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29 luglio 2015 Commenti disabilitati su «Armour, the state of mind of human relationship» |Interview to Deutinger and Gottfarb Views: 2958 Interviews

«Armour, the state of mind of human relationship» |Interview to Deutinger and Gottfarb

Two knights in full shining armours seem ready for battle. There are no more dragons to slay, no more damsels to save, no more kings to praise. What is their real battle? Goodbye Chilvary Goodbye…

“Chilvary is dead”, by Alex Deutinger and Alexander Gottfarb, is one of the works selected by the network Aerowaves and performed during Bmotion Dance 2015Operaestate Festival Veneto on August 22nd at 7pm and at 10.30pm @ CSC Garage Nardini.

The work is dedicated to knightly chilvary and medieval ideas of moral and manliness. But of course the performance has other implications. Let’s to discover it in the interview where Alex and Alexander present themselves…

 

Where did you receive your education and where did you train?
AG: I got my diploma at the Balettakademien in Stockholm and I hope and think that I’m still trying to both educate and train myself, so it’s an ongoing process.
AD: I did an MA in Translation and Interpreting at Karl-Franzens University, Graz and a BA in Contemporary Dance at Anton Bruckner University, Linz. I started working right after school and since then, my work and life are basically my training.

Chivalry is Dead1-®Elsa OkazakiHow and when did Dance enter into your lives?
AG: A friend of mine saw “singing in the rain” when we where 7, after that he pulled me with to a dance-class. He quit after 6 months and I continued.
AD: I saw my first dance piece when I was 26. I was fascinated. So I started to take open level workshops. One year later, I started training professionally, more by chance than anything else. It worked out pretty well for me.

In these years where there any specific Choreographers or Dancers that inspired you particularly?
AG: It’s difficult to say some experiences grow more in your memory over the years even though one didn’t think much of them at the time.
AD: I do believe that every new person you encounter has something to give and share and teach. I prefer to avoid name-dropping.

And were there any specific experiences that marked and influenced your choreographic language and artistic research?
AD: I try to see every new project as just that – a new project. At the moment I am not keen on developing my own choreographic language or conducting an ongoing research. I am making and solving problems as I go along. So the approach, the language and “research” – if this term even qualifies for what I do – are defined by each new project.
AG: I think leaving Stockholm and moving to Austria directly after my education had a big impact on what I do and how I do it. What I would have done if I would have stayed is another question.

During Bmotion you will present “Chivalry is Dead”.
What does the performance focus on?
AD: For me, the performance focuses on the audience. And the audience focus on whatever they focus on. While performing, I personally focus on timings, rhythms, breaths, listening, the connection to Alex, and I keep in mind that people are monitoring our actions.
AG: I hope that it focuses on a number of things for the people in the audience. To me it raises questions on still present gender stereotypes. But also on connectedness and rhythm.

Chivalry is Dead3-®Elsa Okazaki

The title implies something quite “final”…what is its meaning for you?
AG: Well there is this saying “chivalry is dead”, which in short terms mean that there is no courtesy any more and people aren’t holding up the doors for each other any more. So it refers to that but it also refers to the archetypical male knight and his death.
AD: For many people it seems it has something to do with dying knights…and yes, there are two “knights” on stage and they “die” in the performance. So there is something about death within the work, and yet, I don’t think it is “final” in the show itself, since we don’t stop after “dying”. We rather enter a phase of “wailing and gnashing teeth” which then leads us to an almost romantic – someone called it “vaguely homoerotic” – encounter, which then dissipates in the mist. It is all about transformation, at some level.
But “chivalry is dead” is also just an expression people use when they would expect someone to behave in a certain way – and then this person doesn’t. Let´s say, I walk through this door and I don’t hold it open for the person coming behind me, and then he/she would say: “Chivalry is dead.” Chivalry in that sense is often understood as a “gentlemanly” way of behaviour of men towards women, which again spins off a whole different kind of discussion…

Chivalry is Dead2-®Elsa OkazakiDuring the performance you wear an armour, can you tell me about its symbolic significance?
AG: Well it’s a symbol that most people have a relation to, exactly what that relation is is relatively individual.
AD: Basically we are working with an archetype of masculinity. A rather hilarious one, when taken out of context..

What happens to your body and its movements in this kind of “hard shell”?
AD: The body overheats, we sweat a lot, the sweat runs into our eyes, if something itches you can’t really scratch. The movement range is rather limited. I can’t get undressed or even take my helmet off without a 2nd person.
There is a sense of claustrophobia and a sense of weight I have to deal with when I wear the armour. At the same time, there is a weird sense of seriousness mixed with excitement and fun.
AG: The body gets squeezed, pinched, bruised and pulled down. The movements become restricted. It’s a sweaty Kafkaesque experience.

In the trailer of “Chivalry is Dead” some moments seem particularly ironic. Do you think that irony could represent a tool to look into some of the aspects of today’s society?
AD: Irony, like beauty, lies in the eye of the beholder. I think an important aspect of irony is that not everybody “gets it”. As long as some people can perceive a hidden ironic message, whereas others potentially do not perceive it, the scope of irony is fulfilled. Once that is gone, we are talking about straightforward humour. For me, both humour an irony can be valid tools of (not) dealing with the world.
AG: I think we are trying the best we can to do this movements and sometimes people trying really hard and failing is rather humorous. I think humour is a very important tool to highlight certain aspects of being human.

Chivalry is Dead7-®Elsa Okazaki

How would you define the relationship between dance and sound in this specific work?
AD: Crucial.
AG: Sorry, too big question.

And in your previous works?
AD: Crucial. I quote our composer Stephan Sperlich: “With dance, it is all about how it sounds, whereas with music, it’s all about how it looks.”
AG:

You performed in different Countries (Austria, Slovenia, Spain), which differences and/or similarities did you find in the public’s response to this work?
AD: Honestly, I´d rather avoid grouping audience response in relation to nationality. Yes, I observe differences or similarities in reactions from show to show, and I believe that there are a great many factors involved in how people respond to our work at a given time. I do prefer to think nationality is not the main factor in this.
AG: Audiences are different in different places but I would be careful to reduce those differences and or similarities in regards of the nations they are placed in.

Your piece has been selected this year by the network Aerowaves as one of the most promising emerging choreographies in Europe, how much impact is this experience having one your work and career?
AG: It’s difficult so say being in the middle of it. Let’s talk again in some time!
AD: I am glad about being selected. Aerowaves and Springforward have given us a kind of visibility we could not have achieved otherwise. It is a chance for us to be seen by people who -in turn- can take the choice of confronting other people, other audiences, with our work. So far, quite a few network members have taken that choice. With some luck, more will follow:)

chivalry is deadTo which of the “Chivalry values” you feel it impossible to renounce?
AD: Brethren before wenches…just kidding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

READ MORE ABOUT DEUTINGER/GOTTFARB

    • Profile of an artist | Deutinger & Gottfarb

READ MORE ABOUT THE OTHER ARTISTS SELECTED BY AEROWAVES

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