bipod 2008

An ordinary day, first seen from a distance and then from very close up, so close up that it becomes an odyssey. Guilherme Botelho’s dancers break the mirror of our everyday lives with raw, visceral and vital energy.

"In just 25 minutes… the choreographer develops a perfect, touching, exciting, vibrating study of loneliness.  A lot of people in this society, not only older ones, find themselves in a very similar situation. In a space emptied of social relationships she is thrown back onto herself; to avoid going insane, she has to start a dialogue with the dead objects around her. Table and chair almost come to life and become substitute partners, at least for a while. The result is not a jolly event. But a strong piece of dance.”

In Import/Export, six dancers/acrobats join altus  Steve Dugardin and the four ‘live’ musicians of the Kirke string quartet on stage. This creation is a further research on the combination of different dance styles, theatre, acrobatics, music and visual art. The main theme is powerlessness, on different levels. Powerlessness in relation to a world, the feeling of powerlessness when not being able to change or contribute anything to it. How do you cope with this feeling? How to express this feeling? But also in the intimate environment. Powerlessness in regard of letting go close ones. Powerlessness in regard to a lost love. Powerlessness in regard of being rejected.

In Beige time is delayed, even paused, so that the moment at which you jump in the deep end is placed under the magnifying glass. At that moment, nothing is lost yet, but at the same time nothing is gained. Should you take the next step? How can you succeed without running the risk of failing? In Beige the dancers constantly teeter between wanting to succeed and daring to fail, between structure and improvisation. 

Pulse is set between the pulsating, virtuoso sounds of György Ligeti. Krisztina de Châtel chose for piano études by Hungarian-Austrian Ligeti (1923-2006), one of the greatest contemporary composers. For years, the Hungarian-born choreographer had wanted to use his music. "He was and is such an important man in Hungary. One can clearly hear Bartók’s influence in his work. Not that it sounds like folk music, but there is a certain virtuosity in it, which feels Hungarian to me.” Ligeti himself said of his piano études: “The cogs have to engage one another.” This expression appeals to De Châtel: “His music has a mechanical feel to it, and at the same time I hear the throbbing Hungarian heart of the composer and see the dazzling fingers of the pianist before me as I listen.”   As an answer the choreography shows strict lines and whirling movements but also passionate solos where the individual breaks out of the collective.   De Volkskrant (Dutch daily newspaper): “Pulse is poised energy par excellence that rages around like a tornado.” NRC Handelsblad (Dutch daily newspaper): “Pulse is a real classic in de Chatel’s oeuvre, one to go and see again.”   Pulse reaped great success in Dutch theatres earlier this year. The choreography was nominated for de Zwaan, a prestigious prize for the best dance production of the Dutch theatre season 2006 - 2007.

The dancers reflecting everyday life on the streets, where people come and go but the only thing that remains is a bench that witnesses their actions and emotional reactions.

“I like to think of this performance as an unfinished product, an ongoing situation just like the Palestinian situation is unresolved.  Originally this piece was a dance.  However, in the process of making the dance, I found myself unable to translate the text in my mind with my physical body.  The process therefore became a challenge for me to figure out how to put the Palestinian situation within the context of performance.  Humour became a way for me to distance myself from personal feelings in order to draw the interest of the audience and inform them at the same time.  This project also became a way for me to further educate myself about the Palestinian situation in order to better understand the complexity of my own identity: an American-Palestinian born in Saudi Arabia with Jordanian/U.S. nationalities, raised in the Catholic Church speaking English and who moved to the United States at age 10.  Though I feel a certain amount of distance to the land of Palestine and the Palestinian People, the fact that I feel lost and confused about my Palestinian identity is a state that many Palestinians identify themselves with.  That is what it means (partially) to be Palestinian today.”

The work is based on a collage of different images and situations that were combined within the whole. Themes that dealt with Media, war, gender, love, religion and cultural differences were contextualized to fit in one thematic context. " Authority" as the main theme of the work imposed itself on all the above themes and thus the work could be seen as a "statement" rather than a presentation of ideas. It is a statement against Media control, religious brainwashing and political realities. It is a Lebanese/Dutch collaboration that was presented during " The Automn Dance Festival" in Beirut and " Dancing on the Edge Festival" ( co-producer) in Holland at the Grand Theatre, Groningen ( co-producer), Frascati ( Amsterdam), and Rotterdamse Schouwburg ( Rotterdam. The performance in Beirut was funded by DCCD.