PETRAS @ S'Ala - spazio per artist*

August 13

 The open rehearsal of the new production by Zagrebački plesni ansambl, created by Igor x Moreno / S'ALA / spazio per artist+, took the stage:

 PETRAS (working title, like all productions).

 After a week of residency at S'Ala, Dora, Lara, Linda, Iva, and Silvija brought to the stage what — for now — seems to foreshadow an iconic production.

 Behind the scenes, the drone music by Aseret: one of my new gateways into electronic music, contemplative and with that intriguing will-o’-the-wisp vibe 

Legend has it that following the wisps you may find your destiny… so it’s worth paying attention. 

 As I often do, I didn’t gather any information before attending (to avoid interference or shattered dreams).

But even before sitting in the front row to enjoy the evening, I had already jotted down a few thoughts about the audience.

 Just past 8 PM…

I believe that the gist of it all is the nature of women (mankind, perhaps) and an exploration of its different facets..

But let’s start from the end.

As always, Igor x Moreno give the audience a few minutes to gather their thoughts before a few minutes of conversation.

I look back at my notes (six pages, to be honest) and I find myself returning to the same words over and over:

 emotional geographies and

 infinitely looped present

 Digression: I was racking my brain trying to remember who had spoken about this in the past, because the connection with human nature and time seemed clear to me.

But once I got home, I cheated and looked it up…

 Maurice Merleau-Ponty. His studies on the “body as subjective experience” and as an “object among objects” are fascinating—

 and just as fascinating is Cameron O'Mara’s attempt to reconcile Merleau-Ponty’s positions with those of feminist movements!

 The conversation begins.

I wait for someone to comment and bring up some material.

 Today Alessandro isn’t here to keep me in check, so I take the liberty to censor myself!

 My fellow audience members don’t hold back.

 One way or another, many of the impressions I had noted emerge.

 The intangible nature of the summer wind, the air vibrating in the Mediterranean pine forests,

 faces peeking out from an imagined forest-backdrop,

 some form of knuckle-walking that tells stories of strength,

 connections grounded in the ground and ourselves.

 The piece unfolds through knowing glances, recurring sequences, recognizable geometries, a dynamic mandala.

For those who, like me, grew up with Hofstadter, it’s impossible not to see Escher’s tessellations.

 Someone says a few words about the idea of sisterhood, of a group, but for much of the piece I keep thinking that every time we look in the mirror, we change a little.

 We’re always ourselves, but we change. Too Eastern a thought? Who knows.

But maybe, in some way, it does have something to do with it.

 Of the three sacred treasures of Shintoism, one is a mirror. The mirror hosts a goddess who is Purity and Truth: one cannot lie to the mirror, and what it reflects is the raw, unvarnished reality.

And here, it makes sense.

If the mirror does not lie, then it is true that those five bodies are one that changes endlessly, even if they remain separate.

Once again… sisterhood as a single body?

 The work is very complex in terms of imagery, whether intentional or unintentional. This is a strength because it resonates on many different levels. 

 I wonder, however, in terms of production, whether it might deserve a different kind of reflection. A three-part work, perhaps.

 There’s a lot in the notes:

 nineteenth-century zoetropes,

 murmurations,

3D stage laser lights,

 forced ventilation

 there’s the downbeat sinking of the bodies that grounds them downward; and, I must say,

 a certain fixation on specific details on stage.

t remains to be seen whether this is the performers hyper-focusing their attention on the quality, pauses, and breaths of the movement, or simply the piece meeting the expectations of an audience that, like us, starts with an almost delirious level of attention, in search of that particular element that makes the piece feel “their own.”

 The attention is so high that we all notice the absence of a particular and “necessary” transition (which Moreno will reveal to us right during the conversation).

 In either case, it works.

Then come the unsolicited and unnecessary suggestions, which I’ll censor so as not to give away too much…  

“Notable elements and some reflections:

 For quite a while I imagined on stage [omissis]. The idea that certain scenes could be [omissis] stimulates me.

 The movement phrases of the [omissis] in unison could be further enhanced with [omissis] while composing [omissis] value into the gesture.

 The few [omissis] the organicity [omissis] solid.

 The image of the [omissis] and a wonderful [omissis]. Perhaps. But [omissis].

 The [omissis] with that [omissis], expanding greatly the [omissis].

 The music is [omissis] in driving the [omissis] is seen.

 As for the sound, [omissis] moment. The voice that [omissis] briefly during [omissis].

The accent of [omissis] appreciated.”

See you at the national premiere!!!

#unison #summer #newcreation #performingarts #choreography @mpc_sanvincenti @lara_kapeloto @lindatarnovski @la.sil.vie @avywho @dorabrkaric @petragladmazar Petra Valentic @mirto_bianco @margherita.elliot Anna Paola Della Chiesa @aseretmusic

S'ALA / spazio per artist+ Igor x Moreno Zagrebački plesni ansambl