Gostovanje
13.9.2022, Kino Šiška
Koreografija: Lucinda Childs
Odrska postavitev: Ty Boomershine
Izmenična zasedba: Ty Boomershine, Anna Herrmann, Emma Lewis, Gesine Moog, Omagbitse Omagbemi, Lia Witjes-Poole, Alba Barral Fernandez, Javier Arozena
Kostumografija: Alexandra Sebbag
Oblikovanje svetlobe: Martin Beeretz
Oblikovanje svetlobe na turneji: Vito Walter
Zvok: Mattef Kuhlmey
Koordinacija gostovanja: Simone Graf/Hélène Philippot
Distribucija: Danila-Freitag Agency for the Performing Arts
Produkcija: Dance On/DIEHL+RITTER
Koprodukcija: STUK. House for Dance, Image and Sound/Münchner Kammerspiele
S podporo: Doppelpass Fund of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Doppelpass Fund of the German Federal Cultural Foundation), Ministrstvo za javno upravo
Predstavitev v okviru DANCE ON PASS ON DREAM ON s podopro EU
Organizacija v Ljubljani: Nomad Dance Academy Slovnija in Kino Šiška (CoFestival)
V zadnjih dveh desetletjih smo bili priča številnim ponovnim postavitvam, rekonstrukcijam ali zgodovinskim odrskim študijam repertoarja iz različnih faz sodobnega plesa. Nekatere so postavljali avtorice in avtorji sami, druge tisti, ki so jih umetniška dela tako ali drugače nagovorila. Vrnitve k umetniškim opusom so bile v tem času bolj ali manj odmevne, a med uspešnejše sodijo prav gotovo koreografska dela ameriške koreografinje Lucinde Childs. Ta so v zadnjih desetletjih vzbudila izjemno zanimanje pri generacijah umetnic in umetnikov, ki v času njihovega nastanka nemara še sploh niso bili rojeni. Ker se jih občinstva na različnih koncih sveta nikoli ne prenasitijo in ker so za plesalke in plesalce vselej velik izziv, se dela iz opusa Lucinde Childs vztrajno vračajo na svetovne odre in na novo rojevajo.
Leta 2018 smo na CoFestivalu gostili koreografinjino nečakinjo Ruth Childs, ki je s svojim ansamblom predstavila nekatera od koreografinjinih najzgodnejših del pod skupnim naslovom Zgodnja dela Lucinde Childs. Tokrat serijo del, ki jih je koreografinja ustvarila v sedemdesetih letih, predstavlja Dance On Ensemble, na oder pa jih je postavil nekdanji koreografinjin asistent, plesalec in umetniški vodja ansambla Dance On Ty Boomershine. Večer nosi naslov Dela v tišini, od klasičnih del ameriškega postmodernega plesa pa bomo tokrat pri nas prvič videli Nenaslovljeni trio I (1968, 1973), Kongerije na robovih za dvajset poševnic (1975), Nenaslovljeni trio II (1973) in Radialne poti (1976). Solo Katema (1978) si bomo po letu 2018 ponovno ogledali, tokrat v drugačni izvedbi.
Recenzija: https://odrisca.si/2022/09/16/harmonija-molcecih/
Dance On Ensemble je nastal leta 2015 kot projekt berlinske ne-profitne organizacije Diehl+Ritter, njegov nastanek pa je povezan z ugotovitvijo, da kulturni plesni sistemi na Zahodu plesalce izločajo po starostnih kriterijih in da je mladost v teh sistemih ekskluziven in precenjen kriterij. Njegova zasedba, sestavljena iz zvenečih imen sodobnega plesa in baleta ter vrste osebnih odločitev, da je za plesno upokojitev še nekoliko prezgodaj, se z leti širi, repertoar pa kaže, da si plesalci poleg kanoniziranih del sodobnoplesnega repertoarja želijo tudi drznih eksperimentalnih pristopov k plesu in koreografiji. Zaradi tega je sestavljanka koreografskih in umetniških imen, ki so se v sedmih letih zvrstila na repertoarju Dance On Ensembla, izstopajoče raznorodna: Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Lucinda Childs, William Forsythe, Deborah Hay, Ivana Müller, Jan Martens, Rabih Mroué, Mathilde Monnier, Tim Etchells, Ivo Dimchev idr. Umetniški vodja ansambla Ty Boomershine, ki ga med drugim poznamo kot nekdanjega plesalca ansambla Lucinde Childs, pri katerem je leta delal tudi kot koreografinjin asistent, ansambelski repertoar kurira z jagodnim izborom del, ki so prelamljala zgodovino ameriškega in evropskega sodobnega plesa, mu zagotavljala svežino in neobičajne izzive, in k sodelovanju vabi ustvarjalce, ki to počnejo danes. Na ta način sodobnoplesni sedanjosti zagotavlja njen razširjeni javni čas, ki je karakterističen tudi za druge projekte organizacije Diehl+Ritter, med drugimi tudi evropski projekt DANCE ON PASS ON DREAM ON. Dance On Ensemble je v Sloveniji prvič nastopil na CoFestivalu 2018 z duetom Slon (Elephant, 2018), ki ga je s plesalci ustvaril znani libanonski umetnik Rabih Mroué, že maja 2023 pa se bo v Cankarjevem domu predstavil s koreografijo Jana Martensa vsak poskus se bo končal z zdrobljenimi telesi in zlomljenimi kostmi (any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones).
Lucinda Childs (1940) sodi med generacijo koreografinj in koreografov, ki so ameriški sodobni ples dvajsetega stoletja pripeljali do vrhunca. Z močno izkušnjo neoavantgardnega plesnega eksperimenta šestdesetih let, ki ga je soustvarjala v okviru emblematičnega kolektiva Judson Dance Theater, in z znanji, ki jih sredi dvajsetega stoletja nikjer ni bilo možno učinkoviteje pridobiti in razviti kot v New Yorku, je Lucinda Childs v sedemdesetih letih razvila serijo koreografskih kompozicij, ki so zaradi svoje sežetosti, abstraktnosti in kompleksnosti še danes učinkovite, sveže in vselej znova presenetljive. Prav z ničimer ne kažejo, da so stare petdeset let. Ker niso zgrajene iz ničesar drugega kot iz najbolj temeljnih plesnih gradiv, gibanja človeških teles, in ker so izjemno izborna pri rabi drugih spektakelskih elementov, delujejo danes enako sveže kot v sedemdesetih letih.
Med ameriškimi postmodernimi koreografinjami in koreografi je bila Lucinda Childs prva, ki ji je kmalu po koncu šestdesetih let s svojimi deli uspel prehod iz eksperimentalnih prostorov na velike gledališke odre ter nenazadnje prodor v Evropo, kjer je v zadnjih desetletjih ustvarila glavnino svojih del. A koreografinja je prav v sedemdesetih letih s svojim kinetičnim jezikom ustvarila destilat plesnega časa, abstrakt plesne umetnosti, saj njena dela s svojo modernistično kinetično arhitekturo vsebujejo obsežno količino baročne kompozicijske matematike: abstrakt telesa plesne umetnosti. Morda se prav zaradi vsega tega koreografskih del Lucinde Childs plesno občinstvo po svetu nikoli ne naveliča.
»Moja kariera se je začela v 60. letih s skupino Judson Dance Theatre, ki sta jo ustanovila dva moja sodobnika Yvonne Rainer in Steve Paxton. Ta skupina si je prizadevala razširiti besednjak plesa onstran tega, kar si človek običajno predstavlja s plesnim besednjakom, z drugimi besedami: v ples smo si prizadevali vključiti gibe iz vsakdanjega življenja. Koreografije, ki sem jih takrat ustvarila so bile – vsaj tako bi sama rekla – popolnoma konceptualne. Zasnovane npr. s kakšnim govorjenim besedilom, gibi so se kontekstu govora približevali in se od njega oddaljevali, uporabljala sem tudi predmete. Danes v svojih delih ne uporabljam več niti besedil niti predmetov, rekla bi, da sem naredila ogromen preobrat, v smislu, da so reči v mojem delu precej bolj preproste. Kakorkoli: gibanje, ki ga vidimo v mojih sedanjih delih, izvira iz tega zgodnjega obdobja. Gledamo hojo, gledamo zelo preprosto gibanje. Vsekakor je vanje še vedno vpletena plesna tehnika, saj sem profesionalno šolana plesalka v tehnikah modernega plesa, vendar si iz svojih sedanjih del prizadevam izključiti vsakršen razvoj vsebine [zgodbe]. Zanimajo me izjemno preprosta gibalna gradiva in načini, kako bi se jih dalo urediti tako, da bi jih lahko gledalec v vsakem trenutku zagledal z drugega zornega kota. Gre za vprašanje, kako preprečiti gledalcu, da bi karkoli gledal na en sam in izključno en način. Ta ali ona plesna fraza se zelo postopno spreminja. Tako da ne prihaja do zelo močnih kontrastov v gibanju, pač pa do komaj zaznavnih. Tako v teh koreografskih delih ostajamo v zelo omejenem vsebinskem okviru, hkrati pa lahko zaradi tega doživimo mnoštvo premen. V smislu rabe časa in prostora.
Mislim, da začetek tega umetniškega gibanja izvira iz začetka 20. stoletja, saj je avantgardna umetnost prišla v New York prav takrat. Plesno gibanje, ki ga omenjam, pa se je začelo v 60. letih. Danes svojega dela ne razumem več kot avantgardnega, sem samo koreografinja med mnogimi. Zame v tem trenutku ni več pomembno, da bi me ljudje sprejemali kot umetnico, ki odstopa od tradicije. Danes preprosto ustvarjam plese in ne privlači me preveč nobena umetniška oznaka, s katero bi si želela svoja dela označiti. Želela bi si, da bi jih ljudje razumeli kot plese, saj niso prav nič drugega. Niso namenjena niti didaktiki niti nimajo težnje, da bi odstopala od kakršnekoli akademske tradicije, ki bi nam bila v tem trenutku znana. Če sem odkrita, se meni sami zdijo prav malček klasična [sramežljivi namešek].«
Guest performance
13.9.2022, Kino Šiška
Choreography: Lucinda Childs
Staging: Ty Boomershine
Alternate cast: Ty Boomershine, Anna Herrmann, Emma Lewis, Gesine Moog, Omagbitse Omagbemi, Lia Witjes-Poole, Alba Barral Fernandez, Javier Arozena
Costume design: Alexandra Sebbag
Lighting design: Martin Beeretz
Tour lighting design: Vito Walter
Sound: Mattef Kuhlmey
Tour coordination: Simone Graf / Hélène Philippot
Distribution: Danila-Freitag Agency for the Performing Arts
Production: Dance On / DIEHL+RITTER
Co-production: STUK – House for Dance, Image and Sound / Münchner Kammerspiele
With the support of: Doppelpass Fund of the Kulturstiftung des Bundes (German Federal Cultural Foundation), Ministry of Public Administration
Presented within DANCE ON PASS ON DREAM ON with EU support
Organization in Ljubljana: Nomad Dance Academy Slovenia and Kino Šiška (CoFestival)
In 2018, CoFestival hosted the choreographer’s niece Ruth Childs, who, together with her ensemble, presented some of Lucinda Childs’s earliest works under the collective title Early Works of Lucinda Childs. This time, a series of works created by the choreographer in the 1970s was presented by the Dance On Ensemble, staged by Ty Boomershine—former assistant to Lucinda Childs, dancer, and artistic director of Dance On. The evening bore the title Works in Silence and included, for the first time in Slovenia, Untitled Trio I (1968, 1973), Congeries on Edges for Twenty Obliques (1975), Untitled Trio II (1973), and Radial Courses (1976). The solo Katema (1978) was shown again after 2018, this time in a different interpretation.
Review: https://odrisca.si/2022/09/16/harmonija-molcecih/
Dance On Ensemble was founded in 2015 as a project of the Berlin-based non-profit organization Diehl+Ritter. Its creation was motivated by the recognition that Western dance systems tend to exclude dancers on the basis of age, and that youth is treated as an exclusive and overvalued criterion. The ensemble—composed of prominent figures from contemporary dance and ballet, along with personal decisions that it is still too early for dance retirement—has expanded over the years. Its repertoire reveals a desire not only to engage with canonized works of contemporary dance, but also to pursue bold experimental approaches to dance and choreography.
As a result, the constellation of choreographic and artistic names featured in the Dance On Ensemble’s repertoire over seven years is strikingly diverse: Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Lucinda Childs, William Forsythe, Deborah Hay, Ivana Müller, Jan Martens, Rabih Mroué, Mathilde Monnier, Tim Etchells, Ivo Dimchev, among others. Artistic director Ty Boomershine—also known as a former dancer in Lucinda Childs’s company, where he worked for years as her assistant—curates the ensemble’s repertoire as a carefully selected collection of works that have shaped the history of American and European contemporary dance, ensuring freshness and unusual challenges while also inviting today’s creators to collaborate.
In this way, Dance On Ensemble provides contemporary dance with an expanded public lifespan, a characteristic shared with other projects by Diehl+Ritter, including the European project DANCE ON PASS ON DREAM ON. Dance On Ensemble first appeared in Slovenia at CoFestival 2018 with the duet Elephant (2018), created by the renowned Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué. In May 2023, the ensemble returned to Slovenia to perform at Cankarjev dom with Jan Martens’s choreography any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones.
Lucinda Childs (born 1940) belongs to the generation of choreographers who brought American contemporary dance of the twentieth century to its peak. With a strong background in the neo-avant-garde dance experiments of the 1960s—developed within the emblematic Judson Dance Theater—and with knowledge that could scarcely have been more effectively acquired anywhere else than in New York in the mid-twentieth century, Lucinda Childs developed, during the 1970s, a series of choreographic compositions that remain strikingly effective, fresh, and continually surprising today due to their concision, abstraction, and complexity. They give no indication of being fifty years old.
Built solely from the most fundamental materials of dance—the movement of human bodies—and extremely restrained in their use of other spectacular elements, these works feel as fresh today as they did in the 1970s.
Among American postmodern choreographers, Lucinda Childs was the first to successfully transition from experimental spaces to large theatrical stages soon after the late 1960s, and eventually to break through in Europe, where she has created the majority of her work over recent decades. Yet it was precisely in the 1970s that she distilled, through her kinetic language, a crystallization of dance time—an abstraction of dance art. Her works, with their modernist kinetic architecture, contain a substantial measure of baroque compositional mathematics: an abstraction of the dancing body. Perhaps this is why audiences around the world never tire of Lucinda Childs’s choreographic works.
“My career began in the 1960s with the Judson Dance Theater, founded by two of my contemporaries, Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton. This group sought to expand the vocabulary of dance beyond what one usually imagines as a dance vocabulary—in other words, we aimed to incorporate movements from everyday life into dance. The choreographies I created at that time were—at least as I would describe them—completely conceptual. They were conceived, for example, around spoken text; movements approached and moved away from the context of speech, and I also used objects.
Today, I no longer use either text or objects in my work. I would say I have made a huge turn, in the sense that things in my work have become much simpler. Nevertheless, the movement we see in my current works originates from that early period. We see walking, we see very simple movement. Dance technique is certainly still involved, as I am a professionally trained dancer in modern dance techniques, but in my current works I seek to exclude any development of content [story].
I am interested in extremely simple movement materials and in ways of organizing them so that the viewer can perceive them from a different perspective at any given moment. It is a question of how to prevent the viewer from seeing anything in only one single way. A dance phrase changes very gradually. There are no strong contrasts in movement, but rather barely perceptible ones. Thus, these choreographic works remain within a very limited content framework, yet allow us to experience a multitude of transformations—in terms of the use of time and space.
I think the beginnings of this artistic movement date back to the early twentieth century, when avant-garde art arrived in New York. The dance movement I refer to began in the 1960s. Today, I no longer consider my work avant-garde; I am simply one choreographer among many. It is no longer important to me that people see me as an artist who departs from tradition. I simply make dances, and no artistic label particularly attracts me. I would like people to understand them as dances, because that is exactly what they are. They are not intended to be didactic, nor do they aim to depart from any academic tradition known to us today. To be honest, they even seem a little classical to me [a shy smile].”