Son[i]a #283
Boris Charmatz
This podcast is part of Re-Imagine Europe, co-funded by the Creative Europe programme of the European Union. Music commissioned to Enrico Malatesta. Interview by Quim Pujol. Produced by André Chêdas.
Boris Charmatz is a dance interpreter, choreographer, thinker, writer, teacher and curator. In his practice, changing roles seems to be one of many strategies for constantly expanding the understanding of what dance might be. His own artistic work varies greatly in form as part of his commitment to exploring the endless possibilities and social implications of arranging bodies in space.
One of Charmartz’s tools for questioning our understanding of dance is his “Musée de la danse”, a museum that exists only as a permanent question with temporary answers. In it, Charles Chaplin, Esther Ferrer, Viennese Actionism, Michael Jackson, and Mike Kelley are all considered relevant to the history of dance. As Charmatz says, “all these artists change our idea of what a body is, of what art with a body is, of what dance could be”.
Redefining dance by taking cultural relevance as a guide implies focusing on how movement and structures inform our society, instead of merely considering a restricted set of genres. At the same time, creating tension between dance and museum conventions invites us to rethink many notions regarding temporality, materiality, economy and cultural value.
In this podcast, Boris Charmatz reflects on how to address power structures within the artistic field. He also talks about polisemy, collectivity, communities and anti-communities, radical pedagogy, dissent, the Musée de la danse, the complex and inexhaustible relationship between dance and history, working inside gestures, and the beauty of older people skateboarding.
Juan Domínguez
A key figure in the field of live arts, Juan Domínguez describes himself as “a conceptual clown, magical cowboy, model-poet, and curator of pleasure.” His artistic body of work is situated both in and out of choreography, and champions excess as well as measure. In any case, he never loses sight of the question that guides his practice: “What shall we do together in this present moment to construct reality?”
We talk at length with Juan Domínguez about changing the parameters of live arts, putting a frame on reality, the complexities of participation and co-authorship, and Juan’s efforts to tense time and grow older with his projects and audiences. We also talk about his (admiring) envy of TV series, about robberies, about necessary and supporting co-conspirators, about the body and politics, and about discipline and chaos.
La Ribot
We talk to dancer, choreographer, and visual artist La Ribot about key moments in her childhood, the collective creation and delirium of Bocanada Danza, Festival Desviaciones, the UVI group and the subsequent financial and emotional crisis that drove her from London in the nineties, and her encounter with the performing arts boom. She talks to us from the breathing room she has gained with her new centre for dance and teaching in Switzerland. In the midst of comings and goings, we discover moments that allow us to flesh out and strip back the diva, from her childhood wish to be a gypsy and the lasting impression of a little girl’s fascination on seeing a bullfight on TV, to her found object fetishes, the camera-operator, and a (perhaps dreamt) falling out with Joan Brossa.
Maria José Arjona
Con una trayectoria de varias décadas de prácticas e intercambios entre pecho y espalda, Maria José Arjona explora a través de la performace de larga duración un cuerpo que pendula al borde del abismo de manera afirmativa. Su repertorio de gestos hace parte de un gran archivo en permanente tránsito y transformación, a menudo atravesado por la historia de la performance, aunque siempre vivo. En este podcast, Maria José Arjona mira hacia adelante y hacia atrás, para trazar un diagrama invisible de procesos, acciones y deseos, entre su hacer en solitario y su necesidad de desbordar una política del tiempo con otros artistas, mediante la subversión del tiempo institucional: ¿qué le pasa a la performance y al performer cuando su trabajo pasa por estar ocho horas en un museo?
David Levine
David Levine discusses the historical precedents of what he calls "infiltrations" in everyday life, such as Adrian Piper's "The Mythic Being", Vito Acconci's "Following Piece", and Lynn Hershman Leeson's "Roberta Breitmore". Almost an hour chatting about reality and fiction, representation, invisibility, loops, and disappearances of all kinds.
Deleted scenes
We dig up some unreleased fragments of the interview with Yvonne Rainer that we were unable to include the first time around.
Yvonne Rainer
Yvonne Rainer talks about the passing of time, the transferability of dance, training as legacy and the body’s filmic decay. About tenacity, physicality, and influences. And about the turns, leaps, and tumbles of a multifaceted career spanning more than half a century.
André Lepecki
André Lepecki talks about the chronopolitics of disappearance, dance, Louis XIV, the acquisition of choreography, testimonial power, object-oriented ontologies, choreopolicing, the writing of movement, and selfies.
Xavier Le Roy
Interview with the dancer and choreographer Xavier Le Roy about his choreographies and working processes.
Manuel J. Borja-Villel about "A Theatre without Theatre."
Manuel J. Borja-Villel speaks about the exhibition "A Theatre without Theatre."