CAFÉ RÉFLEXIONS 17, 18, 19 & 20

Photo by Lois Lee

Photo by Lois Lee

CAFÉ RÉFLEXIONS

#17

CAROLINE GRAVEL

« Practical Happiness, a Song and Other Niceties, est une recherche en trois parties dont le motif s’articule à l’observation de l'effet du nouvel ordre numérique sur le vivant. Les travaux interrogent le continuum entre l’espace numérique et l’espace analogique. C’est un observatoire, un vivarium, une rubrique de l’histoire en train de se vivre. Dans le contexte, prendre soin de nous, c’est s’aider mutuellement à habiter un contexte social autrement brutal.

Je travaille avec l’idée que le numérique n’est pas seulement quelque chose qui se passe en ligne ou à l'écran. Le phénomène conditionne d’une façon ou d’une autre l'espace "réel", notamment à travers de nouvelles configuration sociales, économiques et peut-être même temporelle. D’une certaine manière, il semble repousser l’art vivant de la sensation à l’image.

Et la création en art vivant possède à mon sens la capacité de témoigner de l’histoire sensible du temps présent et pas seulement à faire image ou spectacle (au sens où Debord l’entend).

Sentir la trame du temps radicalement se transformer, se reconfigurer en projetant du même coup l’histoire de l’humanité au bord d’un nouvel ordre, pour moi, c’est aussi d’espoir dont il est question.

Dans son ouvrage The Origin and Goal of History, Karl Jasper développe une théorie de l’âge axial. Controversée depuis sa publication en 1953, elle demeure à mon sens une théorie qui contient cet espoir.Cette période axiale qui aurait pratiquement fait traverser l’humanité de l’immanence à la transcendance, rappelle cette possibilité qu’un saut de conscience à l’échelle planétaire, qu’un nouveau monde est toujours possible d’émerger.

Aux abords d’une bascule des paradigmes sociaux, économique et émotifs, la création en art vivant se pose en porte-à-faux, résiste à la tentation de ne devenir qu’image, pixels et narratifs filtrés.

Et peut-être de cette friction, danserons-nous d’un contentement pratique à un feu de joie.

Espoir... » Caroline Gravel

"When I was reading Derek Jarman’s book « Chroma » some of his words resonated with me: “Is black hopeless? Doesn’t every dark thundercloud have a silver lining? In black lies the possibility of hope”. It led me to wanting to reflect on the significance of this paradox, and how it can shape and define us for the better. Why do we sometimes fear what we desire most? It is a question I can’t let go off. I want to fear less. Maybe we should find enlightenment by disappearing in darkness, if only to come out on the other side.”

Arno Schuitemaker

Photo by Lois Lee

CAFÉ RÉFLEXIONS

#18

ARNO SCHUITEMAKER

CAFÉ RÉFLEXIONS

#19

TONY CHONG

I have been reflecting on the situation facing dance upon the onset of Covid19 in 2020 to our current state of affairs in 2022.

Yes, this pandemic is upsetting our dance world however, we must admit that our system was perhaps already unhealthy. I will paraphrase a quote from author and professor of African American Studies in Princeton University Eddie Glaude Jr. in his book Begin Again, “What is happening today isn’t unprecedented, it is just uniquely of our time”. We seem to be unable to learn from our past. From the beginning of the pandemic, many were asking what must we do to make real change or transformation? Unfortunately, what is apparent after these 2 years of crisis, is that we are not willing to change and want to return to the status quo.

When I first discovered the world of dance as an idealistic young man, I was enchanted and seduced by a community of fearless and valiant artists. People who chose to charge towards the danger even as that danger makes them so afraid, facing it forced them to live life. I wanted to be amongst these artists and of this brave supportive mindset of artistic integrity and (apparent) moral compass. It appeared as it didn’t matter where you came from, who you were or what you were because everyone in this group was already the outsider.

Thinking that the artist’s role was to create work that spoke of our suffering to relieve the pain in others or to share our happiness to those who require it or simply be a representation of the “other” giving existence to a viewpoint that is diverse and inclusive. There was a time dance seemed to be our vital form of expression while the word capitalism wasn’t in our lexicon.

Today our world of dance is flawed and wounded partly by capitalism, as it has turned our wonderment to cynism, our admiration to envy, and our creativity to marketability and strategy. We find our political policies and social/cultural environment are also dividing us. We may have to accept that contemporary or post-contemporary dance will always be a marginalized form. We should cherish this status as it allows freedom to say what it is that we should be saying. I was just talking to a friend the other day and she told me that the moment she felt like an artist was the day her peers came to see her performances. Presently we find ourselves fighting amongst ourselves for the “scraps” that are thrown at us. Are we just a part of a psychological experiment where we find ourselves fighting one another to the death for the benefit of our “masters”? Have we been manipulated by a system that has us willing to work for nothing and to devalue our worth?

On the contrary to what it may seem, I am not an anti-capitalist and I understand the need to make money however I do see it has taken a bigger place over our social responsibility to the artists and our audience. My question is, are we willing to give up what little crumbs we have that keep us enslaved to stop this perpetual merry-go-round? What is and is there an alternative system to ensure our community continues to be pertinent and vital to society? So I ask myself, is it really the pandemic that is fucking us up or is it just revealing an underlying and a more sinister virus that has already been amongst us?

Tony

CAFÉ RÉFLEXIONS

#19

TONY CHONG

Photo by Lois Lee

CAFÉ RÉFLEXIONS

#20

RACHEL HARRIS

One of dance’s basic truths is that it is ephemeral, lived in the experience of each particular moment. I wasn’t ready for the realization of to what extent that is true. We stop doing it and past, present and future disappear. My long and satisfying career fades to nothing in an instant. There is nothing left. A few lousy photos, some dusty videos, some blurring memories. What has kept me busy all these years? What have I brought to this needy planet? Have I wasted precious time and resources?

For me, dance becomes an art when it is shared. I can dance in my living room, my own private ritual but that is different from the practice of being conscious in my body alongside others. To communicate something - to resonate with other bodies (those dancing alongside, those witnessing). It is in that resonance that my interest lies.

So what am I supposed to do in my living room? My computer does not return any vibration, the empty screen has no appeal to me. And what use is an out of work dancer? There are so many needs in this world, so many struggles, what can I contribute?

Coming back into the studio after a time away, the first thing that strikes me is how natural and vital it feels. It is hard to explain or even remember when we are not in it but there, in the space between bodies, the poetry of life comes alive. My blood and bones stop asking questions and tell me - this is your work, this is why you are here, this is your contribution.

Rachel Harris