpNyBSUj1To?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br>From <i>Fractus V<\/i>, created by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and his company, Eastmen<\/div><br>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nvery first performance of the festival, <em>Fractus V<\/em>, created by the well-known\nBelgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and his company, Eastmen, perfectly\nexemplifies this approach. The work is inspired by essays by Noam Chomsky and\nAlan Watts on the condition of contemporary man. Five dancers, including\nCherkaoui himself, and four musicians, are brought together to investigate a\ncommon issue, a strategy of survival of a man in a \u201cman\u2019s world.\u201d The\nperformers represented different identities of Cherkaoui, his numerous Selves;\na source of his richness as well as of his internal conflicts and fractures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image1.jpeg?resize=700%2C467&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-402\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image1.jpeg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image1.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption><em>I and my other Self<\/em>. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and his company, Eastmen, in Fractus V.  Photo: BFI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The\nperformance grows and evolves organically, with no fixed roles among the\nperformers: they move, dance, sing, speak the text, construct and deconstruct\nthe scenography, creating with their bodies and voices a dense field of\nsignifiers. Elements of different origins and traditions flow one into another\nwithout any difficulty or friction: text into movement, flamenco into hip-hop,\nAfrican and Asian music into beautiful polyphony. I would say that the\npolyphony embraces all the components of the performance, building a higher\nstructure over them. At the same time, it serves as a metaphor for the\nharmonious coexistence of what is difficult to meet and combine, in ourselves,\nin our surroundingsand in the whole world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"467\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image2.jpeg?resize=700%2C467&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-403\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image2.jpeg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image2.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption>Polyphony as a structural principle and as a metaphor. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and his company, Eastmen, in <em>Fractus V<\/em>. Photo: BFI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Tordre<\/em> by Rachid Ouramdane is a subtle and powerful piece for two dancers, American Annie Hanauer and Lithuanian Lora Juodkaite, who exhibit themselves not only as performers, but also as unique human beings. Within a simple structure, Ouramdane offers space for the performers to show and confront their different faces: the one that carries, almost as a mask, a brilliant smile under the stage lights and applause; the one absorbed in dance and its depths; the private one, lying down, observing, waiting. They dance together, have their solos, utter a few words, stay quiet on stage. The author also stays quiet; he does not fill the gaps nor create expectations. He trusts the power of his performers\u2019 presence, thus permitting them to open up and share something very intimate. With this generous approach he creates a place for small miracles to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image3.jpeg?resize=700%2C466&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-404\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image3.jpeg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image3.jpeg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption>Public and private face of the performer. American Annie Hanauer (R) and Lithuanian Lora Juodkaite (L) in <em>Tordre<\/em>. Concept and choreography, Rashid Ouramdane. Photo: BFI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Annie\nHanauer is a dancer with an articulated prosthetic arm. She dances as if she\nhas no difficulty in moving, with great temper, flexibility and strength. Yet,\nher beautiful figure, with its artificial arm, touches us in a particular way,\nopening up a very delicate space for our own sensations and thoughts. We enter\ninto tacit dialogue with her enigmatic presence, so strong and fragile at the\nsame time. Even now, when I think of her figure and her dance, I still have a\nfeeling of expanding my boundaries.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"video-2\">Video 2<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ADhYXyg6MdU?rel=0\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" style=\"margin-bottom: 20px\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Lora\nJuodkaite also has something very particular to share. Her dance, a long\nincessant gyration, has developed not as a pure aesthetic choice, but as a\nritual of turning that she has been practicing since her early childhood. In a\ncentral scene of the performance, her rotating movement, accelerating and\nchanging the position of her head and arms, creates images of such incredible\nvirtuosity and beauty that we almost have difficulty in perceiving it as a\nreal, and not a virtual experience! The scene seems to last infinitely,\ncreating a breathtaking suspense, and, then, catharsis. Again, I had an\nextraordinary experience of being transported out of my body and launched in\nspace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\nis particular in this type of performance in comparison with more \u201cclassical\u201d\napproaches to choreography and directing? We can clearly see and feel that what\nwe witness is a result of a process that has its own relevance: it is open,\nunpredictable, revealing something that is unknown equally to all its\nparticipants. It is generating new qualities rather than going towards a\nquality that the author has already imagined and defined and is trying to\nimplement in the performance. This process is supported by the author, ready to\nshare his authorship, to plunge into the unknown, to risk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"452\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image4.jpeg?resize=700%2C452&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-405\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image4.jpeg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image4.jpeg?resize=300%2C194&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><figcaption>Instrument of pure instinct and passion. Dada Masilo as Giselle. Photo: BFI<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Nevertheless,\nsomething unexpected and astonishing can happen even when the role hierarchy\nand structural approach in creating the performance are not process-oriented.\nThis is the case of <em>Dada Masilo\u2019s Giselle<\/em>, the last performance to which\nwe will turn our attention in this review. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Performed\nby dancers of The Dance Factory from Johannesburg, and choreographed by Dada\nMasilo, straight from the title we could presume that this young choreographer\nand dancer is the <em>spiritus movens<\/em> of the whole performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Masilo\nhas acquired fame with her original reinterpretations of classical ballets. Her\nideas are intelligent and subversive. On a dramaturgical level, she is trying\nto get out of clich\u00e9d patterns of representation, to make old stories become\nmore alive, tangible, passionate. On a formal level, she keeps the structure\nand language of ballet, but introduces African music and dance. She creates a\nunique dance style that combines radically different, even opposing body\nlanguages and traditions: one light and \u201crising,\u201d one strong and grounded. This\nchanges the intensity, tempo, color of the expression and creates dynamics that\nhave a strong aesthetic and psychological impact on the audience. Moreover, the\nSouth African dancers, trained in classical ballet and familiar with African\nrhythms, burst with force and beauty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"video-3\">Video 3<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\" style=\"text-align: center; font-size: 12px\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kYKeyXGfBrs?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><br>Dada Masilo\u2019s <i>Giselle<\/i><a name=\"end\">&nbsp;<\/a><\/div><br>\n\n\n\n<p>There\nis another attribute that will make this performance everlasting in my personal\nrecords. It concerns the quality of Masilo\u2019s small, half-naked figure, and the\nincredible way her dance affects the whole space, reaching out to the very last\nrow of the auditorium. There is something so peculiar in the way she moves, as\nif she is an instrument of pure instinct and passion. Her body reflects direct,\nunmediated emotions. For someone coming from a society where body and mind have\nfor centuries stayed apart, this experience was a priceless gift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/TINA-PERIC.jpg?resize=150%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-407\" alignnone=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/TINA-PERIC.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/TINA-PERIC.jpg?w=187&amp;ssl=1 187w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p><a name=\"end\" href=\"#back\">*<\/a><strong>Tina Peri\u0107<\/strong> has an MA in Art theory, and a PhD in performance studies. She is an active researcher in performance theory and a free-lance critic for the Serbian daily newspaper <em>Politika<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">Copyright <strong>\u00a9<\/strong> 2019 Tina Peri\u0107<br><em>Critical Stages\/Sc\u00e8nes critiques<\/em> e-ISSN: 2409-7411<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/88x31.png?w=750&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Creative Commons Attribution International License\"\/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">This work is licensed under the<br>Creative Commons Attribution International License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tina Peri\u0107* Belgrade Dance Festival,&nbsp;March 22, 2019&nbsp;to April 12, 2019 At the beginning of spring, for the last sixteen years, the Belgrade Dance Festival has brought to Serbia a significant number of eminent dance companies from all over the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":403,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performance-reviews","tag-by-tina-peric","","tg-column-two"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2019\/05\/image2.jpeg?fit=700%2C467&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paUXOT-6t","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=401"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1308,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/401\/revisions\/1308"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.critical-stages.org\/19\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}