L1danceFest memories and interviews A jubilee booklet
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
INTRODUCTION L1 Independent Artists Association of Public Utility (L1 Association) focuses on creating the right circumstances for high quality performances (in the fields of visual arts, performing arts and dance), supporting the members of the organization, giving advice and adopting ‘homeless’ fellow artists. L1 Association was established in 1998 and was registered in 2002. In 2018 the NGO has 24 independent artist members. In addition, since 2012, we have been inviting 5 resident artists each year for a year-long period of working with us and to support them in developing their independent ways of working. The main purpose of being part of this membership is to promote the cooperation between independent artists. I am happy to be the artistic vice-president of L1 Association since the beginning. The primary activity of the association has always been the organization of an annual international contemporary dance festival called L1danceFest, based in Budapest, Hungary. From 2011 onwards, L1 Association has become increasingly interested in interdisciplinary fields of art and cross-genre experiments. Therefore we wanted to provide an opportunity for artists with different backgrounds to present their works at our festival, without a specific thematic selection. Similarly to the previous editions, L1danceFest has been dedicated to cultural diversity, transgressive power and boundary-breaking experiments. We have recognized an increasing interest in activities that offer the possibility of participation and creative involvement. From all our previous experience we have learned that there is a growing need for more engaging, invigorating and more co-operative new projects. These are the motivating forces behind our future activities. This booklet is a summary of the past 16 editions of L1danceFest and our guests. We are happy to introduce you some of them. This way – even if you didn’t meet them – you can have a more in-depth overview of our activities as well. We do hope that you will enjoy looking through the photos and reading the interviews and look forward to your visit next time around. Márta Ladjánszki [dancer, choreographer, teacher] artistic vice-president of L1 Association
2
Mรกrta LADJร NSZKI
photo: Roland Szabo
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
contents
4
2 Introduction 4 Contents 6 Joe ALEGADO 8 Aurore AULONG 10 Baal Catalina CARRASCO & Gaspar MOREY 14 Gyula BERGER 16 Borbála BLASKÓ 18 Ildikó BÓTA 20 Jackie BRUTSCHE 22 Cristian DUARTE 24 Géza FEKETE 26 Silvia GRIBAUDI 28 Dominik GRÜNBÜHEL 30 Adrienn HARASZTI-ZWIEP 32 Ádám Márton HORVÁTH 34 Ismaera Takeo ISHII 36 Bernadett JOBBÁGY 38 Anita KAYA 41 Ferenc KÁLMÁN 44 tYhle Lukáš KARÁSEK, Florent GOLFIER 46 Dominika KNAPIK 48 Kata KOVÁCS 50 Noémi Anna KOVÁCS 53 Cèline LARRÈRE 56 Tami LEBOVITS
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
58 Samuel LEFEUVRE 62 Chris LEUENBERGER 64 Honza MALÍK 66 Erikk McKENZIE 68 Ruri MITOH 70 Tomáš Marný MORÁVEK 74 Pierre NADAUD 76 Csilla NAGY 79 Tamara OBER 82 Lilach ORENSTEIN 86 Martine PISANI 88 Karine PONTIES 90 Handa Gote Research & Development Tomáš PROCHÁZKA 92 Daniel RAČEK 94 Matthew ROGERS 98 Nadar ROSANO 100 Zita SÁNDOR 102 Uri SHAFIR 106 Oleg SOULIMENKO 108 Anna STELLER 110 Borbála SZENTE 112 Zsolt VARGA 116 Imre VASS 120 Milan ZVADA 124 List of invited guests/artists from abroad 126 List of presented guests/artists from Hungary 128 CREDITs
5
Joe ALEGADO USA
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, dance pedagogue, choreographer]
Your dance language is based on the connections of movements and energies. What is the nature of the connections and why are they interesting for you? The nature of the connections in my work is the sensation of how dancers conduit and bridge the energy source that comes from the Earth... and how they send it out into space in search of a mind, a heart... a soul. It is interesting for me, because I feel it is important to connect people in performances... Connect with them in ways which will send them home having experienced something about themselves on stage. What dance techniques are you using in your own language? I am utilizing my classical ballet training and my work in the José Limón tradition. Both have been major influences. Could you tell us more about your dance background? What companies and choreographers have you worked with? Do you have any idols and masters? I have worked in the Ballet Hispanico of NYC; Alvin Ailey II and the José Limón Dance Company. I never met José Limón, but his work left a deep impression on my being. The concepts and principles of his work remain deeply embedded in my own work to this day so... even though I didn't know him personally, I could say he was my master. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Earth, animal and liquid. You led a workshop in Hungary at L1danceFest in 2012 (and before that you had another workshop in 2008). Can you remember your experiences with the participants? How open-minded are we as dancers? Do you have any personal memory related to the festival? I remember being impressed with the dancers’ natural instinct for movement. Even if they had difficulty grasping all of the details in such a short workshop, I could see that they were movers. I would say that one of my personal memories would be the overall desire of the festival to celebrate dance in all its aspects... all the different voices which are contributing to the world of dance. /Interview: February 2016
6
Joe ALEGADO
photo: Filip Habart
7
Aurore AULONG FR [performer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
You often play with the boundaries of different art forms in your pieces. How would you define the word ‘choreography’? That's a kind of sketch you interpret as a dancer. It is a plan, a design. It's very often the fruit of a tight collaboration between the choreographer and the dancer(s). You like pushing the envelope of intimacy in your pieces. Why is this topic significant for you as an artist? Intimacy is not my favourite topic it is just the only one I am always driven to. Maybe because that is the thing I respect the most: one's intimacy. That is what touches me when I get to know someone: how much do we have in common? Could we share so-called intimacy through talk, a look, a situation? What can still be called intimacy nowadays…? That raises questions about human nature, leading somewhere beyond the art fields. Everyone wants to find out about themselves, a good way to start this quest is through the intimacy door. What is performance made of? I think that performance comes from an idea. Call it a concept if you wish. You don't need to be a dancer to perform nor a choreographer to make one. You don't have to be pleasant, graceful or smart. Performance is a medium. It requires the action of at least one person, visible or not. It can be made for only one person in the world (a minimal audience) and it is unique. It can never be repeated twice in the same way. What makes you angry or sad as an artist? And what makes you happy? Ah, so many things make me sad and mad as an artist. There is the relationship between art and money, maybe that makes me the angriest above all. How corrupt and unfair it is! I hate it when untalented people tell me how much I should get paid for an artwork or want to limit my actions. I can’t stand when people want to have power over me. It is like being in the wrong love relationship with the wrong guy; nothing good can come of it. And what makes me happy? I very often see works that move me. They are not perfect but when an artwork gets me to think or work – I think that is the whole deal. And nowadays, there are so many opportunities to see artworks, it is a blessing. That makes me really happy; that anybody can express him or herself. You have performed or exhibited in Hungary several times. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and fine arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene?
8
Aurore AULONG
photo: Roland Szabo
Hmm, that is a tough question... And you may think I am a bit harsh but the political situation in Hungary is so corrupt at the moment – on the national art scene – that it is impossible to do anything significant in the long run. Maybe the underground scene is more likely to rise in a context like this but when you have no funds, no free expression, you spend more energy on fighting than on creating. That's a pity, especially if we consider the quality of the theatre and dance history in Hungary. In the Hungarian fine arts scene, most organizers don't even know what they are dealing with. They see things in London or in Paris, and they want to do the same but they are not professionals and they don't give a sh*t about art. They only want the fame. In the end, they act like the system they complained about: they only invite their artist friends to show their work but they don't respect the others. This is ridiculous. Only the underground art scene tries to find a way to make art events happen, to introduce new artists and help Hungarian artists export their work. My collaboration with L1 Association was totally different since I had a real working relationship with Gyula Berger, who made it smooth for me to work with the L1 Association. Also people like Noémi Kovács or Márta Ladjánszki who are deeply involved in the company. They are very active; they work in a professional way and would not let a work relationship get dirty because of selfinterests. I think L1 Association gave me a chance to do a new type of work. People trusted me with the weirdest ideas I had and made it possible for me to show them. I just hope that the Association will exist for a long time and will continue creating great events and art encounters. /Interview: January 2016
9
BAAL: Catalina CARRASCO & Gaspar MOREY E
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancers, performers] In which year and with which work have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2013 with ‘Invisible Reality’. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? Quite early on, after founding my own company. Regarding experiences I could utilize... ‘It is completely ok to be crazy’. It is great when being at a festival you have a chance to exchange with the other artists. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be kind of ars poetica of yours? An honest dancing community is always a nice place to be. Getting closer to other crazy dancers is good for my soul. The cheapest and most rewarding way to learn is the exchange. I'm not a friend of religion: Healthy souls do not need it. Nation should be a cultural concept, not a political one: No frontiers. Homages can be nice but are too often made to the wrong people. A true hug can make my day. There should be no difference between performing and being... at least on stage. Who wants to be popular? I love organic food... almost always. I sense, then I dance. Quality is very important, but not necessarily serious. If you don't share it... you're not really dancing. Relax your face while performing, unless it’s not meant to be relaxed. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Honest, vindictive and emotional.
10
Baal: Catalina CARRASCO & Gaspar MOREY
photo: Roland Szabo
Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? Pina Bausch is definitely an idol. Other names could be Yasmeen Godder or Erna Ómarsdóttir but there are many other great choreographers to look up to. I like the contemporary scene in Israel. But apart from dance I love and admire Picasso and Joan Miró, Bill Viola, David Lynch... and surely I forget many others. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? I don't have a fixed method, but usually it looks a bit like this: at the beginning there is some ‘intellectual’ work, where I try to get more knowledge about the subject I want to deal with. Then I start hours and hours of improvisation, sometimes with a special focus and from time to time I record it on video. Composition starts, keeping things, rejecting things etc. Soundtrack is often found quite late in the process. What performance or dance techniques are you using in your performances? I often use video projection and simple mapping techniques. One of our pieces also uses a motion sensor and mobile phones to produce sound and control the projection.
11
Baal: Catalina CARRASCO & Gaspar MOREY
What qualities do you research and how do you place them in your composition's frame? I love experimenting with ‘textures’ and motion qualities using adjectives or images not necessarily related to movement: Strong, weak, cold, fragile, masculine, water, stone, etc.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? Honesty is probably the secret. Not everybody in the audience knows how to ‘act’, but when something is true, the reaction is just natural. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? In my experience it is not so country-dependent. Maybe more city-dependent or even venuedependent. The nice thing about Hungary is that the audience seems to be quite used to ‘consuming’ contemporary art. This way the dialogue is easier. Somehow the codes are known. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? Teletransportation: because I live on an island and I travel far more than I perform. Should be the other way around. Do you have any pre-performance rituals? If yes, what? Not really, but whenever I find the time I do a little Katsugen. What is your dream project? Having a centre where I could receive other artists, to create, share and exchange. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? Well maybe it shouldn’t need to be, but right now, at least in Spain and many other places, I don't see a way around this. Name something you couldn't live without! Dance and a bit of freedom. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Freak. What is the role of tradition in contemporary performing art? Is it something we should respect or subvert? There's no black and no white. I'm not against tradition per se, but many traditions, such as bullfighting, should be banned, whilst others should be preserved. /Interview: January 2018
12
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
13
Gyula BERGER H
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dance pedagogue, choreographer]
At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? Certainly, I was amazed by many performances, but there was no direct connection, as I’ve always tried to avoid imitating anything. However, witnessing so many different artistic approaches certainly strengthened my conviction to follow my own way. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? Theatrical performance is a respectable sharing, a move towards the audience, a hug that can bring us closer not only to the other person but also to ourselves, and so, by mutual energy exchange, we can become part of the community. In the greatest, most ecstatic moments when we can let go of our desire for popularity, when our senses are immersed and we find our true face, a religious quality is emerging that fills our souls as well, like when the energy of delicious organic food dissipates in our body. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Openness, energy and soul. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I think the festival has become very characteristic in recent years, and I have seen very exciting and inspirational performances. Fortunately, the festival does not necessarily follow Hungarian and international trends. Prejudice doesn’t seem to play any role in the selection of the presented works. It's a really bold and independent festival. I'm delighted that performances do not come from the mainstream. What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? Experimentation, honesty and devotion to humanity. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? By staying relaxed, focused and being 100% in the moment.
14
How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ Be empathetic and compassionate.
Gyula BERGER
photo: Roland Szabo
What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I would be a scientist, a psychologist or a musician. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! I was completely dazzled by GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN's Big Hits. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Brave, open and friendly. Name 2 artists you would like to be compared to! The writer Donald Michael Thomas. How would you finish this sentence? ‘The world without art…’ … is like a river without water. How would you define the word ‘choreography’? It's a recreated reality, a living, breathing organism with inherent laws and connections. /Interview: January 2018
15
Borbála BLASKÓ H
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer]
In 2009 you presented your work entitled ‘Peculiar Lesson’ at L1danceFest. At what moment in your career did this opportunity find you? That performance was created as part of my university studies, which I rethought. Originally it was a duet and for the festival I redid it as a solo. At what moment in my career did this this happen…?! All I know is that I wasn’t ready to be an independent creator yet, for sure. What do you think of the atmosphere of the festival, how do you see its particularities? Unfortunately I don’t really have an overview. But I am happy for the opportunity to show my work. This is really great! What are the movement qualities that you are interested in? How do you use these in a dance production? I definitely like to express myself through movement. What motivates me is to find the most adequate ones to express a given feeling, mode or idea precisely. What semiology to use is something I still research and experiment with… It lies in the future whether I can form a language to express my inner world into movement, but for sure I strive to create a unique style. You had the opportunity to work with many Hungarian choreographs – amongst them Márta Ladjánszki, who is the artistic leader of the L1 Association and recently you started to create your own work at the Vörösmarthy Theater. What makes a choreography or working with a choreograph interesting? If I can understand and feel the directions of a given form or idea and if I have the freedom to put my own voice, impulses, dynamics and expressiveness into this system. What makes a performance current or progressive? If it reflects on current problems in an individual way. If it points out, if it holds a mirror, if it confronts. Given that I personally try to avoid being too direct or too reflective. Dance isn’t too suitable for that, because it can only refer, not formulate. It can lead to huge misunderstandings and misconstructions. What inspires you the most and why? This depends a lot on what life presents to me, what I see and hear, the thoughts I have and all the everyday inspirations. How can I make these things my own, how can I recreate them from within my inner world of fantasy.
16
Borbála BLASKÓ
photo: Roland Szabo
Below you find a few words.* Could you rearrange them in an order to give an insight into your ars poetica? I would like to bring dance closer to people, so that I can get closer to them just as they get to dance. Dance is about exchanging sensations between audience and performer. I believe that dance as a form of artistic expression has its raison d’etre and it doesn’t require astounding virtuosity to impress and fascinate people. All that has to be reached through simple movements with the right feel to them and put into an adequate form. /Interview: May 2016
17
Ildikó BÓTA H
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dance therapist, choreographer]
18
You’ve already performed twice at L1danceFest (in 2006 and 2009). What importance do these performances have in your career? Looking at my career I can’t see it in a traditional way as even in the period when I worked the most for the stage as a choreographer, director and/or dancer or a performer, it was still the smaller part of my life and my therapy work. Between 2006 and 2010 I had the chance to bring artistic work and therapy work the closest possible, formally as well, so compared to earlier times, I was on stage quite a lot. Art therapy literally gained more space. Could you utilize some of the experiences and effects that you had through L1danceFest? How do you see the atmosphere of the Festival? What specialties do you consider the very own of the Festival? What I remember the most is the international community; different nations from different countries came to perform and also to watch each other. Though personally for me it was not a new situation because my close colleges are also global traveller friends who studied all over the world. Among others, they are the reason why my work is followed from abroad. They validate it. Because even though many people from all around the world work with the handicapped, according to the feedbacks, also received after L1danceFest, the approach I and the ArtMan Mozgásterápiás Művészeti Közhasznú Egyesület represent, is different and unique. You were the founder and leader of the ‘Tánceánia Company’ with the participation of healthy dancers and dancers with multiple disadvantages. Besides that, you teach, you lead a therapy practice, you dance and had several movement- and art-related experiences: you studied fine arts, dance, special education, physiotherapy, massage and even acrobatics. How do you find the balance between all these activities? I am not the director of Tánceánia anymore, and after ten years I gave up the leadership of the ArtMan too. It’s important for me that if I dig myself into something and it turns into something, it doesn't stop shaping but keeps on producing new opportunities, even if I stop doing it. All this work means constant movement and shift for me. My interest and orientations shift as well and even if it is paradoxical: the only constant thing is movement. This also relates to my many work interests, because one thing can be observed from so many different angles. Many subfields of one profession became independent, which can have a downside too, that we might forget to see the main point of it all. Balance for me means that using my knowledge I try to react validly to current challenges, and to stay awake all the time.
Ildikó Bóta
photo: Marcell Iványi
What kind of (movement) qualities are you looking for and how do you use them? How do you place these qualities in dance (into a creation, training or therapy)? My main focus has always been the human movement development. I’ve always used this as a base no matter which field I was working in. What do you consider the greatest professional achievement of your life? When kids, families and adults suffering from the biggest physical, emotional and mental problems find their own regenerating abilities and we turn it into a usable skill through the work. There is nothing more wonderful than to be a victim of such creativity. Here you can find some words*. Could you reorder them in the way that it expresses your ars poetica? Mutual exchange creates shift, and shift brings quality life. /Interview: May 2016
19
Jackie BRUTSCHE CH [performer, musician, filmmaker, artist]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2011 with ‘The Moustache Princess’ (One-Woman-Show) – it was my first solo piece and the first time I was able to present it outside of Switzerland and in front of a wider audience. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? Hugs are very healthy; you should collect as many as possible in your life. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Wild, raw and loud. Do you read the reviews of your pieces? What memorable responses have you had to your work? I was on the cover of a magazine, which was hilarious! What inspires you and why? My life. I lost my mother when I was ten. This tragic experience made me look and walk differently through society. It gave my life a direction and my work depth, meaning and urgency. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? The ability to take fear away from people. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ … have something important to say. Where and how do you find your best ideas? They come when and where they want, mostly when I don't expect them. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? This is already the case in Switzerland. I'm thankful for it but I'm not sure if it's the best for art. In the end, I try to be as independent as possible. What makes you angry or sad as an artist? Artists who don't question themselves hard enough.
20
Jackie BRUTSCHE
photo: Gergely Dzsii Pál
What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? The risk of failure or being embarrassed and no I wouldn't; I love life too much. What is the greatest or most transformative experience you have had with an audience? Playing for a bunch of loud, evil, snotty teenagers who turned into quite touched, happy babies by the end of the show. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind that you felt at L1danceFest! I loved that all the organizers seemed to be artists themselves. I was impressed by how much passion and love they'd put in it. Like a nice sweet family. How did you start creating and making art? Art saved my life as a kid. Name 2 artists you would like to be compared to! Ha-ha! I'm the only me! I get compared to Nina Hagen and Patti Smith, that's pretty cool but not something I was looking for. How would you finish this sentence? ‘The world without art…’ … would be the end of humanity. /Interview: January 2018
21
Cristian DUARTE BR [dancer, choreographer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
How would you finish this sentence? ‘The world without art…’ …would be a world without literature, music, cinema, dance, theatre... it would probably be a non-capitalist world. Can you imagine that? What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? I don’t worry about pushing definitions into my pieces. I work in contact with my surroundings. My practice and projects hold hands with the social, political and cultural contexts of where they are developed. What is the role of tradition in contemporary dance? Is it something we should respect or subvert? I work with dance to provoke flows of thinking and knowledge production. I don’t make anything to respect nor to subvert. I make things to trigger perception, imagination and sensations. Besides movement, is there an element of art you enjoy working with the most? I enjoy working with people and glitter. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? Is there a ‘secret’? What is the greatest or most transformative experience you have had with an audience? The relationship between performer and audience is an empathic phenomenon. It is a homeostasis process. It is electrochemical. There is no recipe, nor secret that could suit it all. I think it will always depend on a combination of the conditions you set for this social meeting and how the history is being told. In my opinion performers should never blame the audience for their feelings or sensations and neither should the audience vice versa. To me, the contract of a performance relies on the fact that both sides are betting for an experience that may have different shades and perceptions. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience at L1danceFest? How receptive are we compared to Brazil? I have great memories of my visit to Budapest and L1danceFest. I was warmly welcomed. It is a tendency to think that someone will find warmer audiences in Brazil but this is not true. People in this part of the globe can also be just as cold as in Iceland. /Interview: January 2016
22
Cristian DUARTE
photo: Renato Mangolin
23
Géza FEKETE H [student]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? Music free formation. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? Field in community gets closer with a hug. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Seed, plant and bower. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? No ideals, no masters, no companies. The art field is a miracle. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? Independence and free form are free of any kind of borders, so there must be a place, and there is, I’m sure, but who says or knows the truth? What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? Something deep inside, which has no concrete boundaries, which meets with others’ ideals… What performance and dance techniques are you using in your performances? Creating magic for the moment, but only live, without recording or fixing. Only live performance can capture the breath. What qualities do you research and how do you place them into your composition's frame? We meet and meet but sometimes get lost. There’s no performance in the future. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? I give what I have, you take what you can. Sometimes you can have it, sometimes not. There is no recipe.
24
Géza Fekete
photo: Roland Szabo
If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? The ability to make people less selfish. What is your dream project? See the world, meet different cultures and meet the people who understand peace on earth and that life must change. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? No idea. It’s not important. Art does not need funding. Art is based on free form. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Friendly, warm, welcoming but there are only a few people, which is perfect in a way. How would you finish this sentence? ‘The world without art…’ … is perfection. What are the limitations of the body? How do you play with boundaries in your pieces? The body is a frame, it’s a suitcase. If you have anything inside, it does not matter what your body’s boundaries are. /Interview: January 2018
25
Silvia GRIBAUDI IT
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer] What is choreography made of? In the work that I have done, I think first of all choreography is made of necessity, sense, direction and concept. I believe in sharing emotions and concepts with others; it is an exchange process that is essential for the growth of an artist and for the social and cultural environment where we grow up. Humour is a factor that can facilitate communication and, I have found out, it is a light-hearted and at the same time profound channel to convey something and get in contact with as many people as possible. I love the mystery hiding behind humour, by which tragic events can immediately become a strong point for the comical act. This is what power is about, in my opinion. What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? The risk you run on stage is to create working modules where the relationship with the audience steers the action. The relationship is the biggest risk I put at stake. Codes, timing and rhythms are to understand each other and create empathy. I don't wish to risk my life for the sake of art, quite the opposite, I want to keep on living well, better and better thanks to art. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? Is there a secret? If someone wants a relationship, he or she will find it. It's like a dialogue between friends, talking with each other, so if, when you are on stage, you decide to listen to those who are in front of you, then everything changes. The structure you have choreographed starts to take its perfect shape. Name something you couldn't live without! I couldn't live well without the practice of Buddhism, which I have been following since 2003. I couldn't be without doing daily the mantra Nam myoho renge kyo, which is the fundamental practice of Buddhism, and I couldn't live without being involved in the activities of Soka Gakkai, the Buddhist institute for peace, culture and education. The president of Soka Gakkai, Daisaku Ikeda, has been an important guide in my life and also in the performing arts he has helped me modify the way I work in order to find a new value in all that I am, as a person and as an artist.
26
Silvia GRIBAUDI
photo: Roland Szabo
Could you share with us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest? My experience was just a few days long, but what I really enjoyed about it was the informal atmosphere, where the meetings with other artists and the audience could actually trigger a productive dialogue; that is how you can meet someone and not only focus on the show, but also on their creative process. /Interview: February 2016
27
Dominik GRÜNBÜHEL AT [choreographer, performer] In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2011 with ‘I Am the Mockingbird’ and in 2016 with ‘Ohne Nix’. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I got invited with my very first solo when I started making my own work. It made me learn a lot about touring and gave me a chance to talk about my work. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Video, music and live. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? Dance, music and digital art. My idols have changed over time but they are usually from other fields. My masters are friends and colleagues that ‘go for it’. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? Trial and error. Happy accidents. Stupid ideas. Looking for groove. How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance and music? That depends on what you‘re trying to do. If you want to do it, do it well. If it works, it’s good. What qualities do you research and how do you place them into your composition's frame? I look mainly for love and try to keep it as an immanent quality. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? Openness and experience. Do you have any pre-performance rituals? If yes, what? Work like crazy to do the set-up. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must...’" … be paid for the work.
28
Dominik GRÜNBÜHEL
photo: Roland Szabo
Where and how do you find your best ideas? When it’s quiet. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? Maybe accounting. What is your dream project? A contemporary dance opera. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Serious, nerdy (in a good way) and curious. Great openness and a fully enjoyable experience. What is the role of tradition in contemporary performing art? Is it something we should respect or subvert? ‘Tradition is to pass on the fire and not the ashes’ – (quote from someone smart). /Interview: January 2018
29
Adrienn HARASZTI-ZWIEP H [dancer, choreographer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2007 with ‘Trans-Formations’ and in 2016 with ‘Inside Out’. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? The festival gave me a great opportunity and inspiration to work on new ideas, and gave support to my creative process at a moment when I didn't know which direction to go in. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? It is great to perform in a community where you can eat organic food and you can get closer to each other not just by facing or hugging, but by sharing or exchanging thoughts about nation, religion, homage, sense and quality. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Quest, aesthetics and waving. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? I am very much inspired by music, so if I have a topic, then I choose a music piece that gives me further ideas. Or I find a music piece, and then it inspires me to find a topic. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? Because of historical reasons contemporary dance has developed much differently in Hungary than in Western Europe or the USA. The independent performing dance art has a very important role within the national contemporary dance scene because it is much more open-minded, creative and daring. Through cultural exchange L1danceFest helps Hungarian artists to open up even more and work on global issues. How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance and music? This is something totally subjective, and depends on the taste of the audience. Technical knowledge is important, because it is an aesthetic tool, but the strength of a dance piece can depend more on its expressive means; how it touches or even provokes the audience.
30
Adrienn HARASZTI-ZWIEP
photo: Roland Szabo
If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? To have enough influence on people to live in peace with each other and the environment. Do you have any pre-performance rituals? If yes, what? Warming up and praying that I don't make mistakes and have enough expressive power to touch the audience. Would you share the biggest challenge you had to face in your career with us? To become a dancer at an older age. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I’d be a monk. Do you have a personal memory or a state of mind that you felt at L1danceFest? My father died the day before I performed at the festival. I felt very sorry that I could not give my best, yet I was grateful that I could be there. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Friendly, homely and open minded. /Interview: January 2018
31
Ádám Márton HORVÁTH H [musician, composer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2016 with a catwalk show, in 2015 with matinee concerts and in 2014 with Frissek Minifestival and Eszter Herold's ‘Visitation’. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? L1danceFest meant a lot to me, because it gave me an opportunity to try myself out in a live situation as a musician, and also as a composer for contemporary dance performances. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Experimental, amateur and ambient. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I'm lucky to be a frequent collaborator, as a composer, in the films of Peter Lichter. I also had a chance to work with director Sándor Csoma. In the dance field the works of Eszter Herold were very important to me; I fell in love with contemporary dance through them. I recently had the chance to work with Valencia James, Emese Kovács, Lior Lazarof and Flóra Eszter Sarlós. Dance with/or music is one of the most exciting art forms in history. Usually there are neither notated scores nor texts during the process of creating. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? First I like to talk about the project with the director, or choreographer. Then I like to have free time to explore, experiment, and usually I create different recordings. At the dances I like to see rehearsals, but it's always good to have some videos as well. With them it's like composing for a film. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I think contemporary dance in Hungary is a very lively, colourful and also small field at the moment. L1danceFest is an important and unique international event in this field, but I also have a feeling that it is a bit undervalued by the contemporary dance community.
32
Ádám Márton HORVÁTH
photo: Roland Szabo
Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? Performing live. It still is. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I would be a lighting and sound technician for a small theatre. What is your dream project? A dance piece in which I can play music and dance as well. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! I felt free and released after performing at the festival. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Free, open and homely. /Interview: January 2018
33
Ismaera Takeo ISHII J/FR [performer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Love, intestine and free. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? Very open, in many ways. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? Be together. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ … be free. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I’d be playing with my daughter. What is your dream project? To dance in every country in the world. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! It was my first festival. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? The aura of Budapest. Did you build any international contacts or inspirational friendships at the festival? Yes, many. What are the limitations of the body? How do you play with boundaries in your pieces? No limitations, only in the head. What is choreography made of? Emotions, that's all. /Interview: February 2018
34
Ismaera Takeo ISHII
photo: Roland Szabo
35
Bernadett JOBBÁGY H [performer, choreographer/director, audio-describer; original profession: landscape architect]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? First at an exhibition opening with Sellő, Oli, Bori, but don't know the year. Later at the 15th anniversary in 2016, with Endre Kertész. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? Well, I never ever got any funds for my creation processes or selling a piece from my state or city. So I’ve always had to figure out other ways, such as company donation, international scholarships, etc. Now we're running a community funding campaign to co-finance our creation process. But I think it works because I'm artistically working with marginalised groups (disabled people) in most of my recent pieces. Name something you couldn't live without! Definitely fresh air, clean water and creative silence... but my husband would be really absent if he was not here. Did you build any international contacts or inspirational friendships on the festival? Yes, I met Joanna Leśnierowska (Poznan) at the festival in Budapest, and this personal meeting was a key to getting her acceptance to be host instructor for a VARP PA residence program. Besides your chosen artistic field is there an element of art you enjoy working with the most? I enjoy the mind shift, which comes through states of deep, non-judgmental action... but it can be painting, wood carving, dance improv or falling into choreography. How would you finish this sentence? ‘The world without art…’ The Earth without art is just 'Eh'. (graffiti) How did you start creating and making art? Usually I have pictures first… images on stage that I have to unfold later. /Interview: January 2018
36
Bernadett JOBBĂ GY
photo: Roland Szabo
37
Anita KAYA AT
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer]
Could you tell us more about your dance background? What companies and choreographers have you worked with? Do you have any idols or masters? I started with stage/performance work in the beginning of the ‘80s at the Dramatisches Zentrum in Vienna. Working mainly in experimental physical theatre and Grotowski body work, with the directors Ruben Fraga from Argentina and Herbert Adamec. I co-founded several dance/theatre/improvisation groups and was involved in Min Tanaka’s Butoh work for several years. Then I studied contemporary dance in New York, where I worked with Steve Paxton and Lisa Nelson in Vermont, among others. From 1988 onwards I realized works with my own company the OYA-Produktion in cooperation with artists from different artistic fields; this transdisciplinary artistic collaboration and the exchange were and are the most important to me. Yes and the work with Nigel Charnock also impressed me. I have always refused to chase artistic idols, but my most important master in life was, and is, my son. You and Sandra Martinez participated in L1danceFest 2005 with the performance entitled ‘Modul 1 + (1)’. It was quite a long time ago. How do you remember L1danceFest, Budapest, and that performance? I remember the old brick building and images, like flashes: looking out of the window into the factory area, night, all dark and the L1danceLab space in it – light, warm and cosy. I remember that we had to compress the ‘performance’ spatially, as the stage was not as big as we were used to. I felt very connected to the public – during the performance – sitting close on cardboard seats – and answering questions after the performance. Having some coffee and cake in an old coffee-shop in Budapest with my team, Sandra Martinez, the dancer from France, and Krisha Piplits (who did the lights) and Roman Hiksch (who was responsible for the sound), taking photos, laughing a lot, watching people passing by through the big window, and enjoying the flair of Budapest’s old town. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? How did you continue the work with Sandra Martinez? I saw that you worked together on the second version of this performance, and later on as well, on the performance called ‘De corps invisible’. The year 2005 was a turning point in my artistic career, as I stopped producing dance pieces for the stage. In 2005 I was also involved, as artistic director, in an EU project called ‘Terrain Fertiles’, a residency programme for young choreographers, realized by Im_flieger in Austria, and partners in France and Romania; and I was travelling a lot. The curators of the City of
38
Anita KAYA
photo: I will survive, Self portrait
Vienna, who mainly financed my work, made the decision that they wouldn’t support both associations (OYA-Produktion and Im_flieger) which I was artistically directing anymore. Since then I have been focusing on Im_flieger with fluctuating artistic teams and developing Im_ flieger further, as an emancipatory model that requires awareness about the links between aesthetic, political and social perspectives, as well as an understanding the field of tension they create in the artistic production and communication. In the last few years I have been realizing artistic works within Im_flieger mainly in collaborative settings, no ‘big’ stage works; my interest is in transdisciplinary formats, in research and in the social aspects and practices of choreography as a performative order of space, body and materials. Circling back to your question: What I really liked is the post by ‘Irma Vep’, who visited our performance at L1danceFest in 2005, it’s not online anymore. It reflects the atmosphere very well and it always makes me smile, when I read it. Thank you IRMA VEP! I hope that she’s still visiting the L1danceFest! What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and fine arts (are you somewhat familiar with it)? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I’m sorry, but I don't know anything about the recent Hungarian dance and art field. In the ‘80s some Hungarian dancers worked in Vienna and there was some contact. And I know
39
Anita KAYA
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Ákos Hargitay and Michaela Pein, who were members of L1 Association and moved back to Vienna several years ago. At the beginning of the activities of Im_flieger we initiated a project called ‘VICE VERSA’ in 2003, where under the title ‘Aktuelle Choreografien aus Budapest. 4 Tage, 7 Köpfe’ works of L1 Association’s choreographers were presented at WUK and I guess that in exchange, in 2005, me and Sandra went with ‘Modul 1+1’ to the L1danceFest. The idea was to build a bridge between the two artists’ initiatives and stay in contact, but Im_flieger and L1 Association lost the connection. Why? I am sure you know Im_flieger association thoroughly (not long ago you gave a performative lecture about it). In your opinion what are the similarities between Im_ flieger and L1 Association and what are the differences? (Your association is much larger – what kind of advice would you give to those who work in such an association?) I have artistically (co-)directed Im_flieger since the beginning, now for the past 16 years. So… The only thing I can tell you is that these are two self-organized structures run by artists, opening up working and presentation opportunities, building networks and possibilities for exchange, also for other artists, close to the institutions. Artists gathering and working in a sustainable structure, which points beyond a single production company is a survival strategy in this artistic field whereby exchange, networking and knowledge transfer can happen. It’s great that the two organizations still exist and could survive and develop over the years. Congratulations to you! For Im_flieger it has always been important to think and act based on the needs of the performance artists and not the needs of the market, as dance institutions most often do. The structural and artistic development of Im_flieger is always connected to the development of the dance scene in Vienna and Austria, and to the context we are working in; we are trying to open up new spaces and possibilities. In the past few years we have worked in a transdisciplinary way, also with artists from other fields, in a more process- and not productoriented way. So we created a format called In_forschung (In_research). We also moved out of the WUK, located in the 9th district in Vienna, where Im_flieger was initiated and where we had a theatre-like space for 10 years. Now our new home-base is a gallery-like space at the former chocolate factory in the 12th district, which provides other possibilities. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? HUGs are not this POPULAR in our NATIONs and RELIGIONs. GETTING CLOSER to a person/animal/plant/things FACE – to FACE, to SENSE and SHARE the SENSE of COMMUNITY with the “other”. HUG. EXCHANGE. PERFORM. /Interview: March 2016
40
Ferenc KÁLMÁN H [dancer, BMC practitioner]
Could you utilize some of the experiences and effects that you had through L1danceFest? How do you see the atmosphere of the festival? What specialties do you consider the very own of the festival? During the festivals I participated in I always saw the mentality that I respected and admired in Márta as well: independence from actual trends, a unique, personal voice, experimental intentions with responsibility and depth. An artistic approach dedicated to eye-opening work. These qualities were always more important to me than making the piece definite and successful. Thanks to that the festival is a community-building opportunity that brings creators, performers and audience closer.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
You’ve already performed twice at L1danceFest (in 2006 and 2009). What importance do these performances have in your career? When Márta found me with her ‘displacement’ idea, I already considered my performer and organizer career over for ten years. My interests turned towards the body, the therapeutic qualities of movement and the work with disabled and handicapped people. From time to time I still got some job offers which I accepted in cases that I felt a personal invitation like in the case of ‘displacement’ too. It was about dancing together with Gyula Berger with whom I worked for six years in the most active period of my life but for a while I lost touch with. The other reason was Márta, whom I find the next contemporary dance generation’s most exciting, most relevant person, who is nourishing her talent with mysterious depths. In 2009 we performed ‘Eyes’ my first, and since then the only, longer piece which was also a personal invitation and created using personal experiences. The idea came from Ildikó Bóta with whom I had danced in the company of Gyula Berger earlier, but we got truly closer and cooperated through the work with disabled people. The emerging alliance and friendship between us defined the ‘second phase of my career’, which is still happening, but is in constant change in both form and content. So this piece was also a personal creation that I felt right to perform in the frame of L1danceFest.
You are one of the leaders of the ‘Tánceánia Company’ that consists of healthy and disabled dancers, you teach in and outside the company, you have a therapy practice, you lead researches and you dance. How do you find balance between these activities? Do any of them have dominance? It was a spontaneous need that led me towards the field of movement arts and ever-moreconscious research between accessible styles, techniques and understandings about body and movement. This way my focus turned to the connection between the physicality of the
41
Ferenc KÁLMÁN
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
movement and self-expression and to the reading of the happiness and pain of the birth of the movement. All that I am doing is a field for that: ‘Tánceánia’, the other ArtMan groups, the therapy and teaching jobs. On what scale I do them, depends on where a new door opens up, where I feel I can do useful work, and where I can consciously focus more attention. You studied at the Body-Mind Centering School; you use the learnt techniques in your therapy sessions and in your creation as well. What does it mean exactly? How important is technical knowledge in dance and in contemporary dance in particular? Studying different techniques enriches the movement quality and self-expression both physically and content-wise until a certain level, but after a while they can also determine the limits. I find it important that a professional performer finds and works out the technique that helps build up his or her wide spectrum of expression. This ‘expression’ should not happen through a dance technique but in unity with that. Thinking about the body is already a content that dance transfers. Considering my age, I also find it important that a technique respects the limits and the functioning of the body, like contact dance or other post-modern styles. The Body-Mind Centering School researches these anatomical bases of the birth of the movement in relation to the movement expression. It can be useful for anybody to go deep in this knowledge, no matter which technique or style. It will support performing or therapy work, as well as the development of movement abilities. According to your experiences, how can a performer create a connection with the audience? Is there a ‘secret’? There are many kinds of connection. Direct or indirect. Intimate unity with the audience, or communication through the artwork. The presence of the performer should be one whole with the piece, the level of involving the audience should be clearly communicated; the work should be honest and important for the performer. It is also essential to make it visible for the audience that not only the artwork is happening on stage but also the audience being a victim of the show is an important part of the action. Here you can find some words.* Could you reorder them in a way that it expresses your ars poetica? Living, thinking, creating in community. Mutual respect. Sharing what we know, what we can do for each other. Movement is the face of the body. /Interview: Summer 2016
42
Ferenc KÁLMÁN
photo: Dániel Sípos
43
tYhle: Lukáš KARÁSEK, Florent GOLFIER CZ/FR
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[astronaut, dancer] What are your sources of inspiration? Have you ever used scientific sources in your art? What topic are you interested in now and why? Yes, we were a little bit interested in the universe when we were making our first project ‘Tešlon a Frkl’. How important is it in your performances to expand a particular idea, to use a philosophical layer? We prefer to tell emotions and feelings more through pictures and scenes, but they could carry ideas as well. In our new project ‘Výš’, which we are rehearsing now, we are playing with the idea of going higher. Which artists or well-known people had the biggest influence on you and why? There are a few people who were with us in the beginning, such as Pierre Nadaud and Karine Ponties. To what extent are you present as yourself as Lukáš or Florent on stage when you are performing and to what extent is it somebody else? We are still ourselves on stage, we work with presence. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? Florent would probably be frustrated and instead of performing he would be teaching or performing while teaching. Lukáš would probably be an astronaut. What is ‘talent’ concerning the arts and how important is it? Talent is a mix of love and sensibility that everyone has and that can be transformed into art only through a lot of work. Do you have a work or piece that you are most proud of from your career? What would be your dream project? We are quite proud of our previous works with tYhle (‘Tešlon a Frkl’, ‘Les Fantômes’, ‘Pierer’) but we still think that the biggest challenges of our careers are in front of us. For Florent the next dream project will begin in November in Copenhagen with the choreographer Kitt Johnson
44
tYhle: Lukáš KARÁSEK Florent GOLFIER
photo: Roland Szabo
and 6 other performers. For Lukáš it will be during the same period with the Forman brothers. We also hope that we will work again with the Belgian choreographer Karine Ponties. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest when you were here! Did you build any international contacts or inspirational friendships at the festival? The meeting with Márta Ladjánszki and her work was a strong moment of L1danceFest for us. One year after the festival Florent saw her piece ‘Josha’ in Prague and fell in love with the Polish dancer Joanna Leśnierowska. /Interview: Summer 2016
45
Dominika KNAPIK PL/D [dancer, actress, choreographer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
How did you start creating and making art? I have always wanted to dance. I don't know why. From my earliest childhood I wanted to move, read and watch weird things. In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? Twice: with a solo and with ‘nic’. I'm sorry I don't remember the years… At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I was developing my career mainly as a dancer and choreographer. I was collaborating with the Art Stations Foundation from Poznań among others. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Collaboration, gestures and people. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I was educated both as an actress and as a dancer. I collaborated with Joanna Leśnierowska, Leszek Bzdyl, Iga Gańczarczyk, Ewelina Marciniak and Wojtek Klimczyk (as part of the Harakiri Farmers collective). Then I started to work a lot in theatre with different directors both in Poland and abroad. I'm always somewhere between abstraction and theatricality. My idol is Meg Stuart. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? Taking it easy. Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? Being a mother and an artist at the same time. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Fresh, kind and open.
46
Dominika KNAPIK
photo: Jakub Wittchen
How do you know if (and when) a work or a performance is finished? When I see the audience I know the work is finished. Is there a work or piece that you are most proud of from your career? Working with a group of boys in ‘Makbet’ at Mhat, in Moscow. What are the limitations of the body? How do you play with boundaries in your pieces? Limitations, I believe, are in our brain. How would you define the word ‘choreography’? Choreography is trying to organize ideas. If you have any other thoughts you would like to share with us, please feel free to add them here. I'm sending you kind regards and admire your determination in organizing the festival. I wish you good luck in the future! /Interview: January 2018
47
Kata KOVÁCS H/D [interdisciplinary artist]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2011 with ‘Where Has The Performance Gone?’, in 2013 with ‘Megharapott’ (I've been bitten) and in 2017 with ‘A zuhanás gyakorlása’ (The Practice of Falling). At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? The first time (in 2011) I participated at the festival I was just back to Hungary after a summer program at Ponderosa (in Germany), which transformed my way of thinking about dance and performance and my interest in those. I wasn't interested in doing something for the stage. I wanted to do something durational, in the foyer, something out of the usual structure that happens over the course of a longer period of time and slowly develops. I told my idea, which was still pretty unformed, to Márta. She was open to the idea and supportive in including it in the festival. It meant a lot to me, to have the openness and trust that allowed me to work through an idea that was very new to me. That was the beginning of finding a new tone, a new way of working with time and movement. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Durational, repetition and contemplation. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I studied in the Budapest Dance School, still before it became a University. After graduating in 2007, I worked with Hungarian choreographers like Andrea Mészöly, Gyula Berger, Mariann Gaál and Bea Gold. I spent a very inspiring creation process in Vienna with choreographer Ákos Hargitay. In 2010 I spent the summer participating in the P.O.R.C.H. program at Ponderosa in Germany. This experience was crucial and transformative in creating my future artistic language. This is also where I got to know my current collaborator Tom O'Doherty, with whom we've been working together since 2011. Do you have any pre-performance rituals? If yes, what? I like to spend the day of a performance slowly preparing myself; this already starts in the morning. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less possible, but I still like to think that a performance is something magical and I like to extend the time I'm in that magic.
48
photo: Roland Szabo
Where and how do you find your best ideas? With my collaborator we often talk about ideas. Sometimes it all starts from a word, or an image. Sometimes we don't talk about it again until much later. But slowly between our two brains something starts developing that later turns into a new work. What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? I don't think art has to be about threatening our own or anyone else’s life. What is the greatest or most transformative experience you had with an audience? When someone stayed for the entire duration of a 5-hour performance we did. Besides your chosen artistic field is there an element of art you enjoy working with the most? I like to combine different disciplines. What I want to express is to do with observation and contemplation and the more disciplines I'm inviting, the more ways I can look at a topic. If you have any other thoughts you would like to share with us, please feel free to add them here. Thank you for the work you do. For pushing through, fighting, and making things happen even when it seems impossible. Thanks for being able to change, renew, to invite the unknown and show things that might not be shown elsewhere. Thanks for being open! /Interview: January 2018
49
Noémi Anna KOVÁCS H [research and art projects manager, dancer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? I’ve been part of every festival since 2012. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I’ve worked at the festivals since 2012 and later performed in Márta's pieces (not upon invitation). Having been the festival host for a couple of years I could use my experience of teaching high school kids, giving presentations at the university and performing in different dance pieces. Here you can find some words*. Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours! I always wanted to get closer to a popular community but I was filled in with quality, senses and religion so I could rarely share anything with anyone. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Naive, hidden and animalistic. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I started to dance at the age of 5. During the first years of university I restarted and followed various dance training courses (at Arany10, Kortárs Alkotóműhely, Trafó, Goli and L1 Táncművek, as well as in Italy and Holland) and worked with Co. 2in1, Zero Ballet and Márta Ladjánszki. My idols are the Israeli contemporary dancers and choreographers, especially the Batsheva Dance Company. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? The Hungarian contemporary dance scene is not experimental enough and tends to hype one specific trend at a time. Dancers sometime lack a firm technical background. What qualities do you research and how do you place them into your composition's frame? Honesty, purity, clarity and originality.
50
Noémi Anna KOVÁCS
photo: Roland Szabo
In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? To be present and to keep it real. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? I'm Hungarian. Most of the time the audience is like a black hole: it sucks in everything and doesn't feed anything back. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? If I had an everlasting Arctic fresh breath I could stop brushing my teeth 3 times a day. Otherwise I could make good use of the ability to change my proportions, adapting it to my needs (short, tall, thin, thick, etc.).
51
Noémi Anna KOVÁCS
Do you have any pre-performance rituals? If yes, what? I brush my teeth. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? I don't think so. As Damien Hirst says: ‘Art is worth as much as you pay for it’.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Name something you couldn't live without! My contact lenses. What makes you angry or sad as an artist? Mocking. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! A very familiar feeling, to always meet the same people. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Very friendly and intimate. How do you know if (and when) a work or a performance is finished? The lights go off and the audience lights go on. Do you have a work or piece that you are most proud of from your career? Substituting in ‘Withering Ecstasy’. Besides your chosen artistic field is there an element of art you enjoy working with the most? Music and graphic design. What are the limitations of the body? How do you play with boundaries in your pieces? My body ages and brings my attention to its limitations, step by step. I enjoy witnessing this process. /Interview: January 2018
52
Cèline LARRÈRE FR [dancer, performer, choreographer] Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I have been supported very much by the work of Andrew Morrish, Rosalind Crisp, Deborah Hay and Simone Forti. I don't like masters and my idols are Mr Marcaille and Emmanuel Matte.
At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? At the beginning and in the middle of my career, somehow. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Appetite, noise and ridiculous. Dance with/or music is one of the most exciting art forms in history. Usually there are neither notated scores nor texts during the process of creating. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? I create my works through practice. In order to introduce you to my process I am afraid you should come shake your cells with me. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? Each time I have come, I discovered multifaceted artists and a big variety of aesthetics - this is very precious. I particularly appreciate L1danceFest, because the works are chosen based on the artists’ quality engagement, not their aesthetics, style or network. Such a curation is very precious and unique.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2010 with ‘Papalačinke’ and in 2016 with ‘Average Bastards’ and ‘Papalačinke’.
What qualities do you research and how do you place them into your composition's frame? I research that place where I get to surprise myself and yet still be very much in a relationship with the audience, so they think ‘what the fuck is that?’ but still keep being very interested in what is happening although they cannot put a name to it.
53
Cèline LARRÈRE
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? The Hungarian audience is difficult to understand as they mostly don't speak French, but my impression has been rather positive; I had a few very privileged relationships with some people while performing. Do you read the reviews of your pieces? What memorable responses have you had to your work? I think most of the reviews I have had are in a foreign language that I don't understand, so I don't try to read them. But the most memorable live response has been a dance teacher running to the curator of the festival I had just performed at shouting ‘This is not dance!’, which when you think about it is quite a compliment. What inspires you and why? Life, because that's how we make experiences. As Robert Filliou said: ‘Art is what makes life more interesting than art’. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? Humbleness and a sense of humour, because one never has enough of both for it to be bearable and to survive this world. Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? So far: being naked on stage; also trying to satisfy a choreographer who wanted me to only do ‘one thing at a time’ (I still can't figure out what that means). How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ An artist must not. What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? The risk of being boring. Don't we risk life as we live? /Interview: January 2018
54
Cèline LARRÈRE
photo: Roland Szabo
55
Tami LEBOVITS IL
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer, costume designer] What would you share in our anniversary booklet about L1danceFest and its atmosphere? I was invited to L1danceFest with the piece ‘God Is Measuring The World With A Compass’, a visual biography, made in collaboration with my close friend and colleague, Asaf Aharonson. The invitation came at a crucial point in time; Asaf was leaving Israel, starting his studies in Berlin. The piece encapsulated different time perceptions and experiences - Performance Time, Public Time, Fantasy Time, Reminiscing Time. Inside of it we tackled the notion of Being Present. The invitation to meet and perform in Budapest, and the fact that Asaf was living abroad, meant meeting in Budapest to revisit the piece; it became the reality of dealing with these questions of time and presence. Maybe the strongest input I felt, quite near the beginning, was the arrangement of the program – it was assembled in a way that enabled the artists to attend the whole festival. The program was made up of performances, talks, workshops and meetings (arranged and more spontaneous), held in different parts of the city of Budapest. Each location revealed a new potential for involvement to me, in terms of History, Aesthetics and Community. I felt that the festival as a body, as an organisation, was busy with a broader conversation, an on-going one, that it wished and still wishes to lead with the artists, audience, venues and citizens. In this sense, the encounter with the festival, with Márta and Zsolt, the artists, colleagues, audience and guests was an inspiration and a manifest for me. It is a place to revisit and reevaluate relations that have the potential to form a community. /Interview: December 2017
56
Tami LEBOVITS
photo: Roland Szabo
57
Samuel LEFEUVRE FR [dancer, choreographer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which work have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2015 with ‘monoLOG’. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? In 2015, I had been creating my own work for 5 years, at the time it was really great to be part of the Festival and to make contacts, meet new people and promote my work… (all things which are great at any point in a career I guess!). If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Physical, personal and committed. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I started training as a dancer at the age of 6, through ballet, modern jazz and contemporary dance. I went to CNDC in Angers (FR). I have worked with Michele Anne de Mey, Alain Platel, Lisi Estaras, Peeping Tom, Jérôme Bel and Boris Charmatz. I’ve created works together with musician Raphaëlle Latini, light designer Nicolas Olivier, dancers Florencia Demestri and Meytal Blanaru. Currently I create works with Florencia Demestri. I love (most of) the works of Meg Stuart and Marlene Monteiro Freitas. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? I work essentially with improvisation. It's through the exploration of specific physical states and systems, and the repetition of said exploration that usually a score appears naturally, allowing to always stay open to new inclusions, the feeling of the moment, etc. but to also base myself on a strong enough base, which usually constitutes the basic dramaturgy of the shows. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I'm sorry to say that I'm not specifically familiar with Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts… What I loved about L1danceFest was the super bold, straightforward vibe. A no-bullshit kind of style. With great commitment to the contemporary dance and performing arts scene, as broad as it may be. Which makes me place L1danceFest quite high in the scene overall!!
58
Samuel LEFEUVRE
photo: Roland Szabo
What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? I think a performance is contemporary when it somehow anchors itself in the present. There are many different tools and ways to achieve that... I tend not to think too much about that aspect when I create works. It’s best to actually be able to focus on the present moment! And simply DO the work!! How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance and music? We're talking about dance techniques, right? For me the technical aspect should never matter… it should be transcended. As an audience if I get to think or feel that a work is technically executed, something is wrong… This also goes for when, as a performer, I'm busy with the technical aspect of things while I'm performing… except if it's exactly the theme of the work, of course… In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? Being committed to the moment.
59
Samuel LEFEUVRE
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? I loved performing in Budapest. For me the audience reaction was connected to what I felt about the festival in general, a rawer and more direct way to connect. It was refreshing compared to what I can feel in other places… Do you read the reviews of your pieces? What memorable responses have you had to your work? Yes, I read the reviews… the one I like the most to this day, is being part of a shared evening, and the critic saying ‘This is the work that I liked the least, but that I'll remember the most’ about ‘monoLOG’. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must..’ … develop his or her craft and keep creating no matter what! Where and how do you find your best ideas? Out of the studio, not thinking about art… What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I think I'd be a social worker. What is your dream project? A project that I could perform all my life, and let evolve with me over the years… Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? Yes I think it definitely should. An ‘artist status’ like we have in Belgium is I think the greatest start. Name something you couldn't live without! My artist status! Just kidding! My family and friends. What is the greatest or most transformative experience you have had with an audience? Performing for a 4-5 year-old boy (accompanied by his Dad) in a one-on-one setup, and making him pass from tears to a smile. /Interview: January 2018
60
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
61
Chris LEUENBERGER CH
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer] How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? I often work with improvisation tasks, record and improve sessions on my computer, and then pick fragments of what I liked and edit them. Editing is a way of choreographing. Another approach I’ve developed over the past years is exploring the choreographic potential of breath: using breath scores and tasks related to breath and movements in order to create movement material. What inspires you and why? I am inspired by collaborating with different artists from different backgrounds, generations, abilities etc. I believe when different perspectives, tastes and aesthetics collide and meet, something new and exciting is bound to emerge. Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? The biggest challenges are my own doubts and fears. What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? I think it is difficult to use the term ‘progressive’ nowadays when everything seems to have been done before. I question the need to constantly reinvent oneself as a contemporary artist and the pressure to come up with something new and cutting-edge… For me, contemporary means being aware of the discourse that is going on in one’s scene or community and relating to that in one’s work. This could be done by dealing with current issues (socio-political and cultural), by drawing inspiration from a historical work and making it relevant in a presentday context, or by following a fascination completely independent of ‘contemporary trends’. I think I have tried a bit of all of the above strategies when making work. How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance? I think technical knowledge is important and can be a great tool, but sometimes also an obstacle. I find it a pity when a technique limits a dancer to just one way of executing a movement when there are so many more ways. I see contemporary dance as an art form that draws inspiration from an unlimited range of techniques and styles. And I like the notion of technique as something fluid and constantly in development.
62
Chris LEUENBERGER
What was your impression of the Hungarian audience at L1danceFest in 2011? How receptive are we compared to Switzerland? I met deeply interested and receptive spectators when performing at L1danceFest in 2011. I appreciated the warm, supportive atmosphere and the critical and genuinely curious questions that were asked in the audience talk after the performance. As I recall, there was a great openness and willingness to talk about the works presented at the festival. Swiss audiences are generally more reserved.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
photo: Roland Szabo
/Interview: March 2016
63
Honza MALÍK CZ
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, teacher and co-founder/producer] How did dance appear in your life? Did you ever doubt becoming an artist and if yes what role did it play in your professional development? Well, I started to dance as a child at the age of 6, in a small Czech town in a folk dance group as there were boys missing from the group, so my sister recommended that I should try going… Never did I think that it would turn out this way - I mean that I would become an artist, that that’s what they’d call me. Slowly but surely I just became part of an artistic field…. Are there artists or well-known people who have had a big influence on you? Who are they and why did they influence you? My chief from children’s group I already said. She was the very first – we spent our time not only dancing but doing many other activities connected to children’s education, during the summer camps for instance too. And then there is Eva Blažíčková, a very important person in Czech dance education, the founder of the Duncan Centre Conservatory and master teacher in the subject of children dance education in our country (including methodology and pedagogy). She showed me the way of thinking about dance and how to see it, what is the first and last in it… It is very much about a philosophy in dance creation and ‘artistic taste’. What direct or indirect effects can art have? Should art be concerned with the solution of the problems of the 21st century (e.g. migration, environmental pollution etc.…)? I don't know the answer to whether art can solve problems on a global scale, but for sure an artist needs to be engaged in these questions. Art should bring about comments and dialogues. Art should be provocative and explore questions and suggestions and to stoke social events… What makes you angry or sad as an artist? When authorities in our city and country are blind, insusceptible and not open to the performing arts and its mission. When they don't see and when they have no idea about its very clear impact on the human being and on our society. When they don’t invest in contemporary dance art. And I don’t mean financial investment alone. As we know the final profit is not instant and comes much later than they are sometimes able to understand. Dance cures our mind and it's very healthy for the body. What kind of plans do you have for the near future? The group Nanohach is coming to an end after 12 years. We decided to finish our company’s
64
Honza Malík
journey. The same name association will transform and will focus on the work of pedagogue and choreographer Michal Záhora. The transformation is a very positive step and we are very excited… At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind that you felt at L1danceFest when you were here! As the Nanohach company we were invited twice to present the works of different choreographers – the first time ‘Portrait’ by I.M.Popovici in 2008 – the company was quite young and I was in a position of freelance dancer for almost 10 years. The second time it was ‘Sand-woman’ by L.Švejdová. That was in 2012. Speaking about the festival programme that year, I enjoyed every day and every show. I can remember seeing many inspiring works from various genres of the performing arts from different European countries. That was unexpected in a very positive way. I also liked the artistic connection between the festival and the costume designers. This year, as I already said, the company Nanohach will end its work, so it was definitely the company’s last participation.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
photo: Roland Szabo
/Interview: 2016
65
Erikk McKENZIE NO
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, performer, fine artist] In addition to dance you also learned fine arts. Maybe because of that you often play with the boundaries of different art forms in your pieces. How would you define the word ‘choreography’? The separation of art forms in Western culture, for instance between music and dance, has always seemed rigid and awkward to me. I think it has much more to do with the bureaucratization of culture than culture itself. Regarding choreography, it is difficult to find one definition that can encompass all existing choreographic works. But to me, choreography as an art form has to do with creating, or facilitating situations, sometimes involving specific creative or performing skills, and with an emphasis on nonverbal, physical communication. When you are wearing choreographic glasses though, everything becomes the choreography of objects in movement, even stillness is moving. But that is choreography - as a way of seeing. What is choreography made of? Please write a short explanation. Choreography can be made of all the elements you have listed. But assuming you mean my own work, I would say my emphasis has been on music and story, not necessarily as a narrative but as a message. I would definitely add communication, as our limbs and face muscles are the first to take over when words fail. For me, choreography has been different attempts of communicating – a message to an audience, or the experiment of creative communication in different artistic collaborations, and so on. Which sense or sensory organ is the most important for you, that you would hate to lose? First thought: sight. Second thought: hearing. If I lost my hearing, I imagine I would start translating my visual experience into music. You have created several performances for schools, clubs and public spaces. Would you rather create or perform in a studio or in other spaces? As a performer, I don't really have a preference in terms of space (though I don't mind soft beaches with water in 20 degree Celsius). There is something annoying about cold, dirty, concrete spaces, but somehow those spaces have hosted some of my most memorable experiences too. Actually, I find travelling between different settings very inspiring, and this shift of conditions has also shaped several of my works.
66
Erikk McKENZIE
photo: Selma Iren Arnø
What is the greatest or most transformative experience that you have had with an audience? What was your experience with the audience in Hungary? I think my most transformative experience with an audience was performing for kids. When I was asked to create a performance and had the chance to perform for school kids, I was very unsure if this was something I was meant to do. But during the course of over 100 shows I learnt how, as a performer, to cope with the energy of a children audience. It was like being in a live and direct feedback session. Kids don't wait for the aftertalk. In Hungary, I remember performing at L1danceFest with Javier Murugarren, bringing the audience on stage at the end of our show. Playing a concert at A38 with Evelin Tóth, I remember my ticket was paid by a fan of our music. I have little experience with this kind of personal sponsorship in my own country. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Well, it’s been a while, since I haven't been there, since I performed in ‘Voor Margaretta’ with Instant Collective in 2007. But from those days I remember a sincere hospitality and great interest in our work, a diverse and friendly audience, and fun parties after the shows. Also, I saw a couple of inspiring pieces. I also remember we invaded an abandoned factory next to L1danceLab, which then became the decadent setting for a spontaneous video performance. /Interview: January 2016
67
Ruri MITOH J
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer] You attended L1danceFest in 2014 with ‘ESQUISSE’ which as I remember was a very intimate, inward performance, a kind of personal statement. What do you think, what is the relationship between body and personality? There is a relationship between body and personality, for sure. In fact, I think the body is a container that contains a soul, and it can't move without the soul (or the mind). When it is my solo piece, I use my body to show my mentality and experiences. I think even the body shows a state of my mind on the stage and what I am feeling at the very moment when I’m dancing. It is two things that can't be separated. On the other hand, there is a style of dance in which a dancer hides one’s feeling or acts like something else. Therefore the audience cannot see everything about the dancer, and it is hard to know what the audience actually sees. As a dancer, there might be no way of verifying how close one gets to what one’s ideal body is because one can’t see one’s own entire body. However, as a choreographer I also use someone else’s body; it is another story. I can see their body lively. When I see someone’s body for the first time, I can imagine what I want their bodies to do and I can give characters to them. Although it is my selfish imagination, your body, gesture, voice and the quality of movements inspires me, I guess. A history of your body shows who you are. I think one's body is a visual characteristic that each one of us has, and one’s personality controls its body. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? I don’t fix every single detail of my piece when I make it. I am alive and time passes, my body and my mind is changing every day. What is good today might not be good tomorrow and vice versa, so I don’t determine everything from the beginning. I stick to my idea in my mind when it doesn’t wobble, but it is something to be constructed in day-to-day work. Changes happen in life. I want to enjoy such day-to-day changes and create my current work. Although, I have been working like that and created something I want to seal off. What qualities of movements do you research and how do you place them into a dance frame? In my solo pieces in the past few years, I searched for something to break the limit of my body. One of them is illusion. For example, how a human can look like something else, unusual shapes of the body. It is also important to examine the quality of movement, the relationship between movement and time, weight etc. When I work with others, on the one hand, I want dancers to recreate movements and
68
Ruri Mitoh
photo: Roland Szabo
qualities that come from my body although I want them to remember who they are. They don’t need to become me. On the other hand, I want dancers to look for something unique and original. Something only their specific body can do. When you are on the stage, there is something only you can do, even though you are just standing there, but I want you to find at least one thing to break your limit. I am looking forward to seeing it in the common work at the workshop. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? This year, it is a time of celebration. I expect to see more high-quality works than ever before. I appreciate that this festival gives me opportunities to meet new talented artists. Thank you! /Interview: Summer 2016
69
Tomáš Marný MORÁVEK CZ
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[lighting guy] In which year and with which work have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? My first time at L1danceLab was many years ago with Pierre Nadaud, as a sound guy. I still had long hair and no multi-tool. Later on I came almost every year with different theatre freaks such as Jaro Viňarský, Matthew Rogers, Jan Bárta and Halka Třešňáková and of course more than once with Katarína Ďuricová and our lighting workshop activities. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? AT THE BEGINNING! But I'm still a beginner. Thanks to L1 Association I saw for the first time the dramaturgy of a festival which can select different shows with different topics in one night and make it complex enjoyment. Like when you taste many different things and they make you understand more of yourself. Simply, only if you try different things can you know what you like and what you don’t. But to make such a dramaturgy you need to have courage. I'm missing this attribute from many of today's dance – physical – contemporary festivals in Eastern Europe. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? HUG COMMUNITY shit QUALITY ORGANIC FOOD GETTING CLOSER to EXCHANGE RELIGION and NATION we FILLED IN HOMAGE to make more POPULAR toilets and we SHARE this SENSE in to your FACE. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? KEEP IT ON (otherwise there is darkness). Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I have no artistic background. But actually I can see art everywhere. The first person who showed me The PAR (BCSL Bright Charismatic Stage Light or Parabolic Aluminium Reflector) and the more or less bright stage reflectors was Jan Beneš. Later on, I went through many hands and finally, I ended up on the stage with my hands empty. I'm still grateful to all those people who like to work and search with me during the creation: Viňarský, Ladjánszki, Vosto5, Stanica – Žilina, Institut Of Lighting Design Prague, Jan Bárta, Daara Dance Company, and many others…
70
Tomáš Marný MORÁVEK
photo: Roland Szabo
What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I wish for contemporary dance and independent performing arts in Hungary to have more venues to perform and share ideas, with less Viktor Orbán. Otherwise I think that the scene is still alive and full of juice. I would like to have L1danceFest in my neighbourhood therefore I’m always on the road. What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? I wake up every morning with these words on my lips: Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck, Do not get stuck... How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance and music? Around 0,5 - 1 thousandths. What performance or dance techniques are you using in your performances? I guess power climbing.
71
Tomáš Marný MORÁVEK
In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? The present tense.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? I really try hard but I don't understand your language. Otherwise they respond like healthy individuals. Do you read the reviews of your pieces? What memorable responses have you had to your work? We want our money back! (The best review.) What inspires you and why? Daylight. Because: is it here every day and is never the same, you can call it kitsch but you like it, it has the best colours ever, it can change your mood, you can't control it, you can't watch it directly, it has the longest fade in and longest fade out. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? EH EATER HATER! My logo will be a white plate with shit on it and a crossed knife and fork. Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? To work and communicate with people who don't want to work and communicate. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? Making shoes, sleeping or I would not be here. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? Art you never sell art doesn't make money art needs your support like baby baby don't ask money baby makes you happy like art What makes you angry or sad as an artist? Fascists, ignorance, stupidity.
72
Tomáš Marný MORÁVEK
Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! Many, many, many, many... but maybe: The whole night I was hanging out with the company from Denmark Two women machine show until 5 am in the morning in Budapest bars. I could not believe that after the show had ended they were just ‘the people’. I was expecting that the show would continue... and it did, but just for me. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Everything has its own time and place and slowly time has come.
Besides your chosen artistic field is there an element of art you enjoy working with the most? COMMUNICATION is an art. Name 2 artists you would like to be compared to! Mr Be Yourself and Ms Be Yourself. How would you finish this sentence? ‘The world without art…’ … is the world without art… What is the role of tradition in contemporary performing art? Is it something we should respect or subvert? Inspire, transform and create your own. How would you define the word ‘choreography’? Chore – like Fuc*ing hard work; o – like perpetual nothing; graphy – like visual: Visual hard work about nothing. /Interview: January 2018
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Do you have a work or piece that you are most proud of from your career? I love ‘Animalinside’ by Jaro Viňarský.
73
Pierre NADAUD FR/CZ [choreographer, performer, comedian]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Could you tell us more about your professional background? What companies, choreographers and directors have you worked with? With Karine Ponties and Paco Decina. And some others you don’t know. Do you have any idols or masters who have influenced your work? Gille Deleuze, Charlie Chaplin and Akira Kurosawa, Patrice Chéreau, Arthur Rimbaud and Henri Michaux, Josef Nadj, Gnosis of Akram Khan, Peter Brook, Johann le Guillerm. Your work is very much connected to physical theatre and you also lead the Physical Theatre Department of JAMU. Physical theatre plays with the boundaries of different art forms. How would you define the expression ‘physical theatre’, and what it means to you? Prevalence of the body on theatre stage, and body as theatre stage. Archaeology of emergence of the meaning in the performing body. Jump from the singular to the universal (no generality). As a teacher at a theatre school, what kind of new challenges do the students of performing arts have to face nowadays? Do you see new tendencies in performing arts? For me there is a comeback of storytelling, but in a refined way (behind the signs). The students have to both meet universal rules and the roots of their own style. Sky and earth. That is the difficult challenge. What risks do you take in your performances? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? I have broken some fingers and I spend long periods without sleeping. I lost a kidney. But my art is a way and not a goal. The goal is to understand and carry the light. You also work on site-specific performances. What do you prefer, creating or performing in a studio or theatre or in open air or public spaces? At last, I have to admit that I prefer theatre as a magic meeting hall.
74
Pierre NADAUD
photo: Jour de Colere
At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? Did you establish any international contacts or inspirational friendships at the festival? I remember the time I spent in L1danceLab for the creation of ‘Day of Wrath’. I remember the presentation and the feedback. The enthusiasm of people for this art. The support we received from Márta. /Interview: September 2016
75
Csilla NAGY H
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer] You have already performed at L1danceFest, moreover, you were resident artist and member as well. In which moment of your career did these performances happen? The best moment! The time I joined the Association and the beginning of my motherhood (my pregnancy) happened all at once. At first I was worried that it would be a less active period of my career, but looking back now I see that L1 really helped me connect my roles as a mother and as an artist and to stay active in the dance scene as a member of a supportive community. Could you utilize some of the experiences and effects that you had through the L1danceFest? How do you see the atmosphere of the festival? What specialties do you consider the very own of the festival? How do you position the Festival in the national and international scene? These last years I could participate only in my own creations since my daughter, Boróka, took the rest of my time, so I could enjoy only a small slice of the Festivals. For me every time was so extraordinary: I could perform in Hungary, in front of a full-house, in front of many international guests who watched my show with curiosity. For example, I am sure these shows played a part in the ‘Laban Rudolf’ award nomination for our duet called ‘Bay’ (‘Öböl’). How do you create a show? Do you have a special method? I make lots of notes about my thoughts, ideas, even my dreams. Then I compress them in a poem-like extract. I draw too. Visions come and go; the most relevant ones become more elaborated. My personal experiences are always the starting points. When I work with others, they also bring their own personal stories. I really like Rogers’s quote: ‘What is most personal is the most universal.’ Sometimes I notice that I use the methods of Gábor Goda, which is not surprising after eight years of working together. In addition, the Skinner Release Technique had a major impact on me and became incorporated into my work in recent years. I am very grateful to Eszter Gál for that, from whom I continuously learn a lot. In your performances you fuse several styles: contemporary dances, yoga, tai chi, Argentine tango, street dances, brake, disco… How important is technique in a contemporary dance show? This opens up a new question for me: what do we consider ‘technique’? The movement quality is extremely important for me; sometimes my perfectionism appears on a perverse level: I am able to practice a single movement ad infinitum. Fortunately, I’ve started to use improvisation more and more in my pieces, for instance in the ‘Bay’ (‘Öböl’) this is a major
76
Csilla NAGY
photo: Roland Szabo
and important step ahead. Thanks to Julcsi (Júlia Vavra) many parts are improv-based which gives a fresh, playful atmosphere to the scenes. But what is even more important is the artistic presence. In my last work, that was also the master-work of Zsuzsanna Szabó textile and fashion designer at the MOME Academy, I was just turning slowly for more than three hours. Natural human movement filled with artistic presence: it was a fantastic experience and challenge. This ‘presence’ is life itself, what shapes, ripens, kneads me as a human and as a performer - and I am grateful for that. Currently I am working on my new piece, ‘self_Tango’, with Edit Szűcs, scenery designer and with the ‘Collective of Natural Disasters’ (‘Természetes Vészek Kollektíva’). This time the space, the magical realism, the visions get even more focus through the costumes and the set.
77
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Csilla NAGY
78
You perform abroad a lot, you’ve worked with many collaborators in Hungary too; you founded the ‘Cipolla Collectiva’ multi-art formation in 2012, which has been working with many different guest artists ever since. How do these performances abroad and the new work relations affect you and your work? Why are the ever-new collaborators important to you (meaning that you don’t work in a stable group where members know each other for a long time)? This spring I went to Israel. I had a dream that there was something there that could support my femininity right now. I attended a Vertigo Masterclass. It was really hard but felt good to realize that everything I had learnt as a dancer before, my body still remembered, even though I hadn’t practiced for a long time! These experiences are also being incorporated into the new piece. The Collectiva is forming, now I finally have a core of people to count on, I truly believe that soon it will become a stable group. This is only a question of time and financial support. I see the Cipolla moving in the right direction! What inspires you and why? My life. Sometimes I feel that this is an egoist, narrowed statement, but that is the case. Maybe it will change in the future, maybe not. Whom do you consider your masters, or role models (creators, companies)? Gábor Goda and the Artus, Eszter Gál, Katalin Lőrinc, Klári Pataky, I have a lot to thank them for. I like Björk and Michael Jackson; they are very special to me. And NATURE itself; I feel an ever-growing respect towards nature and a desire to unify with it. Here you can find some words.* Could you reorder them in a way that it expresses your ars-poetica? Religion divides, face performs, sensitivity fills up, respect respect respect. /Interview: Summer 2016
Tamara OBER USA [dancer, choreographer]
How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance? I'm not sure if I understand this question – I will answer the question what technique informs you in contemporary dance’. I think of contemporary dance as percussion – percussion is used in an orchestra and also in a speed metal band. Sometimes what is required of contemporary dancers is more ballet technique, and other times it is the radical freedom a human feels while dancing in a nightclub. The contemporary dancer is required to understand dance, humanity, and movement on an expansive scale. Then they can provide movement that is classical to movement that is radical and spiritual. And sometimes those forms are infused with each other in contemporary dance.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I was so young in my career – I was only a dancer for a company when I first came to L1danceFest. I came back a couple years later with my first work of choreography. It was a turning point for me in my life - the first opportunity someone gave me to be recognized as a new choreographer in the world. It took me beyond how I'd known myself before. I felt respected as someone who had the vision and potential to become a choreographer – which is infinitely different than being a dancer who fulfils other people's visions. My first work was geared toward pleasing an American audience – but as I saw the other works at L1danceFest, I felt that a greater range and freedom was offered to me to be a more abstract and risky creator utilizing movement, the body, humanity, and dance in innovative ways. I was inspired by seeing the way that Hungary supported avant-garde work. I realized how America felt like a place that I was trying to please so that I could make enough money to not go into debt for my work. And I felt excited that there was support in other countries, like Hungary, for work that was not simply trying to appease the rich, the casual and the lazy, who have so much power over art and money. I also saw three of my favourite works of art, which I still speak about today as my most influential work.
About a dancer not feeling ‘technical’ – yes, we call this ‘pedestrian’, as well. A lot of work is moving in this direction – there is an anti-dance movement. I think it is a very old response to the demand for perfection in the body – to become a highly trained body; you will go through judgement of what is ‘right and wrong’, ‘beautiful and incorrect’ – which feels like it squashes freedom and character. I’ve always felt like I wasn't perfect enough, skinny enough, correct enough to fit into a serious technique. I could never achieve being the ‘best’. So I think there are a lot of dancers who felt that and rebelled. And their response is to take
79
Tamara OBER
photo: D.J. Mendel
back their power and show people that everybody is good enough. It is a rebellion against highly structured form and technique. What I think happens though, is that rebellion becomes trendy – and trendy mimics rebellion, so it falls very flat and is missing the power and energy of rebellion. And in fact, if you are going to rebel and do a good job of it, you need to be investigating something else that is powerful – not just ‘not dancing’. Performing a ‘lack’ of something is not interesting to me. So, I think that rebellion is great if you have a new and interesting perspective or a way to guide people to a deeper understanding of something else that is valuable, beyond highly structured form and technical tricks. My rebellion comes in the form of HEART. I don't believe people engage with heart very much. It has become identified as a 'weakness'. And I believe that time/space/energy (which is dance) can tap into the heart that people are rarely using these days. (What is heart without being 'sentimental' or sappy or sad or murky – maybe my question is more about 'spirit' or 'feeling' intense things – expanding the palette of emotion without becoming completely drowned by it at the same time, and being able to be present with intense emotion. Márta Ladjánszki explores flesh/body and presence, I think.) In the end, I think a lot of people do not use pedestrian bodies (non-technical bodies) well. The work falls very flat. But there are some choreographers who do it well, so it can be done.
80
Tamara OBER
What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I would be a choreographer (I am primarily a dancer now). I would be a writer. And an inspirational speaker. I would teach dance mixed with sociology. I would own a school with the name ‘Present State Movement’ which would teach classes that would bring people artistically closer to their soul and their humanity, and would create work that would allow an avenue to the soul and to humanity for audiences. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to the audience in your country? I felt embraced by them. Even if they didn't understand my language, they understood the heart of what I was trying to convey. No matter what, the audience feels powerfully responsive – even if they hated the work or had challenges with it – I feel their applause is for the artist. It is for the work and ability to be truly present and offer a piece of humanity that is not offered in many other parts of life. It is like art is an honest gift, and they feel like they understand the deep magnitude of its influence in life. They offer love to the human, the artist, and the greater politic of art being made.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What are the limitations of the body in dance? How do you play with the boundaries in your pieces? Again, I question what you intend with this question – but my limitation is physical. It is the place where muscles fatigue, or there is limitation of the joints. Some choreographers require bodies to become superhuman – and only use bodies that are abnormal with their range of motion, actual size, or strength and endurance. Other choreographers use more average bodies in order to explore and represent the ways an average body has the potential to move. I think I will still answer that physicality is a great limitation. I enjoy real physical limitation – tying your hands up and accomplishing a dance with honest limitation. I did a dance with a giant sack on my back once. And once I danced on the edge of a bench – and climbed up very high on top of a chair on the bench; balancing that high offers great limitation! I appreciate physical limitation because I think I need something to interact with – a physical partner, whether human or not, or a prop or a physical limitation provides a relationship and contrast in a dance. You can agree with it, fight it, push it away, take it into you, ignore it and come back to it.
How can dance help us gain a deeper understanding of the world? Art is beyond the politic, beyond the mind, beyond the insanity of the details that bury most of humanity – it penetrates into something that is rarely explored, rarely understood – the soul, sensorial humanity, humility... Art is love. And hate. And expression. It is the search for being totally unique, experiencing solitude, and it is the expanse of the human experience. And beyond. Into the supernatural. It breaks us and makes us deeper and broader and more capable of living. We can find a universal understanding through art, which is beyond language. And we can all feel like we all understand the same thing together in the same moment. In this time, there is nothing more vital than this. /Interview: Summer 2016
81
Lilach ORENSTEIN IL [dancer, art manager]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? After three years in the Machol Shalem Dance House as a rehearsal manager and I was just finishing my BA in Dance, specializing in choreography. What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? The relations between the symposium and the discussions regarding the changing politics in the world. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Unfortunately, because we were here for the international dance festival, I didn’t have time to see Hungarian creators. Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I feel that I have not experienced it enough to be able to compare it, but it is important for me to state that it was a fascinating experience for me. What do you think makes a performance contemporary or progressive? Were there any such pieces at the previous L1danceFests? If yes, which ones? I think a contemporary dance piece is a work which involves old and new elements; it lies on the fine line that is between the high skill required in the torso in modern dance and the rigorous legwork of ballet and combines it, in a loose way, with elements from many fields into one harmonious piece. But it can also be free from any ballet or modern elements, if done by choice. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? In the symposium I attended they were really open-minded and engaged in interesting and intellectual conversations before and after. As in any country, it depends on the sector but generally speaking Hungarians are very receptive. What inspires you and why? Sharing ideas between artists from different fields and myself. I believe in artists from a wide range of arts working together towards a combined creation.
82
Lilach ORENSTEIN
photo: Roland Szabo
If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? Time-Control. This would enable me to create more – dwell in my thoughts and deepen my understanding of the things I find interesting. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ … be open to different ways of thinking. Where and how do you find your best ideas? Looking at complex situations that are hard to analyse as they happen. What is your dream project? To be a choreographer and producer in a grandiose production involving costumes, lighting, orchestra – like shows used to be in the old days. What risks do you take in your work and performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? I stretch my body to the limit. Risking your life for your art is an ideal which an artist does not confront nowadays. I want to believe that if I create something that I am true to I will defend it with every bit of power I have.
83
Lilach ORENSTEIN
What is the greatest or most transformative experience you have had with an audience? When I was seventeen I taught as a replacing teacher in a studio – the parents mocked my age but after they saw me perform they came to apologize and express their wishes that I would continue teaching their children.
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! The conversations we had regarding the changing landscape of extremism thought Eastern Europe and how we should all pay attention to the new political situation. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? A festival that involves all kinds of art aspects. Unique workshops, fascinating symposiums and performances. How do you know if (and when) a work or a performance is finished? I believe that a work is never done because creation is something that is alive. The current ending of a work is only temporary. Name 2 artists you would like to be compared to! Yan Faber and Ohad Naharin. Do you think that dance is culturally coded? Why? Yes, because each of us came from different backgrounds which relate to different gestures and movements that are the basis. How can dance help us to understand the world deeper? Dance encodes feelings and ideas into a flowing language of expressions. Using it, we can pass on ideas in their pure form to enrich our lives. What is choreography made of? Choreography is based on an idea, a concept of the creator and dancers which is encoded into movements gracefully, creating a story which is only completed by the viewer itself. /Interview: December 2017
84
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
85
Martine PISANI FR
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[choreographer] As a kind of ars poetica, you emphasized that we shouldn’t consider dance as virtuosic since it’s free from any formalism. What qualities of movements do you research and how do you place them into a dance frame? « Free from any formalism » because the starting point of a movement is rather an intention than a form. I am looking for that, what puts the body in motion. For all kinds of movements, I invent a certain amount of rules. For example: a walk together along several paths, on an unstable or slipping ground. We slip but we don't show that we slip. In other words ‘we do but don't represent that we do’. I research precision and listening. It is a question of being in the present, without overacting or mannerisms, without anticipating the result. Simplicity is my ideal but it is not that simple! I often say that we are in a space of play. Play gives us the space for unexpected dance. What is your source of inspiration? Where and how do you find your best ideas? In general, inspiration comes from life and from my perception of the world. Most of time, the ideas arrive obviously. For instance, I read certain philosophers when I made performances around the subject of time. Then the space-time of physicists comes naturally. The origin of the universe, the infinitely large and small, the zero moment, mass, velocity, energy – such scientific notions inspire me. I can also be inspired by a vague feeling that I couldn't put a name to. I don't know where I have some of my best ideas but solitude, silence and calm are good for me, either in nature or in urban contexts. What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? I feel that I take risks when things can fail, this is fundamental for me. The contents are made with paradoxes, contradictions, fragility and humanity. I never know what will happen, although I know what I am doing. This is the condition for the process of my performances. In France, I don't think we risk our lives in the field of art. We fight to preserve our rights but we are not at war. What makes you angry or sad as an artist? Fashion phenomena, consensus, injustice, lack of attention, big-headedness, egocentrism...
86
Martine PISANI
photo: Roland Szabo
Could you tell us more about your dance background? What companies and choreographers have you worked with? Do you have any idols and masters? If I have to mention some names, I would say Merce Cunningham, Pina Bausch, William Forsythe – but they are not idols or masters. They are my favourite choreographers. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and fine arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I don't know very much about the Hungarian art life because I only came to Budapest once, 13 years ago... I was very happy to be invited by L1danceFest and I appreciated the enormous work of the team in organizing the festival. I know the situation is very hard today. I would place L1danceFest on the same level as lots of European organisations which face more and more difficulties in order to survive; and have to fight against dangerous politics. /Interview: January 2016
87
Karine PONTIES FR/BE [choreographer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Never stop (to)born. Play, abandon, rigour.
88
How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? No methods. It always depends on who I work with. For 20 years now, my research has been pivoting around translation. Translating, rewriting, not oneself into the world, but the world within us, as a human being amongst other human beings, the only horizon being vertiginous complexity. Translation as mediation between cultural plurality and human universality. Openness-Dialogue-Interbreeding-Decentring. To eventually translate the stranger within us. I work in an exhaustive way, based on directed improvisations that I film to have video support alongside my notes. For each show this material represents between 50 and 80 hours, which I watch several times, to carefully select the material I will use. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and fine arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I don’t know enough about the Hungarian scene! I have performed in Trafó, in MU and at L1danceFest but each time I stayed too little to discover others artists. I know Hungarian art organizations work like crazy to defend Hungarian dance and try to make things move as much as they can in the contemporary field. For me L1danceFest is one of the most dynamic festivals in Hungary and Márta is really appreciated by a lot of dancers and choreographers around the world. In the description of your choreography, the ‘Scarecrow Cycle’, I found a very nice picture I'd like to share. The scarecrow is made for keeping the airborne black birds away from land on the protected field. Now, the scarecrow is always hanging in the air, unable to land, which suggests that it is similar to the bird which he was made (born?) against. What do you think about this controversial picture of freedom? We only feel freedom when we have an idea of what confinement is. He is not attached to one point; he is a scarecrow by chance, a piece of plastic carried by the desires of the air. A flame that repels. It’s his freedom that is frightening, this wind that changes without warning. A body seized by the wind that dries up, exhausted. A living body, filled with several energies and exposed to the four winds cannot tire, when a force weakens it, it concedes to its superiority. Freedom is the act of maintaining oneself amidst these forces.
Karine PONTIES
photo: Roland Szabo
Jaro Viňarský danced your choreography entitled ‘Havran’ and earlier performed his own choreography as well. I ask you the same thing that I asked him at that time: What could be the first step after this? Is it a step by the way? Jaro Viňarský created ‘The Last Step Before’ after a very long creation process with me for ‘Holeulone’, which took 4 years to make. After that, he needed to fly and have space, and he did a really nice piece. When we did ‘Havran’ we had already worked on 3 pieces together. And it was like rediscovering a lot of things. How to start again and learning to walk again. As if we were children, we played with everything that presented itself to us, with pleasure. How would you describe the aura of the L1danceFest? They do a lot to put forward Hungarian artists and they are very present in international networks. /Interview: Summer 2016
89
Tomáš PROCHÁZKA Handa Gote Research & Development CZ
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[performer, musician] Where and how do you find your best ideas? The best ideas are not my best ideas. They are ideas floating in the air for everyone to catch. Therefore the best ideas can come literally from anywhere; one has just to be extremely observant. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? To be able to time travel, without a doubt. For recreational and business purposes. As this is apparently not possible, I would probably just get smarter. I would learn some other languages and read some more books, which I am lazy to read now. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I would be a scientist. Or working in heavy industry. I would also make a good chemist or tolerable bass player in a country music band. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ I am not very good with imperatives. An artist must not be dumb. Maybe. Or an artist must have some ethics. Perhaps. I also tried putting this line into Google search, to get a bit wiser and it told me this: ‘An artist must push with a minimum force of 75 N.’ With that I also agree. What do you think makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? It could be some kind of foreseeing of the things which will be important in the very near future. Or seeing very clearly the things that are important now, but nobody sees them well. Careful perception of the era we live in, with many details - technical, sociological, political and spiritual. And with all those details in mind constantly rebuilding the very idea of how performance should look and how the performers should behave. I just try to be observant and not take any ideas or forms for granted. And I am extremely sceptical of the trends. I think they are distracting and superficial. Information is not trendy, nor is the imagination. Do you have a work or piece that you are most proud of from your career? What would be your dream project? It is probably always the last project. I find this a good sign. I don't think I have a dream
90
Tomáš PROCHÁZKA
photo: Gergely Dzsii Pál
project. My dream is to continue the work I do with Handa Gote; I am very glad I found such a company and that we agree on the same principles and inspirations. What kind of plans do you have for the near and distant future? Our main plan is to survive and keep working. At the moment we are working on the performance ‘Eleusis’, dealing with post-internet art and some elements of digital visual trash. For the next seasons, we want to get busy in dance again and also do some proper puppet theatre. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest when you were here! Did you build any international contacts or inspirational friendships at the festival? I remember that after the show ‘Mushrooms’, which we played in Budapest, someone asked us if we were scientists. That was a nice review of our work, but maybe unintentional. /Interview: September 2016
91
Daniel RAČEK SK [dancer, dance pedagogue]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? As a dancer it was the stamina; getting older and collecting injuries it was the change of my movement patterns; as a collaborator it was saying no; as a creator it is every new project. What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? If I don’t know the background of the creators and still consider the piece fresh (today’s problems and themes), if it is honest and makes me ask questions. How do I adapt? I try to be honest, to live in the present and ask questions. What is the role of tradition in contemporary dance? Is it something we should respect or subvert? I think it is very important to know tradition and to consider it in dance and also use it, if necessary. It’s very helpful to respect tradition as well as to enter into conflicts with it. Tradition is held mostly by people and their thinking so we have to respect people and their thoughts because we know they also have their own responsibilities in this. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Friendly, welcoming, industrial, many meetings, professionalism. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! I remember running after the smile of Márta Ladjánszki. When she smiles I will say yes to anything. I performed in MU and also in Bakelit. But Bakelit is a flower among the junk. It is unbelievable how different it is from outside and on the inside. So I want to say don’t judge based on the first appearance! What are the first 3 items on your bucket list? I don’t have one but if I had then for sure I would include: to visit the sand desert, to see the whales, and to be on stage when I’m 65. /Interview: Summer 2016
92
Daniel RAÄŒEK
photo: Roland Szabo
93
Matthew ROGERS USA [dancer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? I showed my solo ‘a fragile son’ in 2015 and Chris Leuenberger and I showed part of our duet ‘Desire & Discipline’ in 2016. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? The first invitation I got from L1danceFest came at the point when I started feeling more comfortable living as a dancer in Europe, which coincided with making my first dance piece about the struggle to find peace in this effort, ‘a fragile son’. Because of the festival, my solo was exposed to people who are not familiar with me, a new culture, an artistic audience. We showed the solo in the 2015 festival (along with my collaborator Tomas Moravek) and this experience helped us to develop more trust in each other, which led to expanding our creative conversation and later to take more risks in other cities with the piece. The invitation in 2016, the Anniversary Gala, found me at a similar point (still a beginner, still searching for context and value), but with a more in-depth collaborative project. ‘Desire & Discipline’, which I co-choreograph with a Swiss guy I dance with in Germany, Chris Leuenberger. We just premiered D&D in August of the same year, so we were still learning about it and how it performs. We chose to extract a section of the duet to share at L1. To delve deeper into this one section of the show we had the unique chance to question the full work in a new way. In the end this chosen section became the new beginning of our show. Here you can find some words*. Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours! I don’t share my face with a nation, but sometimes I perform my face in exchange for organic food. Hugs are my religion. It is good that getting closer is popular. It offers me quality time with the community. If I sense that all the intimate space between us is filled in, I undress and pay homage to the space not yet filled inside myself. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Identity, encounter and healing. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? Who are your idols and masters? There is no one I bow down to. No master that serves me all the time, in every situation. I have met so many specialists let’s say, artists that stay with me that I continue to learn from.
94
Matthew ROGERS
photo: Roland Szabo
There are certain performers I consider as idols, but I won't name them. My history is like this: I danced in NYC with many people, Jon Kinsel, Amber Sloan, Pavel Zustiak, Ivy Baldwin, Sara Pearson, Johannes Wieland and most regularly with Tere O'Connor. Since moving to Europe I am in the work of Antje Pfundtner and Jenny Beyer, both in Hamburg, Germany. And I have collaborated in creating choreographic work most recently with Petra Tejnorova and Tereza Ondrova in Prague and with Chris Leuenberger in Bern. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? Well, there are so many different ways of working depending on the choreographer and the subject of the work. But when I make something I like to invite guests for input of everyday choreographies that affect how we live. I like to facilitate people into moving and see what comes up for them while I’m watching. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I don't have enough experience to place this festival. I have not been to many festivals yet. But my experience with the public there was quite positive; they were engaged, committed and reactive. The festival itself mostly promotes these qualities.
95
Matthew ROGERS
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your works? At the moment, I am not sure exactly how to speak about contemporary performance from a distant perspective. So to draw conclusions about my work in this regard would be difficult. I haven't even made enough to know what my contribution is. What performance or dance techniques are you using in your performances? The energy that builds in the centre of my body I find ways to send it, let it move, release it downwards. Whatever I can do to bring my centre in ‘experienced contact’ with the ground and the earth. If I am lucky it sends a stabilizing rebound up through the spine which then gives a freedom and sensual release through the nervous system. But I am an anxious person ‘by nature’ so it is an ongoing process of learning. Consciously conducting the energy in your body isn't always such a pleasure to watch. Nor is it possible to do in all stressful moments. This is also part of learning to be a performer. I don't find any techniques that are always helpful. And sometimes you innovate different techniques depending on the work you are asked to perform. What qualities do you research and how do you place them into your composition's frame? There are so many ways to answer this question because of the way one perceives qualities of movement and because of this word, research. Although I do think of myself as someone who researches movement, in the context of this ‘Desire & Discipline’ piece I believe my focus has been more on cultivating an energetic body and the ability to bring it to different spaces. For Chris and I, the conversation about movement quality happens in the space and between us as we relate to each other. We did find ways of sharing our movement interests with the other, but we didn’t come to a shared value about quality of movements. I don’t think ‘Desire & Discipline’ needs us to share that. In the more formal sections of the work there was more concentration on what the movement is so the quality became more specific. But the informality also requires a certain physicality that serves the moment. If I turn my attention to aspects of qualifying movements (isolated qualities) in my dancing I don’t separate them from basic relational questions- such as intention and attention. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? I have no secrets when it comes to connecting with the audience. There is good ‘ol’ fashion’ eye contact. That can help, unless your face has turned to stone. Also, trying not to think bad thoughts about the audience. Also maybe remaining distant from you/yourself/your actions can allow space for the audience members to meet you (depending on the work).
96
Matthew ROGERS
Other than that I think it has to do with what you are actually sharing/offering/requesting. If it is clear enough or touches you enough, then I think audience members may come closer to you too. Perhaps it is also a matter of the kind of ‘space’ (meeting place) you offer, a matter of remaining generous. Maybe it is about generosity. (Not for everybody.) For me sometimes I ‘feel’ more in contact with others when I speak. It breaks ambiguity. It can simplify a relationship, but that also offers language barriers. Perhaps there is a kind of science here, but I am not sure establishing a connection with the audience is the objective of every performer or performance. And again what each piece needs is different.
I did show the solo in Brooklyn this past year. But it is hard to compare in relation to this piece because it was a kind of homecoming and I was received in a very familiar way because of my history with NYC. It was intimate, let's say. What inspires you and why? Writing inspires me a lot. It’s shocking how we know on the inside. Scary, but it’s also beautiful where a train of thought can lead you. I find that I can be full contradiction. Do you think that dance is culturally coded? Why? I think I understand what you mean with 'coded', like different cultures can 'read' a dance differently based on something shared? Well, yes. I guess I think of this as a problem of the cultural lens. But who can escape that? Basically, I think we are taught to place value on different aspects of dance, like we are taught to see or use dance in specific way. Perhaps there is a way to view dance through a less ‘learned’ lens, but then our perspective would be less shared with others. I guess a question could also be, for whom do you make dances?
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? Well, the audience at L1danceFest definitely seems open. During ‘a fragile son’ and in the talk afterwards, they seemed comfortable moving from comical to serious and intimate to formal smoothly, gracefully, but also quietly. They seemed a bit more internal - more open than warm. But in the context of a festival maybe this kind of attention makes sense. On the other hand, the Slovak and Czech audiences that I have encountered with the same solo have been rowdy, vocal and expressive, which I can also very much appreciate. People leave if they want to.
/Interview: January 2018
97
Nadar ROSANO IL
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer] Your solo entitled ‘Red Belt’ is an inquiry into the skin, the basic layer that envelops the body (and the self), separating it from the outside world. What does the skin mean to you as a dancer, and what inspired you to work on this subject? The skin in the first organ that contains the body; through the skin you can feel the heat, cold, wind, fire... The skin also delineates the boundary separating the self from its surroundings, distinguishing between I and not-I. This work delves into ‘the primordial, pre-linguistic strata of our psychic constitution’, what do you mean by that? Does this approach affect your movements, or is this rather a metaphorical level? There is an inner voice in our body older than us, that voice is connected to brainstem, cerebellum, where no verbal experience exists, and this experience is universal. Yes, this approach affected my movement, sensation, time sense, mindset, the whole performance’s state of mind. What was the state of mind that you had to get into to develop and work on this solo, when you were researching it? Mostly observation of infants and people with autism. Does the piece literally deal with anxieties, being locked into the self (and the body)? Yes, but I wouldn't say locked into the self, maybe the body is the border of yourself, so I would rather say ‘within body-border’ than locked. You also referred to the psychologist Thomas Ogden, who described this state as ‘autistic-contiguous position’, in which the perceptions of time and space fundamentally change, and the person subjected to this becomes so distant from reality and the world as if swallowed by a huge black hole. Does this fit your performance in any way? Yes it does, we are all living in this zone, but it is very frightening to be there, in the unknown. This is why we talk more than we should; buy new things that we are not going to use... It is not easy to be in a black hole. You performed ‘Asphalt’ at L1danceFest 2014 (together with Adi Weinberg and Yochai Ginton). It was a dark and dense subject nonetheless, about the fight for survival, a broken childhood in a corrupted world, on an imaginary playground. Although the piece had no straight narrative, there was a clear story to see in the images. Do you use any requisites or special stage effects in ‘Red Belt’? Just me on stage, bare and getting barer.
98
Nadar ROSANO
photo: Roland Szabo
How did that festival and visiting Budapest affect you, did you find inspiration and new connections here? We enjoyed visiting the L1danceFest in 2014 very much; I really liked Márta Ladjánszki’s dresses! (FYI, each year the hosts of the L1danceFest wear the creations of emerging, young Hungarian fashion designers.) Why did you find it important to return to the 15th anniversary of the festival? Márta invited me. Try to say no to Márta! Can you explain why L1danceFest is different or unique compared to other festivals that you have performed at or visited? I think the festival is built from love, faith, and the desire and necessity to provide a stage for the contemporary independent dance scene. Did you experience any life changing events in the last two years, and where do you see yourself two years from now, as an artist and as a person? Yes, my son created a lot of changes in my life, and two years from now I just hope and want to be a better person, a good father, and to keep on creating and to give a meaning to my life. /Interview: Summer 2016
99
Zita SÁNDOR H [dance critic]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? In 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I was a beginner dance critic. The festival and its programme (both the dance programmes and the dance criticism-related programmes, such as workshops and talks) gave me huge inspiration in terms of thinking about dance. I met artists and critics from different backgrounds, I learnt a lot from them: I understood many other points of view (on life and art) thanks to them. What inspires you and why? The people who inspire me are those who work long and hard. I feel that everything that is reached and created without cheap shortcuts is valuable (and most of the time, these works are the honest ones) - even if I don't agree, the amount of energy gives me power and makes me feel better. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? Excellent communication with others (maybe this is called telepathy?). I would be able to say (no, to communicate! saying is just a small part of this) everything, just the way I want. What is the role of tradition in contemporary performing art? Is it something we should respect or subvert? Both. Tradition is part of our body and our mind. Contemporary will become tradition or just simply something passed over in time. We are both at the same time; we have to work to reach an honest balance, which can be really different for different persons. How would you define the word ’choreography’? The body which draws, makes music and smells. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! I am so-so grateful to see and meet warm, kind and thoughtful artists!
100
Zita SĂ NDOR
photo: Roland Szabo
How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Warm and cool. Welcoming and curious. And, in a way, unpredictable. /Interview: January 2018
101
Uri SHAFIR IL
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, choreographer] At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? L1danceFest in 2014 was my first touring experience of my own work. I was super excited to present my work for the first time away from my own country. I didn’t expect to have a much richer experience than just performing. L1danceFest provided a meeting point for artists, thinkers, writers, and dance-lovers, local and international, in workshops, performances and conferences, in a cultivating and inspiring way. The generous L1 team, including the critics and public conversations made the experience so rich, deep, and simply fun. I found the festival as an opportunity to invest in looking at dance and rethink it, within a community shared space of many passionate people, who work very hard and enjoy what they do. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? I can’t really say that I know much about Hungarian contemporary dance. The experience I’ve had at L1danceFest was more reflecting upon the goals, aspirations, activities and state of mind of L1 Association, and probably the world from which they redefine their needs and vision, which for me has to do a lot with communication, shared knowledge and experience, community, rawness, innovation and intuition. What inspires you and why? I find inspiration in acts of generosity, patience, good-will and mutual effort to make something work and grow. This, I find, is the only way for something with real value to take place. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? If I could choose, I would love to be able to be a time traveller, so that I could go back to the past and give old me advice – which mostly would be to stop worrying so much that I’m going the wrong way, and enjoy the road. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ … be free to do whatever they want, and not be afraid of doing nothing, of doing something that’s been done, of living a normal life, of living a crazy life. Where and how do you find your best ideas? When I’m on a train, or a long bus ride, or when I take long walks.
102
Uri SHAFIR
photo: Roland Szabo
103
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Uri SHAFIR
Some years ago you performed the piece ‘Fail Better’ with Omer Uziel at L1danceFest. What attracts you as an artist to subjects where humans fail or become helpless? Failure is simply a very human condition I’m attracted to. In my work as a performer I’m often trying to relate to those experiences that make us human, and therefore susceptible to failure, to making mistakes, to being fragile. In ‘Fail Better’, I was looking at this matter, trying to express my desire to incorporate failure as part of the work. Failure, which is very much linked with the Nothing, is another way of finding new possibilities. When you’re allowed to fail, you’re more playful, more open to a wider range of choices. Instead of ‘succeeding’ in doing the one thing you’re set to do, you can enter the realm of ‘failing’, and there are countless ways of doing so. Playing with that makes us much more creative, intuitive and connected with our skills and talents. What risks do you take in your work and performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? I’m risking being boring, being stupid, being obvious, being unclear or too clear. I’m not interested in risking my life for the sake of art, I find that kind of boring actually. But in mental and spiritual ways, I’ve put myself at great risks and hazards in relation to creating art. What is the greatest or most transformative experience you have had with an audience? A few times in my life I was lucky to be able to bring to the stage things that felt so raw, undone, exposed, almost ‘wrong’, and almost always these works were accepted very well. It amazed me how unexpected the meeting with the audience can be. Also, sharing a state of ‘nothingness’ with the audience is the most strong and transforming experience I’ve ever felt to this day. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! I remember that I had just arrived, and immediately went to watch a performance by Márta and Zsolt, and I remember feeling a warm sensation, that I’m right where I want to be. How do you know if (and when) a work or a performance is finished? I never know. I usually discover that it’s done only when the audience watches it. Besides movement, is there an element of art you enjoy working with the most? I love dramaturgy, the understanding of the process, or the arch that the work creates. I enjoy looking for music and working with different musicalities very much. Would you rather create or perform in a studio or in open air? Why? The best thing for me would be taking the same courage and sense of exploration I have in
104
Uri SHAFIR
the studio and executing it in the open air, which usually is much more inspiring and fun to play with. What is the role of tradition in contemporary dance? Is it something we should respect or subvert? Tradition is there, it’s in everything we do – from the content and context with which we express ourselves, to the way we think, formulate our actions and respond to our surroundings. I think it’s the recognition of our tradition and how it manifests through us, which is important.
What is choreography made of? Choreography is made mostly of the interest of the artists who create it – their conscious and unconscious interest in something; may it be a form, energy, quality, philosophical question, musicality, a result of unfinished business or a desire to create an alternate reality to life. /Interview: December 2017
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Do you think that dance is culturally coded? Why? Of course. We move in the way we were ‘coded’ to move. We can invent new codes, but they always derive from former codes, which are embedded in the culture - which is multi-faceted and mixed with many different cultures.
105
Oleg SOULIMENKO RUS/AT [dancer, dance teacher, choreographer, performer]
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Today it’s more coffee than tea. Dry and greyish blue. Usually there are neither notated scores nor texts during the process of creating. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Every project is different. Often I like to write a scenario hoping that I’ll spend less time in the studio, but it never works out this way in the end. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I received the invitation at a period when I was thinking about forgetting everything that I knew before. Going to Budapest would be a good opportunity to start from the beginning. But I like the Hungarian audience so it would be a compromise between what I know and what I don’t know yet. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to your country? Somehow many things are similar between the Austrian and Hungarian audiences... They are calm and friendly. Austrians are probably more analytical and Hungarians are more open. I am still magnetized by the Hungarian audience; probably I was not there enough – yet? And it’s geographically located between Russia and Austria - two countries I strongly relate to. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ ... know English very well, be curious, read a lot, watch and go out into the street if necessary. Where would you like to wake up tomorrow morning? In a country which is very far away and culturally different from where I am now. /Interview: Summer 2016
106
Oleg SOULIMENKO
photo: Roland Szabo
107
Anna STELLER PL
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[choreographer, dancer]
108
What inspires you and why? When I work alone, I am mostly inspired by art and nature. In the last few years I was inspired by Sarah Kane, Delia Derbyshire and Marina Abramović. But when I have a partner in the performance usually my partner means the biggest inspiration for me. Therefore, I choose partners to get inspired. Could you tell us more about your dance background? What companies and choreographers have you worked with? Do you have any idols and masters? I started dancing in 1993 in the Dada von Bzdülow Company whom I still work with today. Recently I have cooperated with Rebecca Lazier in the performance ‘There might be others’ in Stary Browar Poznań, ‘Happy’ by Nigel Charnock and with fine artist Mariola Brillowska. I often present my solo works in art galleries as well as at dance festivals. When I was younger I had so-called masters and idols. Nowadays I am inspired by, or I can say that I love somebody's work, but it is too big a word to say that he or she is my idol. Dance is one of the most exciting art forms in history. Usually there are neither notated scores nor texts during the process of creating. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? I don't have any special method. My process of working depends on the performance. Mostly I use improvisation. Not only dance improvisations but sometimes I sing or read the text that I am inspired by aloud. I make a lot of notes, which are sometimes very helpful and sometimes they are not. What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? Progressiveness is something I don't think about. First, there is always an idea and an idea is always progressive or contemporary. Then comes the form which, in my opinion, is very much connected to the idea. It is the idea that provokes the form, the idea directs whether the form should be modest or more decorative. I never think about my performance as about something that should be progressive or contemporary. I have always believed that it is not the virtuosity but being sincere with myself that is the most important.
Anna STELLER
photo: Jakub Wittchen
In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? Is there a ‘secret’? I would answer this question from the perspective of the viewer as well as the creator or artist. If I prepare a performance I do think about the viewer. I think whether the idea that I want to share with them is worth it. On the other hand I don't think so much about the viewer, because in my point of view the viewer is smart and doesn't need an easy solution and doesn't need to be entertained. When I watch performances, it happens that what I see doesn't convince me and I think: ‘I don't believe him or her’. It is hard to say what creates ‘the connection’ between viewer and artist. Probably this connection occurs when the performer is sincere with him/herself and the idea that they share. What was your impression of the Hungarian audience? How receptive are we compared to the audience in Poland? I found the Hungarian audience to be quite critical and demanding. My observation is that in Hungary, as well as in Poland and probably all over the world, the festival audience is much different from the so-called ‘normal’ audience. /Interview: February 2016
109
Borbála SZENTE H/D
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, performer] You appeared at L1danceFest several times (in 2010 and 2011). At what stage of your career did that happen? I wouldn’t exactly call what I did up until now a career, I don’t have such. The appearances at L1danceFest happened at a time when dance was my biggest passion and I wanted to become a dancer. I had just broken free to Berlin and incorporated my feelings and previous studies into my work. Could you utilize the experiences and impressions that you had at L1danceFest later in your own work? Of course. These appearances were amongst my first ones ever, so I could learn a lot about being on stage and about the technical background of putting something on stage. During the last years your work became confrontational: you are using a lot of sexual references and you are not scared of experimenting with your own body, not scared of putting yourself through physical pain on stage. What are your driving forces and inspirations? I have been affected by living in Berlin for 8 consecutive years now. This city is – compared to how it is at home – very free and open sexually, as well as in other ways. Some of my performances reflect all that. This is the atmosphere that makes me want to stay here, that I feel well in and it inspires me greatly. It was that freedom that made me divert from being just a dancer. The scene has a lot to offer: you can learn a lot from that and the audiences are open to artistic actions that are diverse. This suits me very well, because I like to experiment with my body and with the language I use. It keeps me fresh and interested in my own creativity. The given performance I am preparing is always a road that I am on, a mirror that reflects my inner changes and journey. My own sexuality is a huge part of that road, because I grew up in a world, where sex, sensuality and art were banned and I was deeply hurt by that. I am actually tearing down taboos that were planted in me and trying to do self-healing. It makes me happy, if this touches others, but I don’t want to shock. All I want is to wake myself up and perhaps to wake others up to themselves as well. What makes a performance current or progressive? How do you try to realize that in your own work? I always find those artistic actions to be the most interesting, that I cannot categorize, because the theme itself requires creating its own special language. A performance shows if the creators were bold to explore something new to them – even if it’s not working – because
110
Borbรกla SZENTE
photo: Roland Szabo
through this boldness I realize the risks they take and the stakes of the game that is happening in front of me. And experimentation is of course my homeland too. I also find it interesting if the creators reflect on something current in the form of criticism and observation. What do you think about having technical skills in the context of contemporary dance? Although it is always interesting and compelling to observe high technical skills, I find it important to adjust it to the given context. /Interview: Summer 2016
111
Zsolt VARGA H
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[musician, composer, performer] In which year and with which works have you been part of L1danceFest based in Budapest? 2003 Szabó Réka: ‘A kiválasztott’ (in WUK) 2006 Ladjánszki Márta: ‘displacement’ 2008 Ladjánszki Márta: ‘silent witnesses’ 2009 McRibbentrop concert 2010 Jókai János+Varga Zsolt concert 2011 Ladjánszki Márta: ‘(Yes Sir, I can't) BOOGIE!’ 2012 Ladjánszki Márta: ‘JOSHA - a portrait’ 2014 Ladjánszki Márta: ‘UNTITLED - a meditation in one act’ 2015 Matiné koncertek L1-tagokkal: CsaTorna Klub concert 2016 L1 Egyesület: ‘Lúdbőr’ - contemporary catwalk; Fekete Géza Péter & Varga Zsolt and friends’ concert; Szente Borbála & Beto Rea: ‘Suspension’ 2017 Ladjánszki Márta: ‘BY the way OFF’; Aldridge U. Hansberry and friends: Jávorka Ádám and Varga Zsolt concert; Ladjánszki Márta: ‘statusM’ 2017-18 work-in-progress Besides these I have been hosting the festival evenings since 2014. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the Festival? My first year of performing at L1dF was 2003. Since then I have performed several times again, but always as a collaborator in performances or concerts; I’ve never performed with something that was just my own. Nevertheless I was always honoured to attend this festival. After joining L1 Association and being elected as the chairman twice, I became more deeply involved in the organisational part. This is just great because this way you see the bigger picture and you have the chance to be involved in something that is like a huge-huge performance. Since 2014 I have been hosting the Festival evenings, twice with Noémi, once with Márta and once on my own. This of course gives you another aspect of the story, too. Here you can find some words.* Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours? I believe in community beyond nations, races, religions, etc. One world is enough for all of us!! And please let's not forget: we humans are just a part of this planet! If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Music and movement.
112
Zsolt VARGA
photo: Roland Szabo
Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I am involved mainly in music; my main instrument is the saxophone. Besides that I like to make music with whatever tools I feel inspired by. These can be guitars, synths, computers, whatever. I generally work through or/and with improvisation. In dance, I have been working mainly with Márta Ladjánszki and with Ilona Pászthy, Joanna Leśnierowska and Réka Szabó as well. I have no idols or masters, but I have always been inspired by the people I got into collaboration with.
113
Zsolt VARGA
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Dance with/or music is one of the most exciting art forms in history. Usually there are neither notated scores nor texts during the process of creating. How do you create your works? Do you have any special methods? Could you introduce your process to us? I never had an academic education in art, I create through improvisation. I try to ‘open my senses’ and just react. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? The Hungarian contemporary and independent arts field is wide, too wide for me to just simply express an opinion about it. All I can say is that I like some of it and some of it, I don't. The L1danceFest is a unique event in all aspects. There are many festivals on the international scene, but this one is special because it is organised by artists, not managers or programmers, etc. It tries to set a high standard in the way it is done but it is able to maintain a very downto-earth attitude at the same time. It doesn't pretend to show the ‘best of the best’ and bla-bla-bla; it wants to show you more colours than what we usually get to see. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? Well, I guess this is a complex thing. There are probably psychological, emotional, sociological, political and rational, etc. factors that make things be able to touch a person. Sometimes this factor is more important, sometimes the other. How I tend to think about these things today is that people are social animals, they move with the pack… Could you share the biggest challenge you have had to face in your career with us? My biggest challenge is how to make a living. What would you do, if you weren’t doing what you are doing now? I would perhaps be a surfer. What is your dream project? My dream project is to do whatever I like to do. Name something you couldn't live without! My heart. What makes you angry or sad as an artist? How stupid humans can be and how they don't realise that we don't own this planet. If your god or whoever says the opposite, then just forget them!
114
Zsolt VARGA
What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? There is always an improvisational factor in everything I do, so sometimes things work out the way I want them and sometimes they don't, or not well enough. If risking your life means jumping down a bridge for art, then no. But if risking your life means struggling through life, then yes. Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! The closer we get to L1dF the more and more anxious I always become. But as the event gets underway, this state is released and after it is over I feel a certain feeling of loss.
Name 2 artists you would like to be compared to! Cats and birds. What is the role of tradition in contemporary performing art? Is it something we should respect or subvert? Contemporary art is tomorrow's tradition. /Interview: January 2018
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Warm, friendly and easy.
115
Imre VASS H
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dancer, performer, choreographer] At what point in your career did you get the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? I started to make my own works in 2010. I started with small scale performances, mostly solos. I premiered my first black-box, full length dance piece ‘GAP’ at the festival. It was my first experience in putting a work together with music, lights and everything. It was also my first close collaboration with musician, composer and former L1 resident Dávid Somló. Since then we’ve created a few more works including ‘It comes it goes’ (2013). Currently we are creating ‘DROHNETANZ’ so he is an inspiration and a companion since the beginning. Here you can find some words*. Could you put them in sentences which could be a kind of ars poetica of yours! Popular exchange quality getting community hug share organic nation face filled in closer food homage perform religion sense. If you could choose 3 words to describe your art, what would they be? Heartbroken, bonfire and tetrahedron. Could you tell us more about your artistic background? What companies, choreographers and artists have you worked with? Who are your idols and masters? I never had any master or idols in dance, somehow… When I was still in the dance school I fell in love with the work of Ultima Vez and then later I had the chance to work with them, which was awesome. Here are some honourable mentions of my inspirations: Werner Herzog, David Bohm, Anselm Kiefer, Zsolt Sőrés, Amanda Pina and Nadaproductions, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dorota, Terrence Malick, Ana Hatherly, Ganga Mira, Terrence McKenna, Chris Marker, John Cage, Andrea BelV and Maya Deren. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and independent performing arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance/artistic scene? Hungarian contemporary dance is versatile and vivid but it has difficulties in letting itself be seen by the international scene. Theatre is more efficient than dance. Some performers and dancers have found their way beyond the Hungarian borders and even though some say that Hungarian performing arts has been getting more attention lately, I think the boom is yet to come.
116
Imre VASS
photo: Roland Szabo
What makes a performance contemporary or progressive? How do you adapt this concept into your pieces? You can be progressive by turning your attention to the outer, being aware of recent social or artistic tendencies, reflecting on them or making speculations or by focusing inside, digging into your core interest, unveiling your core problem which will be relevant at one point in the present or it will become relevant sometime after you’ve died. That is only my current, not so progressive opinion. And of course you can always fail which is the best milestone of progression... How important is technical knowledge in contemporary dance and music? With the post-modern wind technique has become less important in dance in the past decades or let's say different kinds of techniques are becoming more widely known and popular rather than the traditional dance techniques. Emancipation continues after the modern times. Emancipation of the dance, the dancers, emancipation of the dance from the dancers and also the emancipation of the audience. Dance inevitably survives trends.
117
Imre VASS
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What qualities do you research and how do you place them into your composition's frame? In my last production ‘STANDING GROUND’ I sought ways of doing something extraordinary in the most ordinary way, in a pastel-like form. Something that has to be noticed and risks imperceptibility. I tried to impregnate all the material with this quality. In the mirror of your experiences, how can a performer establish a relationship with the audience? What is the ‘secret’? For me the secret is trust. As an audience, I trust the makers that what they put on stage or happens to be on stage in the moment is how it should be. As a maker, I trust my audience that they come to see the show because they seek connection. I trust that both sides do their best in the given moment. Even though one seems to be active and the other seems to be passive I believe we are aware that there is no such difference. I hope we are not hypnotised by definitions and words. If you could choose, what superpower would you have and why? Blindness. For a while I would be in the superconductor mercury state where everything is connected with everything, melting into one big super sense. Then this state would solidify and become normal. I would be a normal blind person. How would you finish this sentence? ‘An artist must…’ ... muster all possibilities. Where and how do you find your best ideas? Walking or being in my kitchen, or walking up and down in my kitchen. What would you do, if you weren’t be doing what you are doing now? I would be a copy shop employee or a Tesco shelf-stacker or something like that. What is your dream project? To live the life I live now. Do you think art should be publicly funded? How do you imagine it? I think art deserves a share from the government budget since it contributes immensely to the well-being of society. There should be more professionalism, discussion and transparency in the distribution of the money! Name something you couldn't live without! Kidney.
118
Imre VASS
What risks do you take in your performance? Would you also risk your life for the sake of your art? If there is risk what is at stake? I risk my identity, my truth. The whole point is to question the core of myself or the core ideas of society. We have to constantly reinvent values and concepts in order to remain contemporary witnesses of present times. In that sense there is no risk for me when change and transformation is included in the game.
How do you know if (and when) a work or a performance is finished? When I don't play the piece anymore. What is the role of tradition in contemporary performing art? Is it something we should respect or subvert? Something comes to my mind… a quote I like. ‘The only tradition is the present moment.’ Muntean/Rosenblum /Interview: January 2018
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
Tell us a personal memory or a state of mind you felt at L1danceFest! My premier was on the same night as a Danish company’s and the Danish Embassy provided an excellent reception after the shows. After I premiered ‘G A P’ in 2012, I got a job offer in Copenhagen. How would you describe the aura of L1danceFest? Fluorescent peacock pie.
119
Milan ZVADA SK
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
[dramaturg, project manager]
120
Do you see any tendencies in the development of dance as an art form? Where are we going? What makes a dance performance progressive? It is rather difficult to speak about dance in global context, or even a European one, as this debate always presupposes ethnocentrism. Some languages and cultures have different names for it, and the meanings entail other concepts… In my opinion, the term ‘contemporary dance’ has become vague, even empty. In its extreme, it seems that the only things that we can associate with it are ‘freedom of movement and choice, no rigidity’. If we want to speak about it as an art form, a particular genre, we definitely need more precision, spectator’s sensitivity and new vocabulary. I see dance as an art form being very specialized, and void of conventional meanings. As if both dance and movement have become too specialized, wordless activities following the inner instincts of the dancer or performer. Progressiveness presupposes chronology, linearity... How are we to measure it? Starting from and ending up where? What criteria do we use? In this respect, terms such as ‘originality’, ‘impact’, ‘impression’, ‘eloquence’ could be used yet aren’t they too subjective to describe the piece in an objective way? Dance performances are definitely moving somewhere. They are diverse in their forms of expression; we are trying to uncover its dramaturgy, its structure. In judging them, first we need to define the lenses through which we are looking at them. Perfect articulation of the topic from an impulse. What is the role of tradition in contemporary dance? Is it something we should respect or subvert? It is a paradox, but one of the stimuli which contemporary dance emerged from was a will to break tradition, the physical syntax of some existing fixed genres, the need for spontaneity, and creative freedom. Although, in contemporary dance, we can trace borrowings from classical, modern and jazz styles, later incorporating non-western dance movements or techniques (e.g. Butoh, African styles…), still, we consider it to be a genuine genre on its own. Now the answer concerning the ‘role of tradition’ depends on several factors: personal preferences, whether the critic or choreographer decides to work with narrative or abstract frameworks, whether they place emphasis on music, light design and costumes (beside choreography), whether they must be distinguished from modern dance. If we say that contemporary dance is a ‘dance to be danced, not analysed’, what is the point of defining and defending traditions?
Milan ZVADA
photo: Gergely Dzsii Pál
What direct or indirect effects can art have? Should art be concerned with the solution of the problems of the 21st century (e.g. migration, environmental pollution etc...)? That’s a philosophical question, or more precisely a question of aesthetics and art criticism. Creativity and innovation, which artists are agents of, has always had a potential for solutions, whether social or environmental. At least, socially or politically engaged art works aim at finding these solutions, both directly and indirectly. The impact, however, is disputable, it’s almost impossible to measure it statistically. Yet, there are always hidden powers in performance, which can unleash the chain of understanding, inspiration, even radicalism and controversy. Yet it seems that the final answer to the purpose of art lies in the creator’s hands. His or her vision, motivation, awareness, and the urgency of global and local issues.
121
Milan ZVADA
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
What makes a process of creation pleasant and what do you think about your role in it as a dramaturg and project manager? The process of creation requires space, good constellation and an open mind. Project management-wise, it is about booking the venue, exact timing, accommodation, contracts, introducing the area, the facilities… But after one day, artists usually get the idea and work independently, unless they need something for the show (e.g. props, costumes, light design etc.). The role of dramaturg entails discussions about the content, promotion, and furthermore, talking over a glass of wine in the evenings or over coffee in the mornings… There come inspirations, future plans and reflections – making up an important part of the whole residency stay. How important is it to expand an idea and to use a philosophical layer in a contemporary dance performance? Every performance should also be ‘an ideological’ endeavour. Even though there is no dramaturg in the piece, there is dramaturgy, which must be articulated at some point… Only a few artists are privileged to be able to make ‘art for the art’s sake’, for pure pleasure, with no goals or messages... For pure contemplation. But that is not the case every day. In both cases, however, it is hard work, requiring artistic providence, perfect technique and skill. I see making art as a service to the community, to the audience, to the locals. I despise artists who are egocentric, and only see their genius. Modesty and ‘poverty’ come first, only after that comes ‘success’ and public recognition. At what point in your career did you receive the invitation to L1danceFest? What could you utilize from your experiences related to the festival? It was in 2012, when Márta Ladjánszki, whom I knew from previous networking sessions, approached me with the possibility of joining Dance Script – Laboratory of Dance Criticism as a pilot platform for new writing and reflection on contemporary dance and performance. I was very delighted to try out some lecturing on theory, and meet amazing, inspiring scholars and practitioners from other countries. I had a chance to see the full program (I still remember two pieces – ‘Mining’ by a Chilean performer, and a visually challenging choreography by a Japanese artist). I appreciate the fact that the festival dramaturgy does not focus only on contemporary dance but also on other genres ‘in between’ (e.g. performance art, visual installations etc.). Seeing that there is a continuation of the ‘Dance Script’, under a different name and with different people is a good sign, and I fully support this idea. What is your opinion of Hungarian contemporary dance and fine arts? Where would you place L1danceFest in the international dance or artistic scene? In the age of globalisation, it is difficult to generalize arts according to the notion of nationality, as we are very familiar with an existing artistic diaspora (referring to Central and East European dancers and performers scattered around the globe – and gaining
122
Milan ZVADA
critical acclaim). However, L1danceFest is a showcase festival which, in a very balanced way, offers the visitors a good range in taste of productions created in a Hungarian context. In general, the Hungarian scene seems to me to be vital and sharp. Budapest is a vibrant city, offering diversity and dirtiness in a good sense. I know less about rural areas and other parts of Hungary. If we really want to talk about arts in national contexts, let’s focus more on cultural policies, general conditions for art creation (independent vs. state-funded), the status of artists, anomalies and comparisons.
/Interview: Summer 2016
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
How did you feel at L1danceFest when you were here? I can only recall sensations, which I can summarize under these words: discovery, rawness, curiosity, breaking the limits, generosity, community and modesty.
123
List of invited guests/artists from abroad 2002: Daniel Lepkoff (USA), Oleg Soulimenko (A/RUS) 2003: Martine Pisani (FR), Ina Rager (A) 2004: Irma Omerzo (HR), Cristian Duarte (BR)
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
2005: Cristian Duarte (BR), Anita Kaya (A), Sandra Martinez (FR) 2006: Frans Poelstra (A) 2007: Javier Murugarren (E/NL) & Erikk McKenzie (NL), Pierre Nadaud (FR/CZ), EXCHANGE DAY: Zenon Dance Company (USA), Sean Curran (USA) 2008: Christy Johnson (USA) – video installation, Aurore Aulong (FR) – video installation, Nanohach Company (CZ) & Ioana M. Popovici (RO), Arena Dances – Mathew Janczewski (USA) 2009: Cèline Larrère (FR) – live installation, Dalija Aćin & Recognize Crew (SRB), Granhøj Dans (DK), Bettina Helmrich (D), Tamara Ober (USA), Debris Company (SK), Thomas Steyaert/ DOT504 (CZ) 2010: Bojan Jablanovec/Via Negativa (SLO), Rob Longstaff (AUS/D), Spitfire Company (CZ), Sara Gebran & Ylva Henrikson (DK), Rosana Hribar & Gregor Lustek (SLO), Dominika Knapik (PL), Towarzystwo Gimnastyczne (PL) 2011: POLSKA POINT – special focus on Poland: Agata Maszkiewicz (PL), Małgorzata Haduch (PL), Anna Steller (PL), La Intrusa Danza (CAT), Jackie Brutsche (CH), Dominik Grünbühel (A), Handa Gote (CZ), Niklas Valenti (SE), Jan Bárta (CZ), Barbara Fuchs (D), Chris Leuenberger (CH), Tomáš Nepšinský & Daniel Raček – Debris Company (SK) 2012: Yukari Uto (J) – film, Christine Borch (DK/D), Cie. József Trefeli (HU/CH), Nanohach (CZ), Naoko Tanaka (J/D), Rodrigo Sobarzo de Larraechea (CHILE/NL), Daniel Almgren Recén (SE/PL), Granhøj Dans (DK), Ligia Manuela Lewis (USA/D), Maik Riebort (D), Cédric Dupire & Gaspard Kuentz (FR) – documentary film about Japanese experimental musicians, Me and the Machine (UK), Joe Alegado (USA/CZ), Talking through V4+ led by guests: Witold Mrozek (PL), Markéta Faustová (CZ), Milan Zvada (SK), Ivana Ivkovic (HR) and Dance Script laboratory participants: Eva Orcígrová (CZ), Katerina Lahodová (CZ), Ola Fraitová (CZ), Lili Mihajlović (HR), Mirna Rončević (HR) Agnieszka Misiewicz (PL), Marta Kula (PL), Natalia Grubizna (PL), Ivana Rumanová (SK)
124
2013: NORDIC focus: Björn Säfsten (SE), Shake it! Collaborations (SE), Rapid Eye (DK), Kenneth Flak (NO) & Külli Roosna (EST), Gunilla Heilborn (SE), Dalija Aćin Thelander (SRB/ SE), Erik Kaiel (USA/NL), Asaf Aharonson-Tami Lebovits (IL), Antonia Baehr (D), Dame de Pic/ cie. Karine Ponties (FR/BE), Catalina Carrasco (E), GETINTHEBACKOFTHEVAN (GB), Talking through V4+ led by Jadwiga Grabowska (PL) and Dance Script laboratory MAKT edition led by Jadwiga Grabowska (PL) and participants: Barbara Żarinow (PL), Marta Seredyńska (PL), Oleksandr Manshylin (UKR), Valeria Castellaneta (IT), Barbara Siemaszko (PL)
2015: ITALIAN focus: Francesca Foscarini (IT), Silvia Gribaudi (IT), Ismaera Takeo Ishii (J), Samuel Lefeuvre (FR), Roland Szabo (SK/H), Benjamin Jarrett (USA), two-women-machineshow (DK) & Jonathan Bonnici (UK), Matthew Rogers (USA), Ilona Pászthy-IPtanz (D), jaro viňarský & SKOK! (SK), Tomáš Morávek (CZ), Meagan O’Shea (CAN) 2016 – 15th years!: Sanjay Kumar (IND), Ivana Ivković (HR), Joanna Leśnierovska (PL), Ewan McLaren (CAN/CZ), Hester Chillingworth (GB), Andrew Hefler (USA/H), Christine Borch (DK), Oleg Soulimenko (RUS/AT), Jasmin Hoffer (AT), Dame de Pic/cie. Karine Ponties (FR/BE), jaro viňarský (SK), Dominik Grünbühel (AT), Luke Baio (GB/AT), Valencia James (BDS), Cédrid Dupire & Gaspard Kuentz (FR), Tomáš Morávek (CZ), Tami Lebovits (IL), Cèline Larrère (FR), John Hegre (NO), Uri Shafir (IL), tanzfuchs produktion/Barbara Fuchs (D), VerTeDance/Halka Třešňáková (CZ), Ruri Mitoh (J), Martine Pisani (FR), Francesca Foscarini (IT), Chris Leuenberger (CH), Matthew Rogers (USA), Szente Borbála (H/D), Beto Rea (MEX/D), Daniel Raček & Anna Sedlačková (SK), Nadar Rosano (IL), two-women-machine-show (DK), Nanohach/Michal Záhora (CZ), Andrea Miltnerová (CZ) 2017: Joseph Pieterson, Hilda Andoh, Cynthia Adjovi Mawuli (GH, CEU students), Adriana Světlíková (CZ), Ewan McLaren (CAN/CZ), Sanjay Kumar (IND), Ofir Yudilevitch (IL), Lucia Kašiarová (SK), Alexandra Kowalski (FR), Vlad Basalici (RO), tanzmobil: Sarah Blumenfeld (FR/AT/US) and Mira Lina Simon (D/FR), U. Aldridge Hansberry (USA/FR), Paweł Sakowicz (PL), Billy Cowie (SCO), Lior Lazarof (IL – L1-resident 2017), Roxana Küwen (D), Nobuyoshi Asai (J), Ismaera Takeo Ishii (J), Nastja Štefanić (HR), Arcadie Rusu (RO)
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
2014: ISRAEL in focus: Uri Shafir (IL), Nadar Rosano (IL), Hillel Kogan (IL), Lukáš Karásek (CZ), Ruri Mitoh (J), Vava Ştefănescu (RO), kadrinoormets–Kadi Maria (EST), Roberta Milevoj (HR), VerTeDance (CZ)
125
List of presented guests/artists from Hungary 2002: Varga Tímea – photographer, Ladjánszki Márta, Szabó Réka, Gál Eszter, Dóra Attila, Two in One, Berger Gyula and Friends
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
2003: Pecsics Mária – photographer, Temesvári Balázs – installation, Ladjánszki Márta – text and drawings, Gál Eszter, Mészöly Andrea, Berger Gyula, Szabó Réka, Berger–Ladjánszki, Gál Eszter–Dóra Attila, cie. 2in1 2004: Sipos Dániel – photographer, Hargitay Ákos photoexhibition, Berger Gyula, Mészöly Andrea, Gál Eszter, Ladjánszki-Berger, Szabó Réka, Ladjánszki Márta, cie 2in1 with Rókás László 2005: Mészöly Andrea and Moukhtar Lucia – sound installation, Haraszty István – exhibition, Kiégő Izzók, Szabó Réka, Company ST – Gál Eszter Együttese, Berger Gyula and Friends, Gál Eszter with Mary O’Donell Fulkerson (USA), cie. Two in One, Ladjánszki Márta, Michaela Pein (A), Mehari Garoba Ensemble, Restaurant M 2006: Mészöly Andrea and Moukhtar Lucia – sound installation, Michaela Pein (A), Ladjánszki Márta, Tóth Viktor Tercett, Szabó Réka, Berger Gyula, Company ST – Gál Eszter Táncegyüttese and Tánceánia, Hargitay Ákos, Zuboly Ensemble 2007: Ladjánszki Márta, Haraszti Adrienn and Jenei Gabriella, Berger Gyula, Mészöly Andrea, Szabó Réka, Kampec Dolores Ensemble 2008: Ladjánszki Márta, Zéró Balett – Berger Gyula Együttese, Bakó Tamás, Tünet Együttes – Szabó Réka Társulata, Mészöly Andrea 2009: Korolovszky Anna – installation, Kálmán Ferenc, Blaskó Borbála, McRibbentrop Ensemble, Lakat Andrea, Pataky Klári, Góbi Rita 2010: Ladjánszki Márta, Szente Borbála, Hodworks, Kókai János & Varga Zsolt – concert, Restaurant M 2011: Kozár Edit – photo exhibition, L1danceFest past – anniversary exhibition by Lakat Andrea & Kovács Noémi, Lakat Andrea–Jobbágy Bernadett–Szente Borbála–Varga Zsolt–Oliver Mayne – performative actions, Lengyel Katalin, Ladjánszki Márta, Bélaműhely, Kovács Kata – performance actions, hosts: Ladjánszki Márta & Ádám Andrea, Mészöly Andrea, Talking Through led by Kulcsár Vajda Enikő, cooperation with Hungarian designers: Barbro Design, Artista, Manier Salon, Zagabo, Ballloon 2012: Csernák Boldigzsár – film, Pásti Nóra – exhibition, MAMÜ – exhibition, Frissek Minifesztivál: Buday Enikő, Dányi Kriszta – Morningdeer, Kertész Endre, Nagy Csilla, Zéró Balett, Ladjánszki
126
Márta, Vass Imre, Talking through V4+ Dance Script laboratory curated by Ádám Andrea and expert Szoboszlai Annamária and participants from Hungary: Sándor Zita, Lányi Júlia, hosts: Ladjánszki Márta & Ádám Andrea, cooperation with Hungarian designers: Zagabo, Manier Salon, Blue Paprika, Mrs Herskin
2014: Szabo Roland – photo exhibition, Frissek Minifesztivál: Horváth Ádám Márton, Szamosi Judit, Simányi Zsuzsanna, Ladjánszki Márta, Herold Eszter, Biczók Anna–Meszerics András– Czitrom Ádám, Ladjánszki–Varga, Talking through V4+ led by Bálint Orsolya, Dance Script KÖM edition with Sándor Zita, Bálint Orsolya, Farkas Kristóf, Kunstár Mónika, Komjáthy Zsuzsanna, hosts: Ladjánszki Márta & Varga Zsolt, cooperation with Hungarian designers: TiCCi Rockabily Clothing, Manier Salon, Romani Design, FuFaVi, Mei Kawa 2015: Szabo Roland – photo exhibition, Kéri Judit, Dömötör Judit, Nagy Csilla & Vavra Júlia, Fekete Géza Péter, Horváth Ádám Márton, Varga Zsolt és a Csa-Torna Klub, Talking through V4+ led by Bálint Orsolya, Dance Script KÖM edition with Sándor Zita, Bálint Orsolya, Farkas Kristóf, Kunstár Mónika, Komjáthy Zsuzsanna, Marx Laura, hosts: Kovács Noémi Anna & Varga Zsolt, cooperation with Hungarian designers: TiCCi Rockabilly Clothing, Manier Salon, Romani Design, Mark Molnar, NUBU 2016 – 15 év!: Koroknai Zsolt, Roland Szabo, Timár Eszter, Szálka Zsuzsanna, Földy-Molnár Lilla, Szente Borbála, Kiégő Izzók, Góbi Rita, Blaskó Borbála, Haraszti-Zwiep Adrienn, Berger Gyula/ Zéró Balett, Kovács Kata, Pataky Klári Társulat, Jobbágy Bernadett, Kertész Endre, Fekete Péter Géza, Varga Zsolt, Ziggurat Project, Kovács Gerzson/Tranzdanz, Ágoston Béla, Bakó Tamás, Vass Imre, Horváth Helén Sára, Ladjánszki Márta, Szűcs Réka, Harsányi Réka & Szűcs Dóra Ida, T.Bali/Rosinflux, hosts: Kovács Noémi Anna & Varga Zsolt, cooperation with Hungarian designers: TiCCi Rockabilly Clothing, Manier Salon, Romani Design, Zagabo, Artista, Mei Kawa
L1danceFest – memories and interviews – A jubilee booklet
2013: Tranzdanz: Góbi Rita, Bora Gábor, Kovács Gerzson Péter, Herold Eszter – exhibition, Buday Enikő & Kovács Kata, Fülöp László, Frissek Minifesztivál: Nagy Csilla, Berger Gyula, Fekete Géza Péter, Herold Eszter, Dömötör Judit, Szeri Viktor, Raubinek Lili & Harmath Olívia – students of Goli, Hartyáni Gábor, Dance Script laboratory MAKT edition participants from Hungary: Sándor Zita, Bálint Orsolya, Miroljuba Petrova, hosts: Kovács Noémi Anna & Ladjánszky Endre, cooperation with Hungarian designers: Je Suis Belle, Manier Salon, Romani Design, Zagabo, Artista
2017: Koroknai Zsolt, Roland Szabo – photo exhibition, Hajdu Szabolcs, Timár Eszter, Szálka Zsuzsanna, Földy-Molnár Lilla, Tóth Árpád, Sebestyén Rita, Bethlenfalvy Ádám, Ladjánszki Márta, Jávorka Ádám & Varga Zsolt, Szabó Veronika, Kovács Emese, Kovács István, Blaskó Borbála, Horváth Helén Sára, Koroknai Zsolt DLA & Ladjánszki Márta, Szűcs Réka, Harsányi Réka & Szűcs Dóra Ida & Bolcsó Bálint, Lakat Andrea, Talking through V4+ led by Bak Anita, host: Varga Zsolt
127
* Here you can find some words. Could you put them in sentences which could be kind of ars poetica of yours! COMMUNITY, GETTING CLOSER, EXCHANGE, FILLED IN, RELIGION, NATION, HOMAGE, HUG, PERFORM, POPULAR, ORGANIC FOOD, SENSE, QUALITY, SHARE, FACE
credits To all of you who helped our work…
We really appreciate your cooperation and support in realizing L1danceFest – a jubilee booklet! Such as… Interviews by Orsolya Bálint, Kristóf Farkas, Zsuzsanna Komjáthy, Emese Kovács, Mónika Judit Kunstár, Márta Ladjánszki, Laura Marx, Zita Sándor Translation by Sára Hajgató, Zsolt Varga, Flóra Veres Graphic design by Anna Korolovszky Financial support by NKA, EMMI
128
www.L1.hu © published by L1 Association 27th February 2018 (online)