Dana Gingras, group A and Sonya Stefan collaborate on anOther piece
April 3rd 2018
Article about the show anOther presented by Agora de la danse.
- Oliver Koomsatira
Group A - Credit: Wataru Fukaya
Agora de la danse will be presenting the hybrid show anOther choreographed by Dana Gingras from April 4th to the 14th. Part installation, performance and concert, this event is the culmination of a highly collaborative process between the choreographer, the duo group A and Sonya Stefan. Each performer also provides an added element of creative design (group A, the music, Sonya Stefan, the videos). The piece touches upon various topics but most importantly, the woman’s body, far removed from advertising and fashion. Dana Gingras tells us more about this central theme of the show: "The metaphor of ‘possession’ is used to explore the idea of the body, specifically women’s bodies, as a kind of territory that has been seized. The body is reterritorialized as a result of this appropriation. It then gets projected in a distorted way back through such avenues as advertising to sell things, thereby creating a kind of fragmentation of identity. The intent of the piece is to bring the body back into its raw state, where it can re-engage with potential, instead of being determined by the inscriptions that have been written by capital (meaning the way fashion and advertising use women’s bodies) onto it." Women’s bodies have indeed been used by businesses throughout the ages, often through a male lens, to sell anything from cigars to motorcycles. Thankfully, in many parts of the world, a growing number of women are acquiring executive powers to regain control of the use of their image.
anOther - Dana Gingras - Credit: Mirka Lugosi
Leading this project, Dana Gingras explains why she decided to mix different elements for her creation: "I wanted to bring the different elements of sound and visuals together in a way so that they weren’t only in service to the dance. I liked the idea of each element having its own integrity yet being very much in relation. This way the choreographic conversation happens in the space between the elements." She further shares how the creative process began: "The starting point for all of us was this metaphor of ‘possession’. Specifically a three minute clip from Andrzej Żuławski's 1981 film Possession featuring a mind-blowing performance by Isabelle Adjani’s. The film is a film about division that was shot in Berlin right next to the wall. Most interesting is that this film found no audience in cinemas but became one of the first “cult” successes in the age of VHS." Although anOther draws on aspects Dana Gingras has always been interested in, it does offer some novelty: "I have worked a lot with live music and media over the years… this is the first time that I have worked with an all women collaborative team. And it is the first work I have performed in since 2012."
The choreographer further explains how she came to collaborate with the videographer and the musicians: "Sonya Stefan and I worked together on ‘Somewhere Between Maybe’ a piece from 2015 that was inspired by aspects of cinema. Sonya was dancing in this piece but she is also an incredible media artist so I was curious about this side of her. We started the process for anOther by collecting a bunch of old unwanted televisions. Growing up with television in an era that saw the advent of VHS is a specific reference for the piece as is video art of the 80’s. group A became part of the creative team after a good friend of mine Oliver Baurhenn from the CTM festival in Berlin very enthusiastically told me that I needed to know this exciting band. We initially met in Berlin at a dive bar and after many hours and many beers we got excited about working together."
The choreographer further explains how she came to collaborate with the videographer and the musicians: "Sonya Stefan and I worked together on ‘Somewhere Between Maybe’ a piece from 2015 that was inspired by aspects of cinema. Sonya was dancing in this piece but she is also an incredible media artist so I was curious about this side of her. We started the process for anOther by collecting a bunch of old unwanted televisions. Growing up with television in an era that saw the advent of VHS is a specific reference for the piece as is video art of the 80’s. group A became part of the creative team after a good friend of mine Oliver Baurhenn from the CTM festival in Berlin very enthusiastically told me that I needed to know this exciting band. We initially met in Berlin at a dive bar and after many hours and many beers we got excited about working together."
group A - Credit: Ériver Hijano
After this two week run, fans of the choreographer can look forward to many exciting projects of hers: "As the long term choreographer in residence at CCOV I am thrilled to be creating a large scale piece for 2019. I am also directing Free Fall, an immersive film in partnership with Microclimat Films and Société Des Arts technologiques [SAT] which is due to premiere in February 2019." For more information about anOther, visit Agora la danse’s website. http://agoradanse.com/en/event/another/
