European residency programme for cultural journalists

LONDON RESIDENCY LONDON INTERNATIONAL MIME FESTIVAL 9–11 JANUARY 2014

p. 3 ALEN BISKUPOVIĆ Contemporary Circus – A View from the Outside / Suvremeni cirkus – impresije jednog outsidera p. 15 ANNA HAKANSSON Freak / Freak p. 22 ANNA KRÓLICA Double Worlds: From the Faun to the Tiny People Made From Plastic Bags / Podwójne światy: od Fauna do foliowych ludzików z reklamówek p. 31 AMÈLIA BAUTISTA BATLLORI Processes of Creation in the Contemporary Circus / Processos de creació en el circ contemporani p. 38 BAUKE LIEVENS The Body as Battlefield – (tentatively) connecting Artistic Research and Dramaturgy in Circus / Het lichaam als slagveld: een (voorzichtig) verbinden van artistiek onderzoek en dramaturgie in circus p. 47 JOOST GOUTZIERS The Circus of Tomorrow Disregards the Future / Circus van morgen vergeet de toekomst p. 55 NATASHA HASSIOTIS Compagnie Non Nova: L’après-midi d’un Foehn and Vortex p. 59 ÖRJAN ABRAHAMSSON Some Reflections on the Show Fuerzabruta at the Roundhouse in London / Vissa reflektioner kring föreställningen

”Fuerzabruta” på The Roundhouse i London. Fuerzabruta p. 68 ROBERT ALAGJOZOVSKI The Uncanny in Space / Нелагодноста во просторот – Fuerzabruta p. 76 VERONIKA ŠTEFANOVÁ Transformation as an Impetus / Transformace jako hnací síla Presentation

Circus arts are an art form like theatre or dance, of twelve major festivals programming but have not yet a profound level of intellectual, contemporary circus. The goal of the project is cultural and institutional recognition it deserves, to facilitate the circulation of knowledge and in Europe as well as at national and local level. experience, to develop the critical discourses Thereby political and financial support to this of its participants, and to further the role of the sector is quite low and there are structural media within the circus arts and contemporary weaknesses. There are strong imbalances in society. comparison to other creative areas, even when comparing the realities between regions or 12 Residencies – 120 Articles countries. Unpack the Arts consists of 12 residencies in 8 countries, spread over 2 years (August 2012 Despite the growing success of circus by the – February 2014). Each residency is set within audience and programmers, circus arts are the framework of a festival and follows the same not covered by abundant literature, academic format: over the course of 4 days, the participants research, in-depth articles, reviews,... and artists contribute to a series of moderated thematic themselves often experience difficulties in discussions, attend lectures by key circus experts, producing theoretical writing that communicates see 3-5 shows, and meet with and interview their practice, their creative processes and their programmed artists along with a representative productions. They rarely have the chance to of the host festival. After the residencies, each exchange with critics and experts from the participating journalist delivers one article. These performing arts on theoretical or conceptual texts are collected, translated and turned into terms. an online, multilingual publication.

Also, many art writers are clueless about This 11th publication collects the texts of contemporary circus. Cultural journalists don’t 10 European journalists who attended the know the disciplines and techniques and overall residency at London International Mime Festival, they lack the contextual understanding to tackle London, UK, 9 to 11 January 2014. a piece’s dramaturgical choices, to reference other productions, or to interview artists creating We wish to thank all participants and all non text-based works. collaborators who made this residency a success.

That’s why Circuscentrum and 9 important circus festivals all over Europe conceived Unpack the KOEN ALLARY Arts. Unpack the Arts is a European project – Director, Circuscentrum (project leader) granted by Europe Culture – that provides YOHANN FLOCH residencies for cultural journalists in the context Adviser

2  Contemporary Suvremeni cirkus Circus – A View – impresije jednog from the Outside outsidera

ALEN BISKUPOVIĆ ALEN BISKUPOVIĆ

Circus. For me, the first association is always the Cirkus. Prva asocijacija za mene uvijek je rado happy mental image of a huge tent surrounded viđena mentalna slika velikih šatora okruženih by wagons, spectacular acrobats swinging on kolima, vrhunskih akrobata na trapezima, the trapeze, hilarious clowns, jugglers, knife urnebesnih klaunova, žonglera, bacača noževa, throwers, skilful riders, and the general feeling vještih jahača i općenito osjećaj euforije i of euphoria and emotional exultation. Now, emocionalne ushićenosti. Međutim, suvremeni contemporary circus is something completely cirkus je nešto sasvim drugačije. Pitate se što? different. What is it, then, you may ask. This is Upravo to sam se i ja pitao prilikom what I asked myself when I took part in the sudjelovanja na londonskoj rezidenciji u London residency organised by Unpack The Arts organizaciji Unpack The Artsa i Crying Out and Crying Out Loud for cultural journalists. It Louda za novinare iz kulture koja se održala u was a privilege for me to be able to take part. siječnju 2014. godine i na kojoj sam imao Motivated by a lack of intellectual, institutional, privilegiju sudjelovati. Potaknuti nedostatkom general recognition of contemporary circus as intelektualnog, institucionalnog i općenitog a phenomenon, Unpack the Arts is a two-year prepoznavanja pojave suvremenog cirkusa, project1 designed to bring together cultural organizatori su osmislili dvogodišnji projekt1 s journalists and critics through a series of ciljem okupljanje novinara iz kulture i kritičara residencies, creating meetings where they can kako bi ostvarili cirkulaciju znanja i iskustva, exchange knowledge and experience, develop razvijanje kritičkog diskursa i povećavanje uloge critical discourse and bolster the role of the medija u suvremenom cirkusu. Kroz diskusije i media in contemporary circus. By presenting razgovore koje sam vodio s gostima i the discussions we had, as well as the talks with sudionicima te predstave koje sam vidio guests and the participants in the performances (London International Mime Festival), pokušati I saw at the London International Mime Festival, ću ukratko dati pregled cirkuske umjetnosti te I will try to give a brief overview of circus art and vlastitih promišljanja i zaključaka iz perspektive the thoughts and conclusions I have formed kazališnog kritičara koji do sada nije imao from my perspective as a theatre critic who had nikakvog doticaja sa suvremenim cirkusom. not had any previous contact with contemporary circus.

1 Unpack the Arts (http://unpackthearts.eu/) is a European 1 Unpack the Arts (http://unpackthearts.eu/) je europski projekt project organising residencies for cultural journalists and theatre koji organizira rezidencije za novinare iz kulture i kazališne critics in the context of ten major European festivals (twelve kritičare u kontekstu 10 velikih europskih festivala koji se bave residencies in eight countries as part of ten festivals: Ny Cirkus suvremenim umjetnostima (12 rezidencija u 8 zemalja u sklopu festival in Copenhagen, Denmark; CIRCa festival in Auch, France; 10 festivala – Ny Cirkus festival Copenhagen, Denmark; CIRCa Festival novog cirkusa in Zagreb, Croatia; Subcase in Stockholm, festival Auch, France; Festival novog cirkusa Zagreb, Croatia; Sweden; Hors Pistes Biennale and La Piste aux Espoirs Biennale Subcase Stockholm, Sweden; Hors Pistes Biennale and La in Brussels and Tournai, Belgium; Cirko Festival in Helsinki, Piste aux Espoirs Biennale Brussels and Tournai, Belgium; Finland; Circusstad Festival in Rotterdam, Netherlands; Cirko Festival Helsinki, Finland; Circusstad Festival Rotterdam, Humorologie, Festival of Emotions in Kortrijk-Marke, Belgium; Netherlands, Humorologie, Festival of Emotions Kortrijk- Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, UK; CIRCa festival in Marke, Belgium; Edinburgh Festival Fringe Edinburgh, UK; Auch, France; London International Mime Festival in London, UK; CIRCa festival Auch, France; London International Mime Subcase in Stockholm, Sweden). Festival London, UK; Subcase Stockholm, Sweden.

Alen Biskupović 3 History of contemporary circus, Povijest suvremenog cirkusa ili tko or who are we? smo mi The term ‘traditional circus’ is generally taken to Pod terminom tradicionalni cirkus generalno se mean a family-run affair originating in the late podrazumijeva oblik obiteljskog posla koji je 18th Century,2 for the most part based on nastao krajem 18. stoljeća2 i pretežno se demonstrations of equestrian skills, supplemented temeljio na demonstraciji jahačkih vještina koje as years went by with other acts such as rope- su zatim tijekom razvoja u sljedećih pedesetak walking, juggling, trained animals… and the godina nadopunjavane različitim vještinama introduction of the ringmaster who ran the poput hodanja po užetu, žongliranja, dresurom evening’s entertainment, announcing various životinja… te pojavom ringmastera (cirkuskog choreographed acts which all followed the same direktora) koji je upravljao cjelovečernjim dramatic arc: presentation, mounting tension, spektaklom najavljujući različite koreografirane the successfully performed feat… točke temeljene na jednakoj dramaturgiji (predstavljanje, rast napetosti, podvig…). The first circus performances took place in the open air, but as their popularity grew it became Prvotne cirkuske predstave odvijale su se na apparent that performing in the open presented otvorenom, ali s rastom popularnosti, tehničkim technical problems. The crowds also grew in size. nedostatcima otvorenog prostora i sve većom The circus moved first into buildings and then, potražnjom publike cirkusi su prvo prešli u in the mid-19th Century, as the first travelling zatvorene prostore da bi sredinom 19. stoljeća i circuses appeared, big tops were introduced. This pojavom putujućih cirkuskih družina usvojili is the venue we still associate most strongly with koncept vlastitih šatora (Big Tops) koje i dan circus. New elements appeared in the early 20th danas najčešće povezujemo s riječju cirkus. Century. The tents grew in size, the acts were Rano 20. stoljeće donijelo je još inovacija. performed simultaneously in several rings, and Šatori su postali veći, program se odvijao traditional dressage and equestrian skills gave na nekoliko kružnih scena odjednom, a way to the sensational acrobatic feats that are an tradicionalna dresura i jahačke vještine počele integral part of every circus. In fact, the value of a su se povlačiti pred akrobacijama koje su circus was based on the quality of acrobatic acts postale senzacija i neizbježni dio svakog which thus became an independent discipline.3 cirkusa, čak štoviše, vrijednost cirkusa se mjerila prema kvaliteti akrobatskih točki koje After the initial wave of enthusiasm in the early su postale zasebna disciplina.3 20th Century, circus art saw interest wane (initially, the cause was the two World Wars, Nakon prvotnog zanosa početkom 20. stoljeća followed by competition from the cinema, TV, cirkuska umjetnost je doživjela opadanje theme parks and other forms of entertainment). interesa (prvotno uzrokovano prvim i drugim In this context, circus barely managed to survive, svjetskim ratom, a zatim i pojavom stigmatised as mere entertainment without any konkurencije u obliku kinematografije, televizije, artistic connotations. tematskih parkova i sličnih oblika zabave). U

2 Circus historians often disagree on the time when circus came 2 Povjesničari cirkusa često se ne slažu oko datiranja nastanka into being, highlighting the similarities with the circus arenas in cirkusa upozoravajući na sličnosti sa cirkuskim arenama u ancient Rome (horse and chariot races, equestrian spectacles, vrijeme Antičkog Rima (utrke konja i zaprega, jahački spektakli, gladiatorial combat, trained animals…) that continued on in the gladijatorske borbe, dresirane životinje…) koje su se nastavile Middle Ages and Renaissance through the role of the fool, the kroz srednji vijek i renesansu u obliku lude, trubadura i minstrela troubadour and the minstrel, ending with Philip Astley in the da bi na kraju došli do kraja 18. stoljeća i Philipa Astleya kao late 18th Century as the father of traditional circus. For more začetnika tradicionalnog cirkusa. Za dodatne informacije vidi: information, see: Croft-Cooke Rupert and Cotes Peter, Circus: Croft-Cooke Rupert i Cotes Peter, Circus: A World History, Paul A World History, Paul Elek, London, 1976. Elek, London, 1976. 3 More on this topic in a comprehensive study produced by the 3 Više o temi može se pronaći u opsežnoj studiji europskog European Parliament’s Committee on Culture, Youth, Education, odbora za kulturu, mlade, obrazovanje, medije i sport pod the Media and Sport, The Situation of the Circus in the EU naslovom The Situation of the Circus in the EU Member States, Member States, (ed) Division for Social and Legal Affairs, (ed) Division for Social and Legal Affairs, Luxembourg, European Luxembourg, European Parliament, 2003. Parliament, 2003.

Alen Biskupović 4 Societal changes resulted in the changes in the takvom kontekstu cirkus je jedva preživio i perception of circus art. In the 1970s, a new ostao obilježen kao puko sredstvo zabave bez trend emerged: new circus. It strove to find its ikakvih umjetničkih konotacija. place in the sun as an artform. In order to achieve that, the performers introduced Promjene u društvu dovode i do promjena u changes to the dramaturgy, realistic poimanju cirkuske umjetnosti. Negdje u conventions, and allusions to the social sedamdesetim godinama 20. stoljeća javlja se situation, at the same time relinquishing trend pod nazivom novi cirkus koji pokušava spectacle and entertainment, and getting rid of naći svoje mjesto pod suncem i nametnuti se animal acts, in an effort to convey a message to kao umjetnička forma. Kako bi to ostvarili uveli the audience through their performances. This su promjene u dramaturgiji, realističke they achieved by introducing elements from konvencije, refleksiju na društvene prilike, theatre and dance.4 ‘New circus’ thus offered odustali su od čistog spektakla i zabave, izbacili the audience an experience more intimate than točke sa životinjama te su pokušavali ugraditi traditional circus, because it was based on the poruke publici u svoje izvedbe što su proveli individual and their emotional journey, uvođenjem elemenata kazališta i plesa u svoje foregrounding performance at the expense of izvedbe.4 „Novi cirkus“ tako je publici nudio spectacle, demonstrating theatricality and the intimnije iskustvo od tradicionalnog cirkusa jer narrative element lacking in traditional circus.5 se temeljio na individui i njenim emocionalnim putovanjima, stavljao izvedbu ispred spektakla i Soon afterwards, in the 1980s, contemporary demonstrirao teatralnost i narativnost koju circus emerged as the latest avatar of circus art. tradicionalni cirkus nije imao.5 Responding to the challenges of the times, contemporary circus trod ever deeper into the Ubrzo nakon toga, već u osamdesetim modern trend of interdisciplinarity, linking godinama 20. stoljeća javlja se drugi i zasada traditional circus skills with postmodern theatre, posljednji oblik cirkuske umjetnosti pod modern dance and visual arts. At that point, all nazivom suvremeni cirkus. Odgovarajući na conventions of traditional circus were izazove vremena suvremeni cirkus još je dublje abandoned, daring feats and spectacles were zagazio u suvremeni trend interdisciplinarnosti replaced by discourse, conceptuality and povezujući tradicionalne cirkuske vještine s abstraction in a hybrid mixture that has precious postmodernističkim kazalištem, suvremenim little to do with traditional circus. It is a form that plesom i vizualnim umjetnostima. U tom brings together all performance arts. Motivated trenutku potpuno se odustalo od konvencija by the idea of greater intimacy and increased tradicionalnog cirkusa, podvizi i spektakli artistic experience, and the blending of these zamijenjeni su diskursom i konceptualnošću, artforms, circus once again moved into buildings. apstrakcijom, hibridnom mješavinom koja više nipošto ne podsjeća na tradicionalni cirkus, već External problems in contemporary objedinjuje sve izvedbene umjetnosti zajedno. circus, or do they see us at all? Uvjetovan idejama veće intimnosti i The swift development, almost an explosion, of umjetničkog doživljaja, a i miješanjem circus art in the late 20th Century put this artform navedenih umjetnosti, mjesto događanja su ponovo postali zatvoreni prostori.

4 More on the new circus conventions in Croft-Cooke Rupert and Cotes Peter, Circus: A World History, Paul Elek, London, 1976. or 4 Više o konvencijama novog cirkusa dostupno je u: Croft- Skjönberg Andreas and Camilla Damkjaer (eds), Documentation Cooke Rupert i Cotes Peter, Circus: A World History, Paul Elek, of CARD: Circus Artistic Research Development, Katarina Tryck London, 1976. ili Skjönberg Andreas i Camilla Damkjaer (red.), AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2012. Documentation of CARD: Circus Artistic Research Development, 5 The differences and changes that occurred between traditional Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2012. and new circus are discussed comprehensively by John-Paul 5 O razlikama i promjenama između tradicionalnog i novog Zaccarini in his dissertation, Zaccarini John-Paul, Circoanalysis: cirkusa opsežno je u svojoj disertaciji pisao Zaccarini John-Paul, Circus, Therapy and Psycho-analysis, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – Circoanalysis: Circus, Therapy and Psycho-analysis, Katarina forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2013. Tryck AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2013.

Alen Biskupović 5 in an invidious position vis-à-vis the society and the Izvanjski problemi suvremenog profession. Generally speaking, the awareness of cirkusa ili vide li nas oni uopće what contemporary circus is has not spread Brzi i gotovo siloviti razvoj cirkuske umjetnosti among the public; people still associate it with the krajem 20. stoljeća doveo je to umjetničko meaning of traditional circus. Contemporary circus područje u nezavidan položaj spram društva i artists will often insist it is their sole desire to have struke. Generalno govoreći, publika nema people approach them with an open mind, razvijenu svijest o značenju termina suvremeni without the baggage of “assumptions and cirkus već ga povezuje s značenjem prejudice associated with the concept of tradicionalnog cirkusa. Suvremeni cirkuski traditional circus and animals, abandoning the umjetnici tako će često isticati kako je njihova idea that street artists are just fire-eaters and jedina želja da im ljudi pristupe otvorenog uma, those guys who twist balloons into various da ne donose sa sobom pretpostavke i shapes…”.6 They likewise encounter problems predrasude povezane s konceptom when they come to cultural centres and theatres tradicionalnog cirkusa i životinja, da ne misle da that have been more or less closed to them su ulični umjetnici samo gutači vatre i because of a failure to recognise circus as a new oblikovatelji balona…6 Jednako tako, s artform. As a result, there is a shortage of demand problemima se susreću u kulturnim centrima i among the producers and organisers of various kazalištima koja su im zbog neprepoznavanja arts events and a shortage of financial support nove umjetnosti dosada, manje-više bila from the state. zatvorena. Sve zajedno rezultira manjkom potražnje kod producenata i organizatora Another problem arises from cultural policies različitih umjetničkih događaja te dovodi do pursued by various EU countries, where circus manjka financijske potpore od strane vlasti mostly falls under the bodies that normally deal Problem se javlja i u kulturnim politikama with theatre and drama. In some countries, such različitih zemalja EU gdje cirkuska umjetnost as France and Italy, there are specific departments većinom pripada pod tijela koja se bave in the civil service dealing with circus art, but in kazalištem i dramom. U nekim zemljama na most countries that is not the case. In other primjer Francuskoj i Italiji postoje posebni odjeli words, there are no laws dealing specifically with državne uprave za cirkuske umjetnosti, ali u circus art. For the most part, the legal framework većini ne. Drugim riječima, ne postoje posebni for circus is implemented at the regional and local zakoni za cirkusku umjetnost. Većina regulativa level, which results in lack of common standards, za cirkus provodi se na regionalnom i lokalnom for instance in taxes and costs charged on the nivou što rezultira nedostatkom zajedničkih circuses. Financial subsidies and grants are just as standarda za na primjer troškove koji se tricky. As there is no legislation, there are no plans naplaćuju cirkusu. Jednako tako, problematično for dedicated financial support and grants. In je i područje financijske potpore i dotacija. Kako some countries, circus is considered a cultural nema posebnih zakonskih regulativa, nema niti activity (e.g. in Italy, France and Portugal) while in posebnih planova za financiranje i dotacije. U Germany, Austria and Denmark, circus has the nekim zemljama cirkus se smatra kulturnom status of a commercial activity and is not eligible aktivnošću (na primjer Italija, Francuska i for grants.7 To say nothing of the recent financial Portugal) dok se u Njemačkoj, Austriji i Danskoj crisis and the across the board cuts in the arts. smatra komercijalnom djelatnošću pa je postojanje dotacija nemoguće,7 a recentnu financijsku krizu i rezanje troškova koja se očituje

6 Floch Yohann, Postcards from Street Arts and Circus, Elanders, 6 Floch Yohann, Postcards from Street Arts and Circus, Elanders, Sweden, 2011, p. 7. Sweden, 2011., str. 7. 7 More details about legislative problems facing circus art in 7 Detaljnije o legislativnim problemima cirkuske umjetnosti Zaccarini John-Paul, Circoanalysis: Circus, Therapy and Psycho- pisao je Zaccarini John-Paul, Circoanalysis: Circus, Therapy analysis, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, and Psycho-analysis, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – Stockholm, 2013. utveckling, Stockholm, 2013.

Alen Biskupović 6 In other words, contemporary circus has found na svim poljima umjetnosti neću niti spominjati. itself locked in a vicious circle. The only hope is to Drugim riječima, suvremeni cirkus nalazi se u persevere in the war of attrition, to the last man, začaranom krugu i jedina nada im je borba u for the affirmation of their art. As an Australian rovovima, jedan na jedan za afirmaciju vlastitog artist who participated in the CasCas (Circus and područja što je najbolje opisao jedan australski Street Arts Come and See) project put it so umjetnik, sudionik projekta CasCas (Circus and succinctly:8 “Politics is important – ministers, Street Arts Come and See):8 Politika je važna mayors and other people in positions to decide – ministri, gradonačelnici i ostali na položajima public policy concerning arts and culture have a koji odlučuju o javnoj politici spram umjetnosti i huge impact, from larger companies and venues kulture imaju veliki utjecaj, od velikih družina i right down to the independent performer and kuća sve do nezavisnih izvođača i malih družina small emerging company. So creating positive u nastajanju. Tako da stvaranje pozitivnog one-to-one person-to-person relationships with odnosa jedan na jedan, osobe naspram osobe s the people who have decision-making powers is ljudima koji imaju moć odlučivanja, čini velik dio a very big part of being successful in cultural uspjeha u kulturnim projektima.9 projects.”9 Situacija se prema izvještajima organizacija koje se bave cirkusom i različitim kulturnim According to the reports produced by the projektima financiranima od strane EU u zadnje organisations that deal with circus and various vrijeme popravlja, ali put je još dalek. cultural projects financed by the EU, the situation has been improving recently, but it’s Unutarnji problemi suvremenog still got a long way to go. cirkusa ili što nas sve muči Problemi s kojima se susreće suvremena Internal problems in contemporary cirkuska umjetnost nisu samo izvanjski. Postoje circus, or what is it that bothers us? i veliki problemi unutar same struke. Jedan od Contemporary circus art is not facing only najistaknutijih je nedorečeni osjećaj vlastitog problems from the outside. There are major identiteta koji proizlazi iz nekoliko razina: internal problems, too. One of the key problems nedostaje teorijskih radova koji bi se bavili is indeed the ill-defined sense of its own identity, sistematiziranjem cirkuske umjetnosti, stemming from several levels: there are no nedostaje želje među samim umjetnicima za theoretical works to systematise circus art; there formiranje umjetničkog istraživanja kreativnih is no real wish among the artists to artistically procesa, suvremena cirkuska umjetnost koristi explore creative processes; contemporary circus se različitim izvedbenim umjetnostima u svom art uses various performance art forms in its stvaranju, u svom stvaranju koriste se creation, including skills that were originally part vještinama koje izvorno potječu iz of traditional circus, and yet they want to tradicionalnog cirkusa, a tradicionalni cirkus je disassociate themselves from traditional circus; ono od čega se žele razlikovati, cirkuski the educational system and practice in circus obrazovni sustav i praksa nameću im osjećaj make them feel like objects for sale. objekta na prodaju. Suvremeni cirkuski Contemporary circus artists thus strongly feel umjetnici tako imaju izražen osjećaj that they do not belong, that they are inferior to nepripadanja i inferiornosti spram priznatih i

8 The project was implemented in 2010/2011. The main idea 8 Projekt je održan 2010/2011. godine i glavna ideja je bila was to facilitate the meetings of performers, producers, critics, organizirati susrete izvođača, producenata, kritičara, izbornika, selection committees, costume designers, etcetera, over a kostimografa… tijekom šest dana u četiri zemlje partnera period of six days in four partner countries; they were thus able kako bi otkrili različite nacionalne kontekste, prezentirali svoje to explore various national contexts, present their work, and radove i umanjili nedostatak intelektualnog i institucionalnog mitigate the lack of intellectual and institutional recognition neprepoznavanja za cirkus i uličnu umjetnost. Detaljnije o of circus and street art. For more details, see Floch Yohann, projektu vidi u: Floch Yohann, Postcards from Street Arts and Postcards from Street Arts and Circus, Elanders, Sweden, 2011. Circus, Elanders, Sweden, 2011. 9 Floch Yohann, Postcards from Street Arts and Circus, Elanders, 9 Floch Yohann, Postcards from Street Arts and Circus, Elanders, Sweden, 2011, p. 34. Sweden, 2011., str. 34.

Alen Biskupović 7 recognised and established forms of art such as etabliranih umjetnosti poput kazališta ili plesa. theatre and dance. Even as they blend circus Miješajući cirkuske vještine s onim kazališnim, skills with skills that belong to theatre, to dance, plesnim, vizualnim oni su zapravo hibrid svega to visual arts, they create a hybrid, a mix’n’match, po malo, nemaju svoje jasno mjesto pod and they do not have their clearly delineated suncem, a neprepoznavanje društva i place in the sun. The lack of recognition in the nedostatak teorijske artikulacije o trendu im ne society and lack of theoretical articulation of the pomaže. trend are not helping matters. Od pomoći nije niti prevladavajuće i evidentno The generally held, albeit obviously wrong view pogrešno mišljenje cirkuskih umjetnika koji je proposed by the circus artists is not helping povodom projekta CARD10 (Circus Artist matters either: Efva Lilja articulated it in 2010 for Research Development) 2010. godine istaknula the CARD project10 (Circus Artist Research Efva Lilja: Mi smo umjetnici koji žele živjeti svoju Development): “We are artists who want to live umjetnost – ne želimo postati znanstvenici,11 a their art – we don’t want to become scientists”.11 njime se pozabavio i Yohann Floch u svom radu Yohann Floch addressed the issue in his paper prilikom istog projekta. Floch je pri tome that was part of the same project. Floch drew a napravio distinkciju između kreativnog procesa i distinction between the creative process and the procesa stvaranja objašnjavajući kako su oba process of creation, explaining that both are nužna. Kreativni proces pri tome uključuje needed. The creative process requires the artists gledanje predstava, filmova i posjete izložbama, to watch performances and films, see exhibitions, čitanje radova, međusobne diskusije cirkuskih read theoretical works, discuss issues among umjetnika, diskusije s kritičarima, novinarima i themselves and with the critics, journalists and znanstvenicima, poduzimanje umjetničkih scholars, undertake artistic exploration, while the istraživanja, dok se proces kreacije odnosi na process of creation pertains to the actual goal of konkretni cilj stvaranja predstave. Baveći se creating a performance. As he explored the topic, tom problematikom Floch je zaključio kako Floch concluded that circus artists are not used cirkuski umjetnici nisu naviknuti na dio to this idea: “artistic exploration they considered umjetničkog istraživanja koji smatraju as luxury: information, expression of curiosity, luksuznim: informiranje, izražavanje znatiželje, experimentation and learning from other people’s eksperimentiranje i učenje kroz tuđa iskustva i experience and discussion, rather than simply diskusije, a ne samo jednostavno stvaranje creating a show as the ultimate and only goal”.12 predstave kao ultimativni i jedini cilj.12

Na još jedan zanimljiv problem s kojim se susreće mlada generacija cirkuskih umjetnika

10 In her lecture, Lilja tries to explain the importance of artistic exploration as a process that will bring about knowledge and 10 Lilja u svom predavanju pokušava objasniti koliko je bitno understanding, stressing that the methodology of artistic umjetničko istraživanje kao proces koji će omogućiti znanje i process is a valuable source of knowledge for the profession razumijevanje, naglašavajući kako je metodologija umjetničkog and the world at large. Through artistic exploration, artists procesa vrijedan izvor znanja za struku i vanjski svijet. would contribute to a constructive criticism, establishment of Umjetničkim istraživanjem, umjetnici bi doprinijeli konstruktivnoj linguistic concepts, aesthetics and many other elements, and kritici, formiranju lingvističkih koncepata, estetika i mnogim would help the outside world understand circus artists and their drugim stvarima te bi pomogli vanjskom svijetu pojmiti cirkuske art. See Lilja Efva, ‘Tear down the walls’, in: Skjönberg Andreas umjetnike i njihovu umjetnost. Vidi: Lilja Efva, „Tear down and Damkjaer (eds), Documentation of CARD: Circus Artistic the walls“, u: Skjönberg Andreas i Camilla Damkjaer (red.), Research Development, Katarina Tryck AB.Dans – forskning – Documentation of CARD: Circus Artistic Research Development, utveckling, Stockholm, 2012, p. 8. Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 11 Lilja Efva, ‘Tear down the walls’, in: Skjönberg Andreas and 2012., str. 8. Camilla Damkjaer (eds), Documentation of CARD: Circus Artistic 11 Lilja Efva, „Tear down the walls“, u: Skjönberg Andreas i Camilla Research Development, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – Damkjaer (red.), Documentation of CARD: Circus Artistic utveckling, Stockholm, 2012, pp. 8-10. Research Development, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – 12 Floch Yohann, ‘Circus Artist and the Inferiority Complex’, in: utveckling, Stockholm, 2012., str. 8-10. Skjönberg Andreas and Camilla Damkjaer (eds), Documentation 12 Floch Yohann, „Circus Artist and the Inferiority Complex“, u: of CARD: Circus Artistic Research Development, Katarina Tryck Skjönberg Andreas i Camilla Damkjaer (red.), Documentation of AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2012, pp. 109- CARD: Circus Artistic Research Development, Katarina Tryck AB 113. Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2012., str. 109-113.

Alen Biskupović 8 John-Paul Zaccarini has highlighted another školovana na cirkuskim školama širom svijeta interesting problem encountered by the young upozorio je John-Paul Zaccarini. Promišljajući circus artists, the generation that has been o obrazovnom sustavu došao je do zaključka trained in circus schools all over the world. kako činjenica da mladi cirkuski umjetnik na As he considered the education system, he kraju svog trogodišnjeg školovanja mora concluded that young circus artists, upon predstaviti točku/predstavu koju će poslije u completing their three-year coursework, must svijetu cirkusa morati prodati kako bi preživio, produce an act/show which they will have to stvara enormni psihološki pritisak s različitim sell in the circus world afterwards in order to posljedicama. Mladi umjetnik tako razvija survive: this fact generates enormous osjećaj da je jednostavno objekt na prodaju što psychological pressure with all kinds of mu poništava osjećaj subjektivnosti ili autorstva repercussions. Young artists feel they are nad točkom/predstavom rezultirajući u objects for sale, and this destroys their feeling unutarnjem konfliktu između želje za of subjectivity or authorship over their act/ postajanjem što mora postati kako bi bio show, resulting in an internal conflict between kupljen i želje za postajanjem što želi postati the desire to become what they “must become” kako bi se umjetnički ostvario. Još jedan primjer in order to be bought and the desire to become je i problematika djelovanja unutar velikog what they “want to become” in order to realise ansambla poput Cirque de Soleila. Djelovanje their art. Another problem is being part of a umjetnika unutar tako velike mašinerije opisao large troupe such as Cirque de Soleil. He je kao iznimno frustrirajuće zbog činjenice da described the work of an artist in such large umjetnici u svakom trenutku mogu biti machinery as extremely frustrating because zamijenjeni, da su samo dijelovi što uzrokuje artists can be replaced at any time: they are iznimnu dozu nesigurnosti, a u isto vrijeme budi mere cogs in the machine. This makes them se osjećaj ponovnog poimanja umjetnika kao feel extremely insecure and, at the same time, it objekta koji se koristi u svrhu ostvarivanja reinforces the idea of an artist as an object used nečijeg tuđeg cilja.13 for the realisation of someone else’s goals.13 Ove dvije činjenice na koje je Zaccarini upozorio The two facts highlighted by Zaccarini may be mogu se izravno povezati s nekim od directly linked with some of the conventions of konvencija suvremenog cirkusa. Djelovanje contemporary circus. The fact that traditional tradicionalnog cirkusa kao velike mašinerije circus functioned as large machinery may have možda je bilo jedan od elemenata zbog kojeg je been one of the causes for the emergence of došlo do potrebe za nastankom novog i new circus and of contemporary circus: a desire suvremenog cirkusa, to jest do želje za manjim, to stage smaller, more intimate performances intimnijim predstavama u kojima su cirkuski where circus artists are authors who interpret umjetnici autori i vlastiti interpretatori, a ne their art, not just objects to be used and samo iskorišteni objekti. Jednako tako discarded. Likewise, there are no repertory acts suvremeni cirkus ne poznaje repertoarne in contemporary circus, because artists want to predstave jer umjetnici žele biti originalni i be original and they believe only they can validly izvorni i smatraju da su samo oni valjani interpret their own authentic creations. This interpretatori svojih autentičnih djela. U may be the source of a major problem I saw as navedenom se možda krije i uzrok važnog I watched the shows and attended discussions problema kojem sam svjedočio kroz predstave at the London International Mime Festival: i razgovore na London International Mime contemporary circus is in dire need of Festival-u. Suvremeni cirkus nužno treba contemporary circus directors. suvremene cirkuske redatelje.

13 Zaccarini John-Paul, Circoanalysis: Circus, Therapy and Psycho- 13 Zaccarini John-Paul, Circoanalysis: Circus, Therapy and Psycho- analysis, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, analysis, Katarina Tryck AB Dans – forskning – utveckling, Stockholm, 2013, pp. 21-23. Stockholm, 2013., str. 21-23.

Alen Biskupović 9 There has been some progress in recent years, Pomaci se događaju u posljednjim godinama because some performers have now reached jer je određen dio izvođača dosegnuo godine u the age where they can no longer perform and kojima se više ne mogu baviti izvođenjem pa se are turning to directing or to dramaturgical sve više okreću redateljsko – dramaturškim i work and theoretical thinking. But those are teorijskim promišljanjima. Međutim, u tim the people who have been circus performers slučajevima radi se o ljudima koji su cijeli život all their lives and they are hemmed in by their bili cirkuski izvođači i na određen su način time experience in a way. They need a new, fresh ograničeni. Potrebno im je novo, svježe vanjsko look from the outside, from someone who is oko koje poznaje njihov rad, koje poznaje familiar with their work, with the area, skills, područje, vještine i prednosti i mane istih, a koje advantages and faults, someone who at the ima iskustva s plesom i kazalištem. Potrebna same time has experience in dance and theatre. im je školovana, nova generacija redatelja koji They need a new generation of directors with će im pomoći oblikovati ideje i formu koju žele appropriate education, to help them shape the predstaviti publici. Međutim, i tu postoji ideas and forms they want to present to the određena doza nesigurnosti koja se ponovo audience. And yet there is a smidgen of može povezati s Zaccarinijevim promišljanjima. insecurity there, which we may again link to U slučaju prisustva redatelja on postaje what Zaccarini has been saying. If there is a izvanjsko oko, on usmjerava i oblikuje zamisli i director, she becomes an external eye, directing ideje pa se ponovno može povući paralela sa and shaping ideas, and there we have again the strahom od gubljenja autorstva i postajanja parallel with the fear of the loss of authorship, objektom, alatom redatelja – slično se dogodilo the fear of becoming an object, a tool in the i s glumcima u redateljskom kazalištu pa njihov hands of the director, as has happened to the strah nije neopravdan. actors in the director’s theatre – their fears are not unfounded. Kako ne bi ostao samo na teoretskim promišljanjima i povijesti cirkusa kao primjer za In order to move away from dry theory and nužnost izvanjskog oka, a i ostale spomenute history of circus as arguments for the need to probleme, upotrijebiti ću vizualno spektakularnu have an eye looking at it from the outside, and i tematski aktualnu, ali istovremeno i manjkavu illustrating other problems, I will now look at izvedbu družine Non Nova iz Francuske i the visually spectacular and thematically topical predstavu Vortex (Vrtlog) u kojoj dramaturgiju show staged by Compagnie Non Nova from potpisuje Jean Luc Beaujault, glazbenu France (the show is not without defects, podlogu Claudea Debussya obradio je Ivan though), Vortex, with dramaturgy by Jean Luc Roussel, a kao izvođač pojavljuje se Phia Beaujault, set to Claude Debussy’s music Ménard koja ujedno potpisuje i režiju, reworked by Ivan Roussel, featuring Phia koreografiju i scenografiju. Ménard as the performer, director, choreographer and stage designer. Izvedba se otvara slikom okrugle scene na kojoj kleči predimenzionirani lik s bijelom maskom The show opens with a round stage; an koja u potpunosti prekriva izvođačev identitet, oversized figure with a white mask concealing obučen u muško odijelo i šešir. Lik polagano the performer’s identity kneels in the middle. reže plastične vrećice te ih lijepi stvarajući The performer wears a man’s suit and hat. The figuru/lutku nečega što podsjeća na čovjeka figure slowly cuts plastic bags and glues them (ima ruke, noge, glavu i tijelo). Nakon toga je together creating an anthropomorphic figure/ postavlja u centar okrugle scene okružene doll (with arms, legs, body and head). The ventilatorima te se vrećica počinje polako performer places the figure in the middle of the napuhivati i oživljava pred očima gledatelja. round stage which is surrounded by fans. The Kako se struja zraka pojačava vrećica se uzdiže fans blow air at the bag which is slowly blown i započinje svoj ples u kojem se ubrzo pridružuje up and comes to life before the spectators. As još jedna, a zatim mnoštvo raznobojnih vrećica

Alen Biskupović 10 Company Non Nova – Vortex © Jean-luc Beaujault the air stream grows stronger, the bag floats up tvoreći vizualno fascinantno kolo koje and begins to dance; another bag joins in, then neodoljivo podsjeća na razuzdani i slobodni ples another, and then we see a multitude of multi- šumskih vila. Ubrzo se svijetao i veseli ton coloured bags which create a fascinating reel, zamjenjuje mračnim i opasnim te počinje bringing to mind the reckless and free dance of proces bolne i opasne, gotovo fetišističke the wood fairies. The light and merry tone soon transformacije koju Ménard prolazi. Ispostavlja grows dark and menacing. Ménard undergoes se da je lik predimenzioniran jer na sebi nosi a process of painful transformation, fraught velik broj plastičnih vrećica i plastičnih traka with danger and almost fetishistic. The figure koje mu omotavaju tijelo, simbolički appears oversized because he or she wears predstavljajući izvođačičinu životnu many plastic bags and plastic strips wrapped transformaciju i autobiografiju – Phia Ménard je around the body, a symbolic representation of naime transrodna umjetnica koja je bila Phillipe the performer’s life transformation and Ménard. Odmotavajući slojeve i slojeve autobiography – Phia Ménard is a transgender plastičnih vrećica sa svog tijela, Ménard artist, born as Phillipe Ménard. As she unwraps pokazuje koliko je teško riješiti se neiskrenih layer upon layer of plastic bags from her body, maski, slojeva koje su nam društvo i okolina Ménard shows how difficult it is to get rid of nametnuli. U toj intimnoj borbi zasnovanoj na the insincere masks, the layers plastered on us osobnoj psihološkoj motivaciji koju by the society and environment. In the intimate suprotstavlja društvenim pravilima, Ménard se struggle stemming from her own psychological susreće s raznim demonima u obliku vrećica, motivation set against the societal rules, svojim društveno nametnutim likom muškarca i Ménard encounters plastic bag-shaped počinje duševni pilling. Svaka sljedeća demons; she is the model of a man imposed transformacija to jest guljenje plastičnog sloja s on by society, and the social peeling is about kojim se onda sukobljava na pozornici (svim to begin. As transformation follows slojevima upravljaju ventilatori i udišu im život) transformation, she fights the unpeeled layers ostavlja ju rodno neutralnijom. Nakon muškarca on the stage (the layers are blown about and slijedi nešto što podsjeća na golemu bijelu lutku

Alen Biskupović 11 given life by the fans), leaving her increasingly iz Michelinove reklame, pa nešto poput mumije gender neutral. After the man is gone, we see dok na kraju iz sebe ne izbaci mračnog demona something resembling the giant Michelin figure, u obliku pedesetmetarske crne plastične trake then a mummy, and finally she expels from her koja se zloslutno vrti poput uragana body a dark demon in the shape of a fifty-metre ispunjavajući cijeli prostor scene. Krajnju black plastic strip which whirls about ominously transformaciju predstavlja skidanje sloja like a typhoon, filling up the entire stage. The najlonskih čarapa u koji je obučena i final transformation is the removal of a pair of oživljavanje/ponovno rođenje onog iskonskog, nylon stockings she had on, signifying the nevinog i čistog u njoj, žene. revival/rebirth of the primeval, virginal and pure in her, a woman. Vortex predstavlja iznimno fascinantnu vizualnu izvedbu (tehnički intrigantno djeluje postav Vortex is visually an extremely fascinating ventilatora i raspodjeljivanje snage svakog performance (the set-up of the fans and the pojedinog kako bi se stvorila koreografija strength of the air stream needed to plastičnih objekata manipuliranih zračnim choreograph the plastic objects manipulated by strujanjem) bez jednog puštenog glasa s air is technically intriguing); there are no voices, duboko emotivnom porukom u sebi koja ne and yet there is a deeply emotional message mora nužno biti vezana uz Ménardin problem that need not be related to Ménard’s gender roda. Ja osobno prije predstave nisam znao issue. I did not know anything about that ništa o tom autobiografskom elementu, ali sam autobiographical element before I saw the svejedno uživao i duboko proživljavao svaki show, and yet I enjoyed it and felt deeply each aspekt skidanja slojeva nametnutih maski i and every aspect of the tearing off of the masks borbe koji imaju snažnu katarzičnu funkciju. imposed on us and the struggle: there was a Drugim riječima, izvedba tematski funkcionira strong cathartic element. In other words, the univerzalno i nema potrebu za medijskim performance has a universal theme and there is naglašavanjem transrodnosti autorice. no need for the media to overplay the fact that the author is a transgender person. Sama dramaturgija djela podijeljena je u dva dijela: prvi svijetli i veseli dio u kojem se izvedba Dramaturgically, the show is divided into two temelji na demonstraciji vještine manipulacije parts: the light and merry part based on a objektima pomoću strujanja zraka koji nas demonstration of the skill involved in uvodi u priču i drugi, mračni i opasni u kojem manipulating objects using air, which sucks us prevladava gotovo perverzno prikazivanje into the story, and the other, dark and menacing unutarnje psihološke borbe lika. Naizgled part, dominated by an almost perverse focus on generalno funkcionirajuća dramaturgija i režija u the internal psychological struggle of the cjelini djeluju skladno. Međutim, malo bolji character. The dramaturgy and direction appear pogled otkriva mnogo „rupa“ koje su vješto to be working well and in harmony. But a closer zamaskirane vizualnim spektaklom koji se look reveals a number of holes plastered over odvija pred očima publike. Sam početak skilfully by the visual spectacle on the stage. stvaranja prve vrećice traje poprilično i The creation of the first bag takes quite a long nelogično dugo te publika gubi pažnju prije time, illogically so, and the audience loses focus negoli je izvedba i počela, a veliki je nesrazmjer even before the show proper has started. There između „veselih“ i „mračnih“ dijelova. Također, i is a great disproportion between the ‘merry’ u silnoj želji stvaranja improviziranog, a opet and ‘dark’ parts. In the overweening desire to kontroliranog kaosa, jer izvođač je ovdje create an improvised yet controlled chaos, the zapravo zračno strujanje, autorski tim često air stream had become the performer and the gubi kontrolu. Vrećice padaju beživotno na tlo team of authors often lose their grip on the pa ih je potrebno podignuti i vratiti u igru, show. Plastic bags drop lifelessly on the floor golema traka je toliko velika da svaki tren gubi and need to be prodded back into the game, vrtnju i pada beživotno na ventilatore te se

Alen Biskupović 12 the huge strip is so big that it keeps losing the pojavljuje ekipa scenskih tehničara koja trči oko momentum, dropping lifelessly on the fans, scene i vraća traku nazad. Takvi detalji necessitating the appearance of the stage narušavaju integritet izvedbe, prekidaju hands who run around and push the strip back fantastično zamišljenu sliku u kojoj je fokus onto the stage. Those details affect the publike na unutrašnjoj psihološkoj borbi integrity of the performance, interrupting the individue koja stoji sama ogoljena u centru fantastically conceived image where the kruga. Često je upitan i nejasan i odnos između audience is to focus on the internal Ménard kao lika priče i vrećica (pogotovo u psychological struggle of an individual, standing prvom „zabavnijem“ dijelu) te Ménard sa alone and bare in the centre of a circle. The zračnim strujanjem koje je ovdje zapravo relationship between Ménard as the character izvođač u većini slučajeva. Sam kraj za mene je in the story and the plastic bags is often unclear ponovo ozbiljno narušio cijeli koncept jer nakon and questionable, especially in the first, ‘fun’ detaljne priče o guljenju slojeva i vraćanju nekoj part, as is the relationship between Ménard and nevinosti i čistoći, Ménard ostaje u the air stream, which is in effect the performer kombinezonu čudne sive boje, ostavljajući here most of the time. The end again seriously dojam da je proces nedovršen. U ovakvom undermined the whole concept, at least for me, konceptu i tematskoj pretpostavci, Ménard je because after a detailed story about the peeling morala ili ostati gola na sceni ili makar off of the layers and a return to some form of upotrijebiti kombinezon boje kože koji ne bi innocence and purity, Ménard stands on the toliko odudarao od ostatka tijela. stage in weirdly grey overalls, the impression being that the process has not been completed. Zanimljivo je nakon svega navesti riječi same Given the concept and the thematic Ménard koja tvrdi da je odustala od assumption, Ménard should have remained tradicionalnog žongliranja koje smatra pukim naked on the stage, or at least used skin- oblikom zabave na razini sporta i odlučila se za coloured overalls which would not be so ovaj „nekontrolirani“, evoluirani oblik žongliranja startlingly different from the rest of her body. što se može povezati sa željom za bijegom suvremenog cirkusa od tradicionalnog cirkusa. It is interesting to quote Ménard’s words: she No, predstavlja li ova izvedba zapravo toliko claims she “has given up on the traditional veliki bijeg? Zapravo i ne. Suvremeni cirkus je juggling act which she considers to be nothing prešao u oblik predstave sličan kazalištu za but a form of entertainment akin to sport”, and razliku od tradicionalnog. Međutim, has decided instead to pursue this “uncontrolled”, dramaturgija i dalje podsjeća na dramaturgiju evolved form of juggling. This may be symbolic of točaka tradicionalnog cirkusa, scena je u obliku the desire in contemporary circus to move away kruga što je karakteristično za tradicionalni from traditional circus. But is this performance cirkus, Ménard je upotrijebila žongliranje koje really such a huge step away? Not really. nije toliko improvizirano i slobodno, već je Contemporary circus has adopted a form of iznimno kontrolirano jer inače ne bi performance which is similar to theatre, unlike funkcioniralo. Jednako tako element spektakla traditional circus. And yet the dramaturgy is still tradicionalnog cirkusa je i više nego očigledan. reminiscent of the traditional circus acts, the stage is round, which is characteristic of U čemu je onda problem. U ničemu. Cirkuski traditional circus, and Ménard uses juggling umjetnici trebaju jednostavno shvatiti da im which is not all that improvised and free: in fact it tradicionalni cirkus nije neprijatelj već saveznik is very much controlled, otherwise it would not na kojem će graditi svoj novi svijet, a borbu function. Likewise, the element of spectacle trebaju voditi protiv pravih „neprijatelja“, typical of traditional circus is glaringly obvious. sustava koji ih ne prepoznaje i samih sebe kako bi se fokusirali na formiranje i definiranje So, where is the problem? There is no problem. vlastitog prostora i školovanih profesionalaca Circus artists should simply come to realise koji će im u tome pomoći. U svom proučavanju

Alen Biskupović 13 that traditional circus is not their enemy but cirkusa pronašao sam zaključak s jedne their ally, there to help them build their new prezentacije o stanju cirkusa Davida Hiblinga world. They should fight the real enemies: the koja izvrsno opisuje stanje i šalje utemeljenu i system that does not recognise them, and znakovitu poruku suvremenom cirkusu: …cirkus themselves, because they need to focus on ostvaruje sve više prepoznavanja kao oblik forming and defining their own space and kulturne umjetničke forme unutar EU članica i bringing in professionals with requisite training potražnja za edukacijom i treningom u to help them in that effort. As I studied the topic cirkuskim umjetnostima se povećala. Neke of circus, I found a conclusion in a presentation zemlje unutar EU se fokusiraju na novom about the state of circus by David Hibling which cirkusu (Francuska) dok druge pokušavaju perfectly describes the situation and sends a očuvati tradicionalni oblik (Danska i Belgija), ali reasoned and substantial message to u većini zemalja obje forme koegzistiraju. contemporary circus: “… the circus is receiving Ponovno izumljivanje cirkusa ne smije značiti more recognition as a cultural art form within odbacivanje tradicije jer bi tako mogli izgubiti some EU Member States, and the demand for bogatstvo talenta.14 education and vocational training in the circus arts has increased. Some countries in the EU focus on the ‘new circus’ (France) whilst others try to preserve the ‘traditional circus’ (Denmark and Belgium), but in most of Member States both forms co-exist. Re-inventing circus should not mean rejecting tradition as we could lose out on a wealth of talent”14

14 The Situation of the Circus in the EU Member States, (ed) 14 The Situation of the Circus in the EU Member States, (ed) Division for Social and Legal Affairs, Luxembourg, European Division for Social and Legal Affairs, Luxembourg, European Parliament, 2003, p. 8. Parliament, 2003., str.8.

Alen Biskupović 14 Freak Freak

ANNA HAKANSSON ANNA HAKANSSON

A perusal of one of the mammoth Att bläddra i ett verk som Taschens compendiums on the subject, such as mastodontverk “The Circus, 1870–1950” Taschen’s The Circus, 1870–1950 (2008), (2008) innebär också att överösas av bilder av inevitably involves being inundated with images den kvinnliga cirkusartisten, en kuriositet i of the female circus artist, a curiosity in the true ordets rätta bemärkelse. Lindansare i paljetter sense of the word. Tightrope walkers in sequins och plymer, ormtjusare och så de så övertäckta and feathers, snake-charmers and performers av hår att könet blir omöjligt att avgöra eller de who are so covered in hair it is impossible to tell som helt enkelt inte låter sig definieras. Från their gender, as well as images that simply min egen barndoms cirkusbesök minns jag just cannot be defined. What I remember most mest detta glitter och de ofattbart vackra from my own visits to the circus as a child is all kvinnokropparna. Tänk Pia Degermark i Bo that glitter and the incredibly beautiful female Widerbergs “Elvira Madigan” (1967). Några av bodies in particular. Just think of Pia Sveriges mer prominenta traditionella Degermark in Bo Widerberg’s Elvira Madigan cirkusföreställningar har under senare år gått (1967). In recent years some of Sweden’s more under namnet “Cirkusprinsessan”, där skönhet prominent traditional circus shows have been och skicklighet legat till grund för en veritabel entitled ‘The Circus Princess’, with beauty and kröning av den kvinnliga cirkusartisten som skill serving as the basis for a veritable drömbild och projektionsyta. Kvinnokroppen coronation of the female circus artist as both som spektakel. dream image and projection surface. The female body as spectacle. I Sverige pågår för närvarande ett forskningsprojekt kring kvinnor och cirkus A research project is currently under way in knutet till cirkushögskolan Doch under namnet Sweden into women and the circus under the “Gynoïdes” (en Gynoïdes är allt som liknar eller aegis of DOCH (The University of Dance and avser den mänskliga kvinnokroppen). Projektet Circus in Stockholm). The name of this project is fokuserar på den kvinnliga cirkusartisten och Gynoïdes (a gynoid is anything that resembles hur hon upplever och förstår sin egen praktik. or relates to the human female form). The Målet är att få en bredare förståelse för vad det project focuses on the female circus artist and innebär att vara en kvinnlig cirkusartist i det how she experiences and understands her own tjugoförsta århundradet och strävar efter att practice. The goal is to gain a broader identifiera, beskriva och producera feministiska understanding of what it means to be a female strategier i cirkusskapandet. I slutet av circus artist in the 21st Century, and the project december arrangerades ett första konsortium aims to identify, describe and produce feminist under ledning av projektets initiativtagare strategies in circus composition. A first Marie-Andrée Robitaille. Kanadensiska consortium was held at the end of December Robitaille har varit verksam som cirkusartist 2013 under the leadership of the project’s sedan 1998 och turnerat i 27 länder. Hon har initiator Marie-Andrée Robitaille. The Canadian själv överskridit den etablerade könsordningen Robitaille has been performing as a circus artist genom att lära sig behärska den kinesiska since 1998 and has toured in 27 countries. In pålen, traditionellt enbart praktiserad av män. her case, she has managed to transcend the Hon menar att den kvinnliga cirkusartisten varit established gender order by learning to master underordnad inte bara i sin praktik, där the Chinese pole, traditionally practiced solely merparten regissör, producenter, etc är män, by men. In her view the female circus artist has men också i genusanalysen av cirkus där

anna hakansson 15 not only been subordinate in terms of her teoretikerna utgjort majoritet. Tid alltså för practice, with the majority of directors, förändring på många fronter. producers, etcetera being men, but also in relation to the gender analysis of circus, a field Relationen mellan den klichébild av kvinnlighet in which theoreticians have constituted the och cirkuskroppens perfektion som traditionell majority. It is time for change on many fronts. cirkus ofta förknippas med har i samtida cirkus eller, i vidare mening fysisk teater, varit under In contemporary circus or physical theatre in upplösning, eller åtminstone föremål för the broader sense, the link between the undersökning. Det märks inte minst i clichéd image of femaleness and the föreställningar som rör sig i cirkusens marginaler, perfection of the circus body often associated där discipliner och genrer blandas på ett sätt som with traditional circus has been dissolving, or är otypiskt cirkus i sin traditionella bemärkelse. has at least become the object of study. This is Denna typ av föreställningar ligger lika nära particularly noticeable in performances staged performance, happening eller för den delen at the margins of circus, where disciplines and installation. Här används cirkusen snarast som genres are combined in ways that are atypical verktyg för att förmedla en känsla. Bland dessa of circus in the traditional sense. Shows of this föreställningar kan nämnas de som kind come close to performance art, implementerar och kommenterar element från happenings, and installations for that matter. den traditionella freakshowen. Hit räknas Here circus is being used more as a tool for the exempelvis en artist som Jeanne Mordoj som mediation of a feeling. It is worth highlighting med föreställningen ”Hyllning till skägget” in this regard those practitioners and kidnappar arketypen den skäggiga damen. Här performances that implement and comment blir dock hårväxten snarare en symbol för inre on elements of the traditional freak show. frihet än yttre freakshow. På samma utmanar These would include an artist such as Jeanne Phia Ménard, idén om kontroll och perfektion. Mordoj whose show Eloge du poil (‘In Praise of Hennes transsexuella identitet och upptagenhet Hairiness’, 2007) could be said to kidnap the av kroppen som slagfält för associationerna till archetype of the bearded lady. Mordoj uses freakshowen med dess fascination av det hirsuteness, however, as a symbol of inner sexuellt ambivalenta. Men hennes föreställning freedom rather than external freak show. tjänar, liksom i fallet med Jeanne Mordoj, ett Phia Ménard challenges ideas of control annat syfte. Det egna skapandet, och hennes and perfection in the same way. Her own omvittnade nödvändighet av detsamma, transsexual identity and preoccupation with fördjupar frågor kring könsidentitet och the body as a battleground creates transformation på ett sätt som freakshowens associations with the freak show and its ytliga uppvisande aldrig haft ambitionen att göra. fascination with sexual ambivalence. But Att båda artisterna sedan leker med dess Ménard’s show, like that of Jeanne Mordoj, konnotationer är en annan sak. Den personliga fulfils a different purpose. Her own creativity aspekten blir också central i sammanhanget and her well-attested sense of its necessity vilket är också förstärker arvet från cirkusen där are used to tackle issues pertaining to gender cirkusartisten traditionellt fungerat som skapare identity and transformation in a more av sitt eget nummer. profound way than the superficial display of the freak show could ever aspire to. The fact Samtidigt menar Ménard, när vi får tillfälle att that both artists then play with its möta henne, att cirkus för henne är något connotations is another matter. The personal reducerat till enbart skönhet där få aspect is also crucial in this context, which föreställningar faktiskt kommunicerar känslan av serves to strengthen the legacy from the nödvändighet. I sin artistiska utveckling har hon traditional circus where the artist was usually lämnat såväl det traditionellt förknippade the creator of his or her own number. jonglerandet som den manliga könsidentiteten bakom sig. Idag betraktar hon jonglerandet som

anna hakansson 16 And yet in Ménard’s view, when we get the en distraktion, enbart förbunden med skicklighet. opportunity to meet her, circus has become Hennes nuvarande konstnärskap handlar, enligt reduced to little more than beauty because few egen utsago, om just nödvändighet: “Vi väljer shows communicate that sense of necessity. inte vår födsel och vi känner inte till vår död och As her artistic career has progressed she has där emellan söker vi efter kärlek. Bara detta. Och discarded both juggling, with its links to i kärleken ryms också konsten.” Hennes strävan tradition, and her male gender identity. She är dock inte att bli helgonförklarad eller satt på currently considers juggling to be a distraction, piedestal vilket hon menar enbart leder till a matter simply of skill. Her current artistic ensamhet. Hennes sceniska försök handlar endeavours relate to necessity in particular, as snarare om att skapa ett nytt, gemensamt she put it: “We do not choose our own birth and språk. En inbjudan till att glömma världen som we do not know our own death and in between den ser ut. we search for love. That is it. And love encompasses art as well.” Her aim is not, De av Ménards båda föreställningar vi fick however, to be canonised or placed on a möjlighet att se under Unpack the Arts, “Vortex“ pedestal, which would only lead to isolation in och “L’après midi d’un foehn”, utgör variationer her view. Her stage endeavours are concerned på ett tema där den ena utgör en lekfullare och rather with creating a new, common language. tillgängligare version av den senare. Ett antal An invitation to forget the world as it appears. fläktar omger den runda scenen (det är första gången hon använder sig av just en rund scen, Both the shows by Ménard that we were able vilket för tankarna till den traditionella cirkusen to see as part of Unpack the Arts, Vortex and och dess manege) och deras vinddrag ger liv åt L’après-midi d’un Foehn, are variations on a allt från pastellfärgade plastpåsfigurer till theme – with the former providing a more gigantiska inre demoner och cykloner. Plasten playful and more accessible version of the och dess struktur är central där de svarta latter. A number of fans surround the round figurerna kunde vara skapade av liksäckar och stage (this is the first time Ménard has Ménards duett med dem en en veritabel employed a circular stage, which evokes the dödsdans. Då luftelementet är oberäkneligt och traditional circus and its ring) and the drafts de figurer som skapas alltid rör sig på olika sätt they produce bring everything to life – from är varje föreställning improviserad. I “Vortex“ får pastel-shaded plastic-bag figures to gigantic vi följa en förändringsprocess där den oformliga inner demons and cyclones. Plastic and its manliga gestalt vi möter i föreställningens structure prove to be crucial in that the black början kläs av lager efter lager innan Ménard shapes could be made out of body bags, and slutligen står där bildligen avskalad. En fjäril Ménard’s duet with them could be a veritable född ur sin puppa. dance of death. As the air element is unreliable and the shapes created always move in Föreställningen iscensätter relationen mellan different ways, each performance is improvised. människans jag och den yttre verkligheten där In Vortex we follow a process of change in frågor om människans maskspel och sanna jag which the shapeless male figure we encounter ställs på sin spets. Här gestaltas såväl födelse at the beginning of the show is undressed layer som död och Ménard använder sin by layer until Ménard finally stands revealed transsexuella identitet som ett vackert sätt att having been figuratively stripped bare. A göra dessa frågor allmängiltiga. butterfly born from its pupa. I “L’après midi d’un foehn”, som av The show dramatises the relationship between Mimfestivalen marknadsförs som en the human ego and external reality in such a familjeföreställning, är den existentiella way that issues to do with the way people play tematiken nedtonad om än även här with masks and their true selves are avgörande. Att föreställningen baseras på en accentuated. Both birth and death are förlaga, Debussys “L’après midi d’un faune”,

anna hakansson 17 portrayed here and Ménard makes use of her transsexual identity as a lovely way of making these issues universally applicable.

In L’après-midi d’un Foehn, which was marketed by the Mime Festival as a family show, the existential nature of the subject matter has been toned down although it is still of key importance here. The fact that the show is based on an original work, Debussy’s ‘L’après- midi d’un Faune’, is also more evident than in Vortex where the same music is employed. Both shows are also introduced with a hazy figure cutting and taping together a plastic-bag- shape with almost provocative slowness before he/she/it allows it to come to life to the accompaniment of Debussy’s music. In L’après- midi d’un Foehn, the fairytale element is very much present with a purely imaginary animal such as the dragon figuring prominently. However, the theme of birth and death is common to both pieces. The shape that gives and takes life is dressed in a coat fitted with a hood that covers the face – as a result the shape calls a shaman to mind – a figure without gender but with the capacity to give both life and death.

Company MPTA/Mathurin Bolze – A Bas Bruit © Christophe Raynaud de Lage Mathurin Bolze’s A Bas Bruit is a less personal although dreamy and Beckett-like show, är också tydligare än i “Vortex” där samma strongly influenced by the New Wave filmmaker musik förekommer. Båda föreställningarna Jean Rouch. The three performers discuss inleds också med att en svåridentifierbar figur abstract matters to do with time and space on nästan provocerande långsamt klipper och a revolving treadmill and a conveyor belt, while tejpar till en plastpåsfigur innan hen låter den få simultaneously abolishing the boundaries liv ackompanjerad av just Debussys musik. I between acrobatics and dance. Among the “L’après midi d’un foehn” är sagoelementet subjects explored is the phenomenon of ytterst närvarande där ett rent fantasidjur som walking, which is obviously of key importance in draken tillåts ta mycket plats. Tematiken med relation to the use of the treadmill and the födelse och död är dock gemensam. Den conveyor belt. What is the significance of this skepnad som ger och tar liv är här klädd i en gentle motion we scarcely ever reflect on as we rock försedd med huva som täcker ansiktet, do it? What is the significance of strolling as gestalten påminner därmed om en schaman, part of the way we take in the world around us? könlös, men med förmågan att skänka just både liv och död. Unfortunately these more universal questions soon find themselves coming into conflict with Malthurin Bolze “A bas bruit” är en mindre an astonishingly antiquated portrayal of personlig, men drömsk och Beckettsk womanhood. In relation to notions of the body föreställning, starkt influerad av nya vågen- and sexuality, the character played by Elise filmaren Jean Rouch. I ett snurrande ekorrhjul Legros is never more than a cliché. The fact that och på ett löpande band avhandlar de tre

anna hakansson 18 the show is explicitly inspired by Rouch’s work medverkande aktörerna abstrakta frågor om is an obvious contributory factor in this regard. tid och rum samtidigt som de upphäver There are filmic elements not only in the many gränserna mellan akrobatik och dans. Bland projections it uses but in the portrayal of annat undersöks fenomenet att gå, vilket Woman with a capital W, which evokes the förstås blir centralt i användandet av hjulet och femme-fatale characters of the film. We på löpande bandet. Vad betyder denna mjuka encounter her framed by the evocatively rörelse som vi knappt reflekterar över att vi gör. flickering light of the film, smoking behind a Vad har flanerandet för betydelse i intagandet Venetian blind. The fact that she is dressed in a av vår omvärld? red silk blouse, shorts and high heels only heightens the image of woman as symbol and Dessvärre hamnar dessa allmängiltiga frågor projection surface. Two versions of Nina snart i konflikt med ett förvånansvärt föråldrat Simone’s ‘He Needs Me’ form part of the music kvinnoporträtt. När det kommer till for the show. Quite appropriately the male föreställningar kring kropp och sexualitet blir performers are also saved by this available den karaktär som Élise Legros spelar aldrig mer figure. In a key scene Legros picks one of them än en kliché. Att föreställningen är uttalat up figuratively after the latter’s extremely drunk inspirerad av Rouch gör sitt till. Filmiska slapstick number and their duet then shifts into element förekommer inte bara i dess många a peculiarly gratuitous love scene. While the projektioner utan även just i gestaltandet av male actors evoke both the tramps in Beckett’s Kvinnan med stort K, som här närmast för Waiting for Godot, two musing strollers who tankarna till filmens femme fatale-figurer. Vi are sufficient unto themselves, the female finner henne inramad av filmens signifikativt performer, despite her apparent raw strength, fladdrande ljus, rökandes bakom en jalusi. Att is never permitted to be anything other than a hon sedan är iförd röd silkestopp, kortkort och cardboard figure. A toy in the hands of the male högklackat förstärker bilden av kvinnan som artists. symbol och projektionsyta. Föreställningens musik består bland annat av två versioner av In the time he spent with us, Mathurin Bolze Nina Simones “He needs me”. Helt följdriktigt mentioned how recurring elements in the show räddas också de manliga artisterna av denna are turned into symbols for the universal. He tillgängliga figur. I en central scen plockar thinks, for instance, that the hat that is worn by Legros bildligen upp en av dem efter dennes the man in the show’s projections is one such höggradigt berusade slapsticknummer och element because it then recurs on stage and is deras duett övergår i en märkligt omotiverad used by the show’s performers. He feels that älskogsscen. Medan de manliga aktörerna för the three actors symbolise “each and every one tankarna till de båda luffarna i Becketts “I of us”. Unfortunately the hat referred to is used väntan på Godot”, två reflekterande flanörer only by the male actors and is from the outset a som är sig själva nog, tillsåts den kvinnliga traditionally male symbol. Bolze also spoke artisten, trots sin uppenbara råstyrka, aldrig bli about the genesis of the show and how, något annat än en pappfigur. En leksak i de together with the actors, he tries “to capture manliga artisternas händer. the moment and tie the narrative together”. The dramaturgy is closer to that of the circus than Under sitt besök hos oss talade Malthurin Bolze of the theatre as a result. The circus has been of om hur återkommande element i föreställningen major importance to him in his creative work blir en symbol för det allmängiltiga. Till exempel and he finds it supportive to focus on factual menar han att hatten, som bärs av mannen i questions such as what it means to find föreställningens projektioner, i och med att den yourself upside down or to put your life in other återkommer på scen och används av people’s hands. He works closely with the föreställningens aktörer, är en sådan. För honom artists and bases much of the content of the symboliserar de tre aktörerna “oss alla och show on what they can or cannot do, and yet envar”. Dessvärre används nämnda hatt enbart

anna hakansson 19 the moment they come on stage they become av de manliga aktörerna och utgör en från archetypes, something greater than början, traditionellt sett, manlig symbol. Bolze themselves. In his words, they are “captured by talade också om hur föreställningen vuxit fram the light of the film and become characters, och att han tillsammans med aktörerna “fångar superheroes stumbling on the wheel of life”. ögonblicket och försöker binda samman He also thinks that there is a form of truth in berättelsen”. Dramaturgin ligger därmed acrobatic movements, and that they constitute närmare cirkusens än teaterns. För honom har an act in themselves and serve therefore as the cirkusen över huvud taget stor betydelse i opposite of dissemblance. This means that skapandet och han upprätthåller sig vid faktiska Bolze is placing his trust in a “truth” whereas frågor som vad det betyder att befinna sig upp Ménard is calling it into question. och ned eller att sätta sitt liv i andras händer. Han samarbetar nära artisterna och baserar A show that has no interest in such intellectual mycket av innehållet på vad de kan eller inte kan quandaries is Fuerzabruta. During our göra, samtidigt är de, så fort de befinner sig på discussion with some of the participants, one of scen, blir något större än sig själva, en arketyp. them, Mariano Panelo, said bluntly: “We are not Enligt honom är de: “fångade i filmens ljus och trying to be poetic, we are trying to be simple.” blir till figurer, superhjältar som stapplar fram i He thinks that Fuerzabruta is meant to be an livets hjul”. Han menar också att det finns en experience and that the aim of the show is to sanning i de akrobatiska rörelserna, att de i sig leave its imprint first on the body, then on the inte utgör en akt, att de utgör motsatsen till intellect. It would be something of an förställning. Bolze förlitar sig alltså på en understatement with regard to this show to say “sanning” medan Ménard ifrågasätter den. that the female characters are clichéd images. The association between the representation of En föreställning som inte intresserar sig för the body of the female circus artist and the dylika intellektuella bryderier är “Fuerzabruta”. freak show is even more entrenched here. It Vid vårt samtal med några av de medverkande should, however, be emphasised that in this säger en av dem, Mariano Panelo, instance we are dealing with a commercial oförblommerat: “Vi försöker inte att vara production that was not included in the poetiska, vi försöker att vara enkla”. Han menar programming of the Mime Festival. What att “Fuerzabruta” handlar om att uppleva och att serves to link these shows is that, at some föreställningen är menad att först ge avtryck i point, they all fall within the category of physical kroppen, sedan i intellektet. Att theatre. Fuerzabruta is, if possible, even more kvinnogestalterna här utgörs av klichébilder är physical in that it involves the bodies of the snarast en underdrift. Här befästs relationen spectators as well. The wind machines lift not mellan representationen av den kvinnliga only the plastic roof the artists balance their cirkusartistens kropp och freakshowen. Det bör way across but our hair as well; the water from dock understrykas att det i detta fall handlar om the pools splashes onto us too while the strobe en kommersiell produkt som låg utanför lights blind us and the loud music batters our Mimfestivalens programsättning. Det som ears. The performers in this show think nothing förenar föreställningarna är att de alla either of walloping styrofoam blocks over the någonstans faller under kategorin fysisk teater. heads of members of the audience. Becoming “Fuerzabruta” är om möjligt än mer fysisk då den physically involved in this way in a theatrical även involverar åskådarnas kroppar. world whose premises go so far beyond the Vindmaskiner lyfter inte bara det plasttak som acceptable was something I found not only artisterna balanserar fram på, utan även våra alarming but offensive as well. hår, vatten från bassängerna skvätter ned oss och stroboskopljusen förblindar oss medan den In its continual striving to achieve the wow höga musiken påverkar vår hörsel. Här drar sig effect, the show comes close in a sense to artisterna inte ens från att drämma frigolitblock i traditional circus. The female artists in huvudet på publiken. Att på detta sätt bli fysiskt

anna hakansson 20 Fuerzabruta are also something of a curiosity. involverad i en värld vars premisser ligger vida This is illustrated in the key water scene in bortom ens acceptans uppfattade jag inte bara particular where swimming pools made of som skrämmande utan också kränkande. transparent plastic are raised high above our heads as female performers execute I sin strävan efter ständiga wow-effekter ligger spectacular water games inside them. While föreställningen på sätt och vis nära den the effect is beautiful and evocative, it is also traditionella cirkusen. Här blir också de kvinnliga very exposing. It is not only their bodies that artisterna en kuriositet i sig. Detta illustreras inte become even more exposed, if that were minst i den centrala vattenscen där possible, as a result of their wet and very scanty simbassänger i genomskinlig plast höjs högt clothing. As part of the fantasy that they över våra huvuden och där de kvinnliga artisterna resemble aquatic beings they are even driven to utför spektakulära vattenlekar. Det är vackert make noises like dolphins. Sirens or dolphins, och suggestivt men också utlämnande. Inte bara but definitely not human beings with a right to blir deras kroppar om möjligt än mer their own bodies. The pools are lowered over exponerade, i våta och inte överdrivet our heads and we are encouraged to raise our omfattande kläder, dessutom spelas det hands and touch the bottom of the pool where vattenväsenslika ut så till den grad att de till och only a thin membrane of plastic separates us med utstöter delfinljud. Siren eller delfin, men from their undressed bodies. definitivt inte människa med rätt till sin egen kropp. Bassängerna sänks ned över våra The only time the audience for Fuerzabruta is huvuden och vi uppmanas att lyfta våra händer actually challenged is when the performers och röra bassängbotten där bara det tunna dance what they call ‘La Murga’, a street dance plastlagret befinner sig mellan oss och deras with origins in Buenos Aires that is terrifying in avklädda kroppar. its intensity. At this point, the clichés are suddenly abandoned and both the female and Den enda gång “Fuerzabrutas” publik faktiskt male artists are present in their own right, on utmanas är när artisterna dansar vad de själva equal terms. kallar “La Murga”, en gatudans med ursprung i Buenos Aires som är skrämmande i sin The shows we saw during Unpack the Arts intensitet. Här bryts plötsligt klichéerna och provide an interesting cross-section of some kvinnliga och manliga artister är närvarande i sin of the various forms of contemporary circus. egen rätt, på lika villkor. Studying them from a feminist perspective proved to be a far from uplifting experience, De föreställningar vi upplevde under Unpack the even though an artist such as Phia Ménard and Arts utgör ett intressant tvärsnitt av hur olika her shows were a brilliant exception. Circus, former av samtida cirkus kan se ut. Att sedan which even in its contemporary forms undersöka dem ur ett feministiskt perspektiv var emphasises the body and its skilfulness, is mindre upplyftande, även om en artist som Phia a rewarding area for research from feminist Ménard och hennes föreställningar utgjorde ett perspectives. It is a privilege to continue this lysande undantag. Cirkusen som även i sina journey with a project such as Gynoïdes. samtida former betonar kroppen och dess skicklighet utgör ett utmärkt forskningsområde när det kommer till feministiska perspektiv. Det Read more about the “Gynoïdes”-project at är ett privilegium att få fortsätta denna resa i www.circusperspektiv.se sällskap med ett projekt som “Gynoïdes”.

Läs mer om Gynoïdes på www.cirkusperspektiv.se

anna hakansson 21 Double Worlds: Podwójne From the Faun światy: od Fauna to the Tiny People do foliowych Made From ludzików z Plastic Bags reklamówek

ANNA KRÓLICA ANNA KRÓLICA

The London International Mime Festival was an Międzynarodowy Londyński Festiwal encounter with the art of mime, but also, more Pantomimy okazał się spotkaniem nie tylko z than this, an encounter with the immense samą sztuką pantomimy, ile z możliwościami possibilities that contemporary visual and jakie otwiera przed widzem współcześnie movement theatre can offer to their audiences. rozumiany teatr wizualny, teatr plastyczny. The programme was opened by the French Inauguracja programu przypadła w udziale group Compagnie Non Nova led by Phia francuskiemu zespołowi Compagnie Non Nova, Ménard, an artist who studied dance, mime and który prowadzi Phia Ménard, na początku lat juggling at the beginning of the 1990s before dziewięćdziesiątych studiowała taniec, establishing her own company at the end of the pantomimę i żonglowanie, a pod koniec tej last decade. During the festival Non Nova dekady założyła swój zespół. presented two shows, L’après-midi d’un Foehn and Vortex (together ‘The Wind Plays’), which Na festiwalu zespół zaprezentował dwa enchanted and attracted audiences to their spektakle określane jako The Wind Plays: L` own fabulous world by means of an unusual Après-midi d`un Foehn i Vortex – wciąga on form of object manipulation: plastic bags widza w swój niezwykły świat poprzez moving in an artificial ‘wind’ (stirred by electric manipulacje obiektami (plastikowe torby) fans). The effect was also empowered by poruszane powiewem sztucznego „wiatru” numerous references to the premiere of the (wentylatory), ale także przez błyskotliwe ballet L’après-midi d’un faune at the start of the zasygnalizowaną przestrzeń kulturową w 20th Century, a piece with choreography licznych odniesieniach do premiery z początku prepared by Vaslav Nijinsky and music XX wieku Après-midi d`un faun w choreografii composed by Achille-Claude Debussy. Niżyńskiego, do muzyki Debussego.

These two productions (The Wind Plays) are actually parts of a major cycle by Compagnie Te dwie produkcje (The Wind Plays) to Non Nova, to which L’après-midi d’un Foehn właściwie część większego cyklu Compagnie Version 1 also belongs – a quick glance at the Non Nova, do którego należy także spektakl L` company’s archives is enough to realise that Après-midi d`un Foehn Version 1 – gdyby these shows constitute part of a wider project zajrzeć w archiwa zespołu okazałoby się, że jest called I.C.E. that examines various to część jeszcze szerzej zakrojonego projektu transformations of water and air. The first cycle I.C.E, w którym bada się różnego rodzaju is related to water, while the second one, which transformacje z wykorzystaniem wody i we could witness during the London festival, powietrza. Pierwszy cykl był powiązany z wodą, takes a close look at versatile possibilities of air a drugi – którego byliśmy świadkami na when its power is applied to the body and to londyńskim festiwalu, bada różne możliwości

Anna Królica 22 objects. Nonetheless, this formal exploration is zastosowania siły powietrza wobec ciała i only one of the dimensions of the worlds obiektów. Niemniej poszukiwania formalne to depicted. A second dimension challenges tylko jedna strona światów przedstawionych, normative assumptions as it reaches deep into jest i druga, stawiająca pytania o normy, the labyrinth of corridors that leads to a wchodząca w głąb labiryntu korytarzy person’s definition of identity. prowadzących do prób określenia tożsamości.

The first provocation for the audience comes as Pierwsza prowokacja wobec widzów zaczyna soon as they have familiarised themselves with się tuż przy zetknięciu ich z tytułem, L` Après- the title. L’après-midi d’un Foehn (Afternoon of midi d`un Foehn (Popołudnie wiatru) brzmi the Wind) sounds almost the same as the niemal identycznie jak nazwa znanej famous choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky – choreografii Wacława Niżyńskiego – L` Après- L’après-midi d’un Faune (Afternoon of a Faun). midi d`un Faune (Popołudnia fauna). Cóż miał What is the new title supposed to mean? by oznaczać ten nowy tytuł? Popołudnie Afternoon of the Wind? Choosing to set the wiatru? Do „wrabiania widza” może prowadzić performance to music by Debussy, the same też wybór muzyki tego samego kompozytora. composer, can bamboozle the audience even Trudno się więc nie zgodzić z myślą, że nie jest more. It is hard not to feel that this is more than to przypadkowy zbieg okoliczności, lecz celowe just a coincidence – that it is an intentional zagranie. Szybko jednak okazuje się, że choice. But it quickly becomes clear that the zupełnie nie chodzi o kolejną interpretacje show is not yet another interpretation of the kanonicznego dzieła mistrza Niżyńskiego, masterpiece by Nijinsky. Instead it is about chodzi raczej o misternie budowany kontekst. building up a proper context meticulously. Why Dlaczego nagle faun zmienił się w Foehn, czyli did the faun suddenly change into a ‘Foehn’, the wiatr? Czy to skojarzenie jest tylko figlarną grą name for a particular kind of warm, dry wind? Is słów? Poszukajmy razem odpowiedzi. this association just a tricky wordplay? Let’s search for the answer together. Cień fauna zdecydowanie towarzyszy cyklowi The Wind Plays Compagnie Non Nova i zaraz The shadow of the faun continuously do niego przejdziemy, lecz najpierw wróćmy na accompanies the cycle of Compagnie Non chwilę pamięcią do archiwalnego spektaklu Nova’s Wind Plays – we’ll move to this issue in Wacława Niżyńskiego z 1912 roku, który a second. For now, let’s take a quick glimpse at zachował się we wspomnieniach ówczesnych the archives to look at Vaslav Nijinsky’s 1912 widzów jako skandal towarzyski. To obraz show, preserved in the memories of his choreograficzny w jednym akcie, contemporaries as a social scandal. It’s a przedstawiający krótką historię: odpoczywający choreographic picture in one act, depicting a samotny faun widzi grupę nimf, zwabiony tym short story: a lonely faun spots a group of widokiem próbuje się do nich zbliżyć, one nymphs. The faun, attracted by the enchanting jednak spłoszone nieoczekiwaną obecnością view of the nymphs, tries to approach them, yet mężczyzny (?) czy kogoś na kształt mężczyzny the nymphs get scared away by the unexpected – uciekają. Faun jest pół-zwierzęciem, a pół- presence of a man or someone appearing to be mężczyzną – w mitologii nie odróżnia się a man. The Faun – half man, half animal – does niczym szczególnym pod względem tej not seem to be marked out by his hybrid nature, hybrydycznej natury, bowiem wiele tam as in the context of mythology there are many podobnych stworzeń. W spektaklu Niżyński incredible creatures such as he. In his tematyzuje jednak psychologiczne rozdarcie performance Nijinsky emphasises the Fauna, jego nieokreśloną tożsamość i psychological distortion of the Faun, his odrzucenie wynikające z inności, prowadzące undefined personality, and the rejection that go do ogromnej samotności. Nimfy uciekają results from alienation, which leads to the przed nim, zostaje na chwilę tylko jedna z nich, Faun’s loneliness. The nymphs escape from the najbardziej ciekawa, a może najbardziej

Anna Królica 23 Faun, only one of them staying for a moment – odważna. Przygląda się dziwnemu the most curious one, or perhaps the bravest. przybyszowi, by ostatecznie również uciec, gubi She keeps looking at the bizarre visitor only to jednak szal. Ten przypadkiem zostawiony finally escape as well, losing her scarf. This przedmiot staje dla Fauna namiastką obecności object, left accidentally behind, becomes a upragnionej partnerki. Pragnienie posiadania i substitute for the partner the Faun passionately fizycznej bliskości jest tak dominujące, że desires. The craving for possession and physical porzucony skrawek materiału nimfy urasta closeness is so strong that a piece of material do roli fetyszu i stymuluje fantazje Fauna evolves into a fetish and stimulates the Faun’s prowadząc go do erotycznego spełnienia. fantasies, leading to his erotic fulfilment. Zapamiętała gra Niżyńskiego w oddaniu siły The devotion with which Nijinsky played the pożądania Fauna kończy się jednak skandalem. role, with the aim of expressing the power of Podczas prapremierowego wykonania Niżyński the Faun’s passion, ended up a scandal. During ucieleśniając hybrydyczną postać nie zawahał the private view Nijinsky did not hesitate to się i przekroczył wyznaczone granice gry, trespass the norms of conventional ponieważ zaczął masturbować się, by osiągnąć performance – he started to masturbate and seksualne zgodnie z projektowanymi intencjami reached sexual fulfilment within the Faun’s Fauna. I tak Niżyński sferę marzeń sennych projected fantasy, thereby embodying his hybrid Fauna z symbolicznego poematu Mallarmé nature. This way, Nijinsky transferred the sphere przeniósł do świata rzeczywistego i nadał mu of the Faun’s dreams from a symbolic poem by fizyczność. Mallarmé into the real world, attaching full physicality to it. Oczywiście, takie poprowadzenie narracji nie mogło się spodobać ówczesnej (a może i Suffice to say that such a narrative structure dzisiejszej?) mieszczańskiej publiczności, could not meet with the approval of the uderzało jawnie w obowiązujące tabu audience then (as, perhaps, it could not today?) dotyczące nagości i seksualności – musiało as it openly confronted the taboos of nudity and więc zakończyć się gwizdami oburzonej sexuality. That is why it simply had to end with publiczności zgromadzonej wtedy w Théâtre shouts coming from the outraged audience du Châtelet. rallied in the Théâtre du Châtelet. Jest jednak faktem, że Niżyński jako pierwszy It is a fact that Nijinsky was the first to expose odkrył ciało w tańcu. Ciało ożyło i egzekwowało the body in dance. The body came alive and swoje prawa, jednoznacznie zrywając z executed its rights, straightforwardly giving up symboliczną narracją bezcielesności. Niżyński the symbolic narration of incorporeity. Nijinsky ucieleśnił postać Fauna, wniknął w jego embodied the Faun, he penetrated the creature’s pragnienia i w zamian oddał mu swoje ciało. needs, and, in return, gave the Faun bodily form. Zasygnalizował również psychologiczne Nijinsky expressed the psychological distortion rozdarcie, którym jest naznaczony Faun, postać of the Faun – a hybrid that unites two orders in hybrydyczna łącząca w jednym ciele dwa one body. Nowadays, we would probably like to porządki. Dziś to egzystencjalne pęknięcie interpret this existential split as the identity zapewne chcielibyśmy czytać jako problem problem of the Stranger – under the Faun’s skin tożsamościowy Innego/Obcego; i tak w skórze two complete opposites are hidden: the human Fauna skrywają się przecież przeciwieństwa, nature and the animal nature. Extreme values natura ludzka i zwierzęca. W jednym ciele intertwine in him: limitations resulting from the Fauna spotykają się skrajne wartości: social norms necessary to function in the social ograniczenia, wynikająca ze znajomości norm order, animal unawareness, instinct, and, finally, niezbędnych dla funkcjonowania w porządku shameless sexual drive. When excited by the społecznym oraz zwierzęcą nieświadomość, performance of the role and its desire, Nijinsky instynktowność i w końcu – popęd nie znający

Anna Królica 24 was scolded after the premiere and asked how wstydu. Kiedy uniesionego grą czy też he could behave so indecently in front of the pożądaniem Niżyńskiego strofowano po audience and use such radical means of premierze, pytając jak mógł się tak expression; reportedly he replied that it had not obscenicznie zachować na oczach widzów i been him who masturbated himself, but the czemu sięgnął po tak radykalne środki, miał Faun. The desire was explained as the odpowiedzieć, że to nie on się onanizował, to impersonalised drive of animal nature. The Faun i jak zawsze na karby zwierzęcej natury animal aspect was on the spot classified as the została przesunięta namiętność określana jako worst part of the Faun’s identity – confirmation niespersonalizowany popęd. Zwierzęcy aspekt of his primitive nature. był tu więc od razu zaklasyfikowany jako ten gorszy aspekt jego tożsamości, potwierdzający In the context of Nijinsky’s ballet, the roles prymitywizm. performed can serve as a topic for discussion. In contrast to the majority of ballets, where the Można by jeszcze podnieść kwestie main, solo part is played by a slim ballerina, odgrywanych ról w kontekście baletu L’après-midi d’un Faune stars a man who Niżyńskiego. W Popołudniu Fana w expresses himself with the urges of his body. przeciwieństwie do większości baletów główną Ballerinas, women spelled into swans or airy rolę solistki, wątłej baleriny spełnia męska sylphs, did not even have a chance to present postać, i to posiać która wypowiada się their physicality, which has always been hidden poprzez pragnienia swojego ciała. Baleriny, underneath the ballet creation. Similarly, their zaklęte kobiety w łabędzie lub zwiewne duchy sexuality has never been an issue in these kinds sylfidy, nie miały nigdy możliwości nawet of shows. Ballet has been characterised in prezentacji swojej prawdziwej natury cielesnej, terms of its conventionality and incorporeity. zawsze tłamszonej pod inną postacią. Consequently, the creation of the Faun Analogicznie ich seksualność również nigdy nie contradicts this tradition twice – it puts the była problematyzowana w tym rodzaju body at the centre of attention by means of the widowisk. W balecie panowała umowność i hybrid nature of the Faun, but also places a programowo wspierana bezcielesność. Zatem masculine protagonist in a role traditionally figura Fauna podwójnie przekreśla tę tradycję reserved for a female character. Apart from the – stawiając ciało w centrum, już chociażby sexuality, the fact that a real body appears in a przez hybrydyczną naturę Fauna, sytuuje męską play starts a discourse related to cultural postać w miejscy tradycyjnie przeznaczonym interpretation and the normative setting. dla kobiecej bohaterki. Poza seksualnością pojawienie się realnego ciała wprowadza dyskurs związany z kulturowym jego Tackling the issue of norms, normality, odczytanie i ustanawianiem norm. prescriptive behaviour, and, finally, the formation of identity through physical means of Podejmowanie tematów normy, normalności, expression is not a novelty in the shows normatywności zachowań, aż w końcu Compagnie Non Nova presented during the kształtowania tożsamości poprzez wypowiedź Mime Festival. The same can be said about the pisaną na ciele – nie są obce wspomnianym question of the body’s materiality, its form and spektaklom Compagnie Non Nova, transformation. The reference to the historical wystawionym na festiwalu pantomimy. show L’après-midi d’un Faune is not simply a Podobnie jak zagadnienie materialności ciała, superficial and shallow connection; it possesses jego formy i transformacji. Zatem nawiązanie a deeper meaning. Drawing attention to do historycznego spektaklu Popołudnia Fauna normativity in the context of Nijinsky’s creations nie jest tylko powierzchownym zabiegiem, activates three spheres simultaneously. The posiada głębokie uzasadnienie. Zwrócenie body of the faun is the hybrid of a man and an uwagi na normy w kontekście prac Niżyńskiego animal, and such a combination must have an równocześnie aktywizuje trzy obszary: ciała –

Anna Królica 25 Company Non Nova – L’après-midi d’un Foehn influence on the creature’s personality, hence jego faun jest hybrydą mężczyzny i zwierzęcia the questions: Who is the faun? What defines – to pomieszanie zewnętrzne nie może nie his identity? To what extent does sexuality odbijać się na psychice postaci i powracającym define him? pytaniu: kim jest faun? Co określa jego tożsamość? Na ile seksualność ją określa? Vortex by Compagnie Non Nova can be a modern interpretation of the story of the Faun, Vortex Compagnie Non Nova może być a story about existence on the borders and współczesnym odczytaniem opowieści o clothing which conceals biological gender. It is Faunie, o granicach, o kostiumie, które ukrywa definitely a show which poses a question about płeć biologiczną; jest na pewno spektaklem, identity: who are we really? To what extent are który stawia pytania o tożsamość: kim we deluded by a disguise, by what the costume właściwie jesteśmy? Na ile dajmy się zwieść hides? The culturally defined genders possess rojeniom i pozorom, co skrywa kostium? W their limited costumes, yet all sorts of cross- gruncie rzeczy płeć kulturowa posiada swoje dressings are based on the same system of ograniczone kostiumy, jednak wszelkie cross- information; not a lot is needed for a costume dressingi oparte są na tych samych chwytach, to express femininity, masculinity or animalism. nie trzeba wiele by kostium określał męskość, It is a simple manipulation, a game of codes, kobiecość czy zwierzęcość. To prosta do which doesn’t demand much effort. przeprowadzenia manipulacja, zabawa kodami nie wymagająca wiele wysiłków – ostatnio Entering the auditorium, the audience gathers bardziej umowny znak, symbol. round the arena. The empty stage is encircled by electric fans. One figure is present onstage Wchodząc na widownie siadamy dookoła

Anna Królica 26 – all in black, wearing a suit that barely buttons areny, scena jest pusta dookoła niej wentylatory on a protruding belly. Intentionally distorted i duża postać w czerni, garnitur ledwie dopina qualities create an artificial character, slightly się na brzuchu, celowo przerysowane kształty grotesque, slightly scary. The face is neatly składają się na sztuczną postać, nieco covered with a plastic, latex mask; instead of karykaturalną, nieco przerażającą. Jej twarz hands and feet plastic or some other artificial szczelnie zakrywa plastikowa, lateksowa material appears. All this adds to the intentional maska, podobnie w miejscu dłoni i stóp pojawia dehumanisation of the character. The figure in się folia lub inny sztuczny materiał. Wszystko black gets strips of a plastic bag and lies them sprawia wrażenie celowego odczłowieczenia delicately onstage to join them in the shape of a postaci. Figura w czerni wyciąga paski tiny figure. Afterwards more of these figures are plastikowej torby, delikatnie kładzie je na drawn into motion in a never-ending mid-air scenie, by później je uważnie posklejać. Już za dance. Tiny plastic creatures float in the wind chwilę wprawi je w ruch, niekończący się taniec, created by the fans; filled with air they resemble balansowanie. Małe plastikowe figurki small human beings softly waving up and down, unoszone ruchem z wentylatorów, wypełnione interacting with each other. This ethereal and wiatrem przypominają małe ludzki, lekko colourful world is under the control of the man szybują w górę i spadają w dół, wchodzące ze in black. At first, he carefully collects those sobą w interakcje. Nad tym eterycznym, pełnym figures which by accident entangle in the fans, barw światem ma panowanie mężczyzna w only to destroy the precisely created space and czerni. Początkowo troskliwie zbiera figurki, little creatures at the end of the sequence. które nieopatrznie zaplątały się w kręcące się wentylatory, na koniec jednak tej sekwencji From this moment a process commences that niszczy stworzoną wcześniej z pieczołowitością sees the man shed the plastic from his body– it przestrzeń i małe stworzenia. resembles the removal of skin; the layers of the onion are peeled back to get to the very bottom. Od tego momentu zaczyna się niekończący się The process of reduction is arduous: the suit proces wydalania z mężczyzny kolejnych managed to hide countless layers of plastic foliowych worków, przypomina to odpadanie which now need to be eradicated. A complete skóry, odrywanie kolejnych warstw cebuli w destruction of the character takes place; not poszukiwaniu tej prawdziwej powłoki. Długi only the space but also the main figure in charge proces redukcji jest żmudny, garnitur skrywał of this space is transformed. Finally, a woman niezliczone warstw folii, które trzeba wyrzucić z wearing a bright costume appears from the siebie, wydaje się, że następuje zupełna heap of tangled plastic. She tears off all the destrukcja postaci i transformacja nie tylko shreds, plastic layers, latex and tight stockings. przestrzeni, ale głównej osoby nią zawiadującej. What is revealed underneath is the body that W finale ze sterty, plątaniny folii wyłania się breathes, sweats and feels. Yet beforehand the postać kobieca w jasnym kostiumie, zrywając protagonist virtually gives birth to the strings of do końca z siebie narośnięte strzępy, warstwy a plastic rope. This long-lasting process of folii, latekstu, opinające jej ciało pończochy. excretion represents the vital power that Pokazuje się w końcu ciało, które oddycha, poci culminates in the birth of a new creature. się i odczuwa. Zanim do tego dojdzie, ona Excreting items from oneself bears the również będzie dosłownie rodzić foliowe ciągi properties of delivery; it is as if the new strings sznurów. Jest w tym długotrwałym procesie of plastic appear from the female genital tract wydalenia ożywcza siła prowadząca do – an impression emphasised by the performer’s narodzin nowego stworzenia. To wyrzucanie z leotard. A woman hidden underneath a costume siebie ma też znamiona porodu, niczym z reveals her real body in the final scenes of the kobiecego dróg rodnych wylewają się kolejne show. As she moves in a circle her movements łańcuchy folii – co bardzo dobitnie podkreśla are constructivist, sharp and incisive; they are trykot. Ukryta głęboko w kostiumie kobieta devoid of the plasticity and delicacy that the tylko w ostatnim scenach odsłania swoje

Anna Królica 27 plastic bags dancing in the wind bore, or of any prawdziwe ciało. Porusza się po kole, jej ruch softness of feminine gesture. jest konstruktywistyczny, szarpany i cięty, nie ma w sobie nic z plastyki i finezji tańczących na What is the relationship between the man from wietrze plastikowych toreb, ani miękkości the first part and the woman from the second kobiecego gestu. part? They use the same body; only the costume incorrectly suggests in the first act Jaka jest relacja między mężczyzną z pierwszej that we observe a man. The corporeality części a kobietą z drugiej? Posługują się tym provokes some discussion – in the first act it is samym ciałem, tylko kostium błędnie sugeruje, denied the right of visibility; the body is hidden, że w pierwszym akcie obserwujemy and some kind of imitation or artificial skin is in mężczyznę, właściwie przesunięcie its place. This may cast some light on the konwencjonalnych kodów kulturowych dzięki interpretation of fiction in terms of the first którym jasno rozpoznajemy kobiecość i picture – understood as the symbol of męskość jest tu więcej niż umowna. Pytanie searching for oneself in various cultural roles zatem rodzi sama cielesność, której w and situations, until finally finding a real body, pierwszym akcie odmawia się prawa do bycia transforming and changing oneself until a new widzianym, ciało jest ukryte, w jego miejscu body is created. pojawia się imitacja, sztuczna skóra. Może rzuca to światło na odczytanie fikcyjność tego The cycle comprises a story of commutativity, pierwszego obrazu, na rozumienie jego jako which starts with giving life to the plastic symbolu poszukiwań siebie w różnych rolach creatures, moves on to their destruction, and kulturowych i sytuacjach, aż do znalezienia na ends when the negation of the first body leads końcu realnego ciała i związanej z tym to new life. transformacji, zmiany aż do stworzenia nowego ciała. In the second performance by Compagnie Non Nova, L’après-midi d’un Foehn (not Faun) Ten cykl układa się w historię o przemienności, everything constitutes fiction; the relationship zaczynając od nadania życia plastikowych between art and reality is very thin. The show ludzikom, przez zniszczenie ich i rozpad, was prepared for the Natural History Museum negację tego pierwszego ciała aż w końcu ku of Nantes, who wanted the piece to be życiu. movement-related. Yet the director, Phia Ménard, spending time among all sorts of Z kolei w drugim spektaklu Compagnie Non museum exhibits, felt like she was in a place Nova w L` Après-midi d`un Foehn (nie Faun) where death was on exhibition – remnants of wszystko jest fikcją, relacja pomiędzy sztuką a the past world and of creatures long gone (just rzeczywistością jest bardzo cienka. Spektakl like the Faun? Maybe he has never existed?). powstał dla Natural History Museum of Nantes, What she experienced walking through the miał być powiązanym z ruchem, jednak Phia museum was the shortage of air, the shortage Ménard, reżyserka, przebywając wśród of air circulation; this stillness reminded her wszystkich muzealnych eksponatów czuła się even more of death. With being short of breath. jak w miejscu, gdzie wystawia się śmierć, She decided to give this space new life by the szczątki świata minionego i stworzeń, których breath of air – a link to life. The coexistence of już nie ma (jak Fauna? A może jego nigdy nie life and death (just like in Vortex) resulted from było?), tym co odczuwała błąkając się po the use of electric fans and plastic bags, muzeum był brak powietrza, brak cyrkulacji ordinary household objects, which the wind powietrza, ten bezruch kojarzyło jej się jeszcze gave a human form. bardziej ze śmiercią. Z brakiem oddechu. Postanowiła ożywić przestrzeń, przez powiew At the Mime Festival the fans are located close wiatru, kojarzący się z życiem. To równoczesne to each other around a small arena, the blades współistnienie życia i śmierci (jak w Vortex)

Anna Królica 28 turning with such speed that they create the pogodziła poprzez wprowadzenie – images of distorted circles. A character wearing wentylatorów i użycia codziennych a black coat appears in the middle of the stage, przedmiotów, plastikowych toreb, którym pęd reminding us of a magician, who just like the powietrza nadał ludzką formę. demiurge starts to create the world. The performer coaxes the colourful plastic bags into Na londyńskim festiwalu wokół małej areny delicate movements, bags that are just like wentylatory stoją blisko, obracają tak szybko those found in supermarkets. He cuts different skrzydłami, że widać tylko jakby rozmazane shapes out of them, joins the strips with tape koła. Na środek sceny wchodzi postać w so that they can be carried with the wind, czarnym płaszczu, przypomina maga i niczym thereby starting their dance. The demiurg zaczyna tworzyć świat. Spokojnie transformation gives impressive effects, at first, wyjmuje kolorowe plastikowe torby, takie two-dimensional bags fill the air and play as if zwyczajne jak te, które można dostać w they were kids. Cheerful, lively and fully supermarkecie, wycina z nich kształty, subtelnie individual. Then the narration unfolds rather in łączy i skleja taśmą osobne paski, aby już za accordance with myths and fables – a dragon chwilę w magiczny sposób poruszone i or a snake appears (also made from plastic) nabrzmiałe od podmuchów wiatru, mogły same which inspires terror among the creatures podnieść się w górę i rozpocząć swój taniec. waving in the wind. There is a moving fight Transformacja uzyskuje tu niezwykły efekt, scene, and the mood changes. The narration najpierw jednowymiarowe torby wypełnione and the dance formula link to the ballet; the powietrzem grają niczym dzieci. Wesołe, story, told with the participation of the plastic zupełnie spersonalizowane i żywe. Potem bags, is stylised as a fable. There is a kind of narracja spektaklu przebiega raczej zgodnie z magic in the procedure: artificial objects, mitami czy baśnią pojawia się smok czy wąż – shaped as a reflection of human beings, start to (również z folii), który czyni postrach wśród behave like people. However, they demonstrate kołysanych wiatrem ludzików. Jest przejmująca a delicacy and softness in their dance of which scena walki. Zmieniają się nastroje, za pomocą any dancer could be jealous. Their form is easy wyczarowywania kolejnych sytuacji, to reshape; they are volatile, airy and move ustawionych na foliowe ludziki z torebek. noiselessly – again they bring questions about Narracja i formuła tańca przywodzi na myśl the body’s materiality and the possibilities for balet, podobny jest z opowieścią z udziałem its alteration. The wind brings a new world alive, plastikowych torbach, stylizowaną na baśń. which is created in the image of our own. Jest w tym zabiegu szczypta magii, sztuczne przedmioty zaczynają zachowywać się jak By means of the same ploy of bringing the ludzie, ich kształty powstały na podobieństwo i plastic bags to life and placing them in a human wizerunek człowieka. Jednak w tańcu mają context, Compagnie Non Nova create two lekkość i finezję, której może pozazdrościć im separate narrations and depict two versatile każdy tancerz, ich forma jest łatwa do worlds. The arrangement of space and the transformacji, są ulotne, zwiewne, poruszają się number of props in both performances is nie bezszelestnie – pozycja tancerza zostaje similar, yet the burden of questions posed is zagrożona i ponownie rodzi się pytanie o incomparable. This formal process materialność ciała, i możliwości jego przemiany, demonstrates enormous power as well as jego analogie. Za pomocą wiatru powstaje incredible tension, and the shock of finding that nowy świat, stworzony na podobieństwo disposable plastic bags can dance keeps the naszego. audience extremely involved in the plot. Compagnie Non Nova wykorzystując ten sam The double or even the triple nature of the chwyt nadania życia plastikowym torbom i narrations created, which link together for a wpisania ich w ludzki kontekst, prowadzi dwie moment only to follow completely different różne narracje, pokazuje zupełnie odmienne

Anna Królica 29 directions a second later, poses a challenge in światy, choć pozornie zakres działań i aranżacja terms of the performances’ interpretation: they otoczenia, ilość rekwizytów w obu emphasise the problem of transformation in przedstawieniach jest bardzo podobna, to the context of the body’s materiality and its jednak ciężaru stawianych pytań nie da się form, which, after all, always expresses itself in porównać. Jest w tym zabiegu formalnym siła, connection with the internal and coherent podobnie jak niezwykłe napięcie, zaskoczenie, sense of ‘I’. że plastikowe jednorazowe reklamówki mogą tańczyć, trzyma widzów mocno wtopionych w ciąg akcji scenicznej.

Podwójność, a nawet potrójność kreowanych narracji, które tylko na moment się schodzą, aby potoczyć się zupełnie innym nurtem – stawia również wyzwanie do pełnego odczytania tych spektakli – ustanawiając w centrum problem transformacji w kontekście materialności ciała, jego formy, która przecież zawsze realizuje się w powiązaniu z wewnętrznym i spójnym poczuciem „ja”.

Anna Królica 30 Processes Processos of Creation in de creació the Contemporary en el circ Circus contemporani

AMÈLIA BAUTISTA BATLLORI AMÈLIA BAUTISTA BATLLORI

In today’s circus, as in other fields of the En el circ contemporani, com en d’altres àmbits performing arts and culture in general, different de les arts escèniques i la cultura en general, processes of creation are possible. Each type of existeixen diferents processos de creació process obtains a different result, and we can possibles. Cada tipus de procés obtindrà un even say that similar ways of approaching a resultat diferent, i fins i tot es pot afirmar que show lead to works that are very different from maneres semblants d’enfocar un espectacle each other. desembocaran en obres molt allunyades les unes de les altres. Specifically, unlike in dance and theatre, the circus lacks a historical repertoire of works and Específicament en el cas del circ, i a diferència is generally not supported with texts. Thus, the del cas de la dansa i el teatre, no es disposa starting point for the process of creation is d’un repertori històric d’obres i generalment no different. Training in circus disciplines and the es compta amb el suport del text. Les bases de physical abilities of the artists are essential and partida del procés de creació són altres. Són get mixed with the creators’ personal essencials les disciplines circenses i les experiences, interests and imagination. And capacitats físiques dels artistes, que es sometimes it is also simply about the vital need barregen amb les experiències i interessos to express some feelings or ideas. personals dels creadors i el seu imaginari; a vegades també es tracta senzillament de la Each show is the unique outcome of a complex necessitat vital d’expressar uns sentiments o process of creation in which different elements idees. participate and have influence: the creator and his or her artistic background, the other artists Cada espectacle és fruit únic d’un complex involved and their personal circumstances, procés de creació en què participen i influeixen current trends, the funding available, etcetera. diferents elements: el propi creador i el seu Therefore, it is clear that each show is a unique bagatge artístic, els altres artistes participants i case. But is this because it ends up having a les seves circumstàncies personals, les certain form or structure, because it has a tendències del moment, els recursos specific tempo? What relation does the artist econòmics disponibles, etc. Queda clar, doncs, aim to establish with the audience? que cada obra és un cas diferent. Però perquè acaba tenint un forma o una estructura To begin to understand the processes of determinada, perquè té un ritme concret? creation in today’s circus, we held Quina relació vol establir l’artista amb el públic? conversations with its directors and artists and studied some of the shows at the London Per començar a entendre els processos de International Mime Festival 2014. We were creació en circ contemporani actual, i gràcies a able to see these shows as part of the Unpack converses amb els seus directors i artistes, the Arts programme for cultural journalists in hem analitzat alguns dels espectacles del

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 31 the EU, organised by the London-based London International Mime Festival 2014. Es production company Crying Out Loud. tracta d’obres que hem pogut veure en el marc del programa per a periodistes culturals de la Obviously, the uniqueness of each work makes UE Unpack the Arts, organitzat per la generalisations impossible, but it is interesting to productora londinenca Crying Out Loud. study very different productions to see how an artist’s personality or a company’s operations or Evidentment, la unicitat de cada obra fa aims lead to one type of show or another. impossible establir afirmacions generalistes, però l’anàlisi de muntatges molt diferents és Compagnie Non Nova: L’après-midi interessant per comprovar com la personalitat d’un Foehn and Vortex d’un artista, el funcionament o l’objectiu d’una Compagnie Non Nova, led by the French juggler companyia desemboquen en un tipus o altre Phia Ménard, opened the 37th Mime Festival d’espectacle. with two shows based on wind that overlap despite their great differences. Both projects Compagnie Non Nova : L’après-midi are very personal to Ménard, a former student d’un Foehn i Vortex of another prestigious juggler, Jérôme Thomas. La companyia de la francesa Phia Ménard va inaugurar la 37a edició del Mime Festival amb Ménard told us about her artistic background: dos espectacles basats en el vent, amb punts first she learned to control her body and en comú però ben diferents. Dos projectes molt objects, but she then went beyond traditional personals d’aquesta malabarista, alumna d’un juggling and became interested in altre prestigiós artista d’aquesta disciplina, uncontrollable objects. Indeed, she became Jérôme Thomas. enraptured by the idea of transformation, working on and exploring elements that change Ménard ens va explicar la seva trajectòria and cannot be controlled by their very nature. artística: primer va aprendre a controlar el seu An example of this development is her previous cos i els objectes, però després va voler anar show, P. P. P. (Position Paralélle au Plancher), in més enllà del malabarisme habitual i passa a which she handled and played with balls of ice, interessar-se per objectes incontrolables. En which, because of the material’s properties, aquesta línea, es va deixar atrapar per la idea de broke, melted and burned in her hands. transformació, i va treballar i investigar elements que canvien i que per la seva Next she turned to the wind, which cannot be naturalesa no es poden controlar. Un exemple seen and follows a path which cannot be d’aquesta evolució és el seu espectacle predicted. And if we pay attention to what she anterior, PPP (Position Paralélle au Plancher), told us, sweat is another material with which en què manipulava i jugava amb unes boles de Phia Ménard will work. gel, que, per la naturalesa del seu material, es trencaven, es fonien i a més li cremaven les The need to create mans. According to Ménard, her process of creation is first the result of a need. Her personal interests Després ha estat el torn del vent. Un element push her past conventional juggling and prompt que no es veu i del qual no es pot preveure la her to explore other uncontrollable elements trajectòria. I si hem de fer cas del que ens va based on the idea of transformation. With this avançar, la suor serà un altre dels elements concept and need in mind, Ménard has created amb els que treballarà Phia Ménard. three shows based on the wind. And how did the idea occur to her? It came from a research Crear com a necessitat project she started at the Museum of Natural El procés de creació és, segons confessa History of Nantes, where she spent a few nights Ménard, en un inici fruit d’una necessitat d’ella among dead and stuffed animals to which she mateixa. Pels seus interessos personals es veu

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 32 finally managed to give new life thanks to the avocada a anar més enllà del malabarisme electric fans that ruffled their fur. From there, convencional i a investigar sobre altres she began to study the wind and to work on it elements incontrolables en base a la idea de la as a major element in her work. Both shows transformació. A partir d’aquest concepte i play with wind-related words in their titles: d’aquesta necessitat, Ménard ha creat tres L’après-midi d’un Foehn uses the music of espectacles basats en el vent. I com va sorgir la Claude Débussy based on a poem by Stéphane idea? Va ser a partir d’un projecte d’investigació Mallarmé with a similar title (‘L’après-midi d’un iniciat al Museu d’Història Natural de Nantes: Faune’), but replacing the word faune with l’artista es va passejar unes quantes nits enmig Foehn, a warm and dry wind well known in the d’animals morts i dissecats, als que finalment Alps for causing headaches. Vortex refers to the va aconseguir donar vida gràcies a ventiladors whirlwind that is the star of the show. que movien el seu pèl. A partir d’aquí va començar a analitzar el vent i a treballar-hi com Phia Ménard admitted that it has been hard for a element principal de les peces. Els dos her to create something with other people espectacles juguen amb paraules relacionades because she is the only protagonist in the amb el vent en els seus títols: “L’après-midi d’un process, the one that leads it and knows where Foehn”, utilitza la música de Claude Débussy it is headed. Therefore, her projects are highly basat en el poema de Stéphane Mallarmé i personal. Once the creation exists for her alone, canvia la paraula “faune” per Foehn, un vent sec it is easier for her to break away from it and let i calent molt conegut als Alps per causar mals other people perform it, as happens with de cap. “Vortex” fa referència al remolí que serà L’après-midi d’un Foehn. protagonista de la peça.

Regarding her relation with the public, Ménard Phia Ménard va confessar que li costava crear explains that it is vital for her that the audience conjuntament amb d’altres persones, perquè és disconnect from their daily lives and establish a ella la única persona protagonista del procés, link. “I think that you cannot create a theatrical qui el lidera i qui sap cap a on vol arribar. Es situation unless there is this anaesthetic tracta, doncs, de projectes molt personals. Una situation, this invitation to get lost in the world vegada la creació ja existeix per si sola, és més of the theatre,” she has said. Thus, both L’après- fàcil que pugui independitzar-se d’ella i altres midi d’un Foehn and Vortex start off in a similar persones la puguin protagonitzar, com passa way, with a fascinating dance of plastic bags amb “L’après-midi d’un Foehn”. that become such wonderful contemporary dancers that they leave the audience Respecte a la relació amb el públic, Ménard speechless. explica que per ella és imprescindible fer que l’audiència desconnecti de la seva quotidianitat From this process of creation emerge shows i establir-hi un lligam. “Crec que no es pot crear rather clear in structure: an initial anaesthetic una situació dramatúrgica fins que no hi ha part, as the artist would say, and then aquesta situació anestèsica, aquesta invitació a development with a climax and denouement oblidar-se del món que és el teatre”, explica serving Ménard’s idea of playing with the wind l’artista. I per això les dues peces “L’après-midi while explaining a situation or concept at the d’un Foehn” i “Vortex” comencen de manera same time. These are works with dark parts and semblant, amb un ball fascinant de bosses de different possible interpretations that attract plàstic que esdevenen les millors ballarines de audiences and do not leave them indifferent, at dansa contemporània i que deixen el públic least from what we observed in situ. bocabadat.

Cie MPTA: A Bas Bruit D’aquest procés de creació se’n deriven uns The French circus company MPTA (Les mains, espectacles amb unes estructures força clares: les pieds et la tête aussi) put on a show titled una primera part anestèsica, com diria l’artista,

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 33 Fuerzabruta – Fuerzabruta

A Bas Bruit at the Mime Festival 2014. The i després un desenvolupament amb un clímax i company’s name is a declaration of intent: not un desenllaç al servei de la idea de Ménard de only do they use the body, but they also work jugar amb el vent i explicar al mateix temps una with the ‘head’: they work on concepts and situació o concepte. Obres amb algunes parts ideas, and not just within a particular physical fosques i amb diferents interpretacions discipline. possibles, però que no deixen indiferent i atreuen a l’espectador, almenys pel que vam During the talk at Unpack the Arts, we spoke comprovar in situ. with Mathurin Bolze, a circus artist who studied at the prestigious Centre National des Arts du Cie MPTA – À bas bruit Cirque and was a member of the collective La companyia de circ francesa MPTA (Les Cirque Anomalie. Having become the artistic Mains, Les Pieds et La Tête Aussi) ha presentat director of MPTA a few years ago, a company al Mime Festival 2014 l’espectacle À bas bruit. for which he is a co-founder, he follows the path El nom de la companyia ja vol ser una of other circus artists that have had to do less declaració d’intencions: no només fan servir el physical work as they get older, switching to cos, sinó que també hi ha un treball de “cap” al such things as directing and advising other darrera, treballen amb conceptes i idees i no companies. These roles are absolutely essential només al servei d’una disciplina física o una to the circus, where performing artists altra. dominate but direction is often found lacking, especially in smaller shows. A la xerrada amb Unpack the Arts vam poder parlar amb Mathieu Maturin, artista de circ Mathurin bases A Bas Bruit on the work of exalumne de la prestigiosa escola Centre French filmmaker and anthropologist Jean National des Arts du Cirque, i membre del Rouch, and especially a documentary titled Moi, col·lectiu Cirque Anomalie. Convertit des de fa un Noir, which describes the lives of Nigerian uns anys en director artístic de la companyia immigrants looking for work in Ivory Coast. MPTA, del que és cofundador, segueix el camí Rouch is known for the influence of his d’altres artistes circenses que amb l’edat es ethnographic films, filmed mostly in Africa, and veuen obligats a dedicar-se a tasques menys

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 34 because he has created a new style of físiques com la direcció o l’assessorament a documentary called ethnofiction with them d’altres companyies. Feines completament that mixes documentary and fiction from an necessàries en el circ, on predominen els anthropological point of view. artistes executants, però on sovint, sobretot en espectacles de petit format, es troba a faltar To understand MPTA’s process of creation, we una millor direcció. must be aware that the company works with different components in each show and each A À bas bruit, Maturin utilitza com a base l’obra includes the disciplines in which the artists are del cineasta i antropòleg francès Jean Rouch, i specialised. From the beginning of the creation sobretot un documental titulat “Moi, un Noir”, of A Bas Bruit, they worked on all the different que descriu la vida d’immigrants nigerians a la elements at the same time: light, sound, music recerca de feina a la Costa d’Ivori. Rouch és and video, this time under the influence of Jean conegut per la influència de les seves pel·lícules Rouch. etnogràfiques, sobretot enregistrades a l’Àfrica i perquè amb elles va crear un nou estil de A puzzle with different pieces documental, anomenat etnoficció, en què Afterwards, as if solving a puzzle, each artist and barreja documental i ficció des del punt de vista member of the company offers his or her ideas de l’antropologia. and suggestions about how to develop the show. In the end, as Mathurin told us, “the work Per entendre el procés de creació de MPTA cal ends up like a sweater made from many- tenir en compte que la companyia treballa amb coloured wool”. It is a collective effort that aims diferents components a cada espectacle, i cada to be “a kaleidoscopic portrait of the people in obra inclourà les disciplines en què estan the street”. According to the director, the show especialitzats aquests artistes. En el cas d’ À also deals with the idea of walking, whether on a bas bruit, des del principi de la seva creació van wheel, like a hamster, or along a moving belt, començar a treballar a la vegada en els telling us that “if you don’t move, you’ll be moved, diferents elements: llum, so, música i vídeo, en and if you move, you’ll stay in the same place”. aquest cas com a influència de Jean Rouch.

Without intending to provoke the audience, Un puzzle amb diferents peces Mathurin does seek to lower their defences so Després, com si d’un puzzle es tractés, cada the show may be interpreted freely. “The artista i membre de la companyia va aportar les images speak for themselves and I really don’t seves idees i propostes sobre com like explaining them, because then they could desenvolupar la peça. Al final, i segons va lose their poetic mystery.” explicar Mathurin, “l’obra acaba sent com un jersei teixit amb llanes de diferents colors”, és The show resulting from this collective process is un procés col·lectiu que vol ser “un retrat just like Mathurin says: a puzzle with different caledoscòpic de la gent del carrer”. Segons el acts, some images and no apparent structure, seu director, la peça també té com a referent la where moments with more acrobatic elements idea de caminar, ja sigui en una roda gegant, linked to the circus (hand-to-hand and a brief com faria un hàmster, o bé sobre una cinta appearance by devil sticks) are combined with transportadora, element que expressa que si other, more theatrical scenes. The successive “no et mous et mouen, i si et mous, et quedes al numbers, with no visible order or narrative thread mateix lloc”. connecting them, together with the use of lighting and video, creates a particular Sense voler provocar a l’espectador, Maturin vol atmosphere but goes no farther than that. May destruir les seves defenses i deixar que we conclude that creating with different people interpreti lliurement la peça, “les imatges parlen that have brought different perspectives at i no m’agrada gaire explicar-les perquè llavors different points in the process of creation perdrien el seu misteri poètic”.

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 35 promoted the collage-like feeling of the final L’obra resultant d’aquest procés col·lectiu, és, result? ben bé com explica Maturin, un puzzle amb diferents peces i algunes imatges, sense estructura aparent, en què moments amb més Compañía Fuerzabruta: Wayra aspectes acrobàtics i lligats al circ (mans a We were unable to speak with Diqui James, mans i una lleu aparició de pal xinès) es the director of the Argentine company combinen amb d’altres escenes més teatrals. Fuerzabruta’s show, but we did talk with the Aquesta successió sense un ordre visible ni fil executive producer and three of the artists conductor o narratiu, juntament amb l’ús de starring in it at the Roundhouse in London recursos com la il·luminació o el vídeo, crea un (in this case, unrelated to the Mime Festival ambient particular però no va més enllà. programme). The company consists of different Podem pensar que el fet de crear entre teams that travel internationally to stage diferents persones, que han anat aportant Wayra (“wind” in Quechua) simultaneously in diferents punts de vista en diferents moments different countries. Like Compagnie Non Nova, del procés de creació, ha promogut aquesta these are shows that were made a long time sensació de collage del resultat final? ago and have travelled to different capitals.

Meaningless: a feast for the senses Compañía FuerzaBruta : Wayra This is a show in which “there is no meaning or En el cas de la companyia argentina representation; nobody knows what the show FuerzaBruta, no vam poder parlar amb el means, because it has no meaning”. This is director de l’espectacle, Diqui James, sinó amb what is written on Fuerzabruta’s website, and la productora executiva i tres dels artistes que the artists and producer confirm it. They receive el van protagonitzar al Roundhouse de Londres no instructions from the director at all, nor are (en aquest cas, fora de la programació del Mime they required to master any circus discipline; Festival). La companyia està formada per they are merely asked to experience the show diferents equips itinerants a nivell internacional, with honesty and as much energy as possible. que posen en escena “Wayra” (vent en quítxua) Therefore, there is no idea or concept behind de forma simultània a diversos països. Com la this series of visually and technically powerful Compagnie Non Nova, es tracta d’espectacles images that come one after another, surprising que fa temps que estan creats i que ja han and enveloping audiences all over: a feast for viatjat a diferents capitals. the senses using special effects, unexpected structures like swimming pools in the air, loud Sense cap significat : music, a powerful wind created with giant fans, festa per als sentits etcetera. Ens trobem amb una obra en què “no existeix cap significat o representació; ningú sap el In this case, the goal is for the audience to form significat de l’obra, perquè no el té”, segons ens part of the show, and for them to stay involved explica la web de FuerzaBruta. Els artistes i la at all times and participate in the action. The productora ho confirmen. No tenen indicacions company succeed in putting on a show that del director en cap sentit, tampoc se’ls exigeix feels like a party where people can let loose, a el domini de cap disciplina circense, només se’ls catharsis inspired by Argentine carnivals. demana que visquin l’espectacle amb tota l’energia possible i amb honestedat. No hi ha, This show was not created to be anything more doncs, cap idea o concepte al darrera. Una sèrie than euphoria experienced to the maximum, d’escenes molt potents visual i tècnicament with no messages or concepts. The director has que es segueixen una darrera a l’altre i que not added any personal elements, which makes sorprenen i envolten el públic per tot arreu. Una it easier to perform in different parts of the festa per a tots els sentits a través d’efectes world with different teams. This process of especials, estructures sorprenents com unes

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 36 creation is different from that of the other piscines aèries, música a un volum elevat, un shows mentioned here and is based on an potent vent creat amb ventiladors gegants, etc. honest focus on entertainment and business that we believe achieves the expected result in En aquest cas l’objectiu és que el públic formi the end. part de l’espectacle i s’hi entregui, i se l’implica en tots els moments, promovent la seva Without conclusions participació. Aconsegueixen que la sensació de We have seen that a personal need to express l’espectacle sigui el d’una festa per passar-s’ho oneself, a concept, and entertainment are all bé, una catarsi inspirada en els carnavals different reasons or starting points from which argentins. a contemporary artistic circus performance comes into being: without a text (though still Des de la seva creació no pretén ser més que with dramaturgy) and with a significant una experiència eufòrica viscuda al màxim, presence of the body and the handling of sense missatges ni conceptes. El director ha objects. However, our talks with the artists creat sense aportar elements personals, fet reveal that aside from the initial motivation, que facilita la seva reproducció a diferents llocs how the process of creation unfolds and the del món per part de diferents equips. Es tracta role that the artist wants it to play for the d’un procés de creació diferent al dels altres audience is equally important: if there is a espectacles citats, basat en un honest objectiu unique personal view of how the show has to comercial i d’entreteniment que obté, al nostre be, if different people with different views are entendre, el resultat final esperat. involved, whether they want the audience to think or simply be entertained, etcetera. Sense conclusions Hem vist que la necessitat personal All these aspects and more influence the type d’expressar-se, un concepte o l’entreteniment of show that emerges from the process in the són diferents motius o punts a partir dels quals end. It would be too ambitious to draw general neix una peça artística de circ contemporani: conclusions from an analysis of the works sense text (això no vol dir sense dramatúrgia) i mentioned here, but at the same time, do we amb un important presència del cos i la not achieve a better understanding of what a manipulació d’objectes. Les converses amb els work is like, how it is structured and how the artistes evidencien però, que, a part de la audience experiences it, when we consider the motivació inicial, és igualment important com motivation of the artists and the processes es desenvolupa el procés de creació i quin employed to create their shows? paper l’artista vol que jugui el públic: si hi ha una única visió personal de com ha de ser l’espectacle, si diferents persones amb diferents visions hi intervenen, si es vol que el públic pensi o s’entretingui, etc.

Tots aquestes aspectes i d’altres influeixen perquè el resultat final sigui un espectacle i no un altre. Seria massa ambiciós extreure conclusions generalistes a partir de l’anàlisi de les peces citades, però a la vegada, no entenem millor com és una obra, la seva estructura i com la vivim com a públic si tenim en compte la motivació dels artistes i els processos de creació dels espectacles?

Amèlia Bautista Batllori 37 The Body as Het lichaam als Battlefield – slagveld: een (tentatively) (voorzichtig) connecting Artistic verbinden van Research and artistiek onderzoek Dramaturgy in en dramaturgie Circus in circus

BAUKE LIEVENS BAUKE LIEVENS

(Do excuse me for the autobiographic introduction) (vergeeft u mij deze autobiografische inleiding)

Since my encounter with the French circus Sinds een ontmoeting met het Franse company Maboul Distorsion in the heat of a circusgezelschap Cie Maboul Distortion in de southern French summer almost ten years ago, I hitte van een Zuid-Franse zomer, nu bijna tien have been somewhat addicted to circus. The tent, jaar geleden, ben ik enigszins verslaafd aan the caravans, the unity of the audience, the direct circus. Die tent, die woonwagens, dat één-zijn communication! Still, familiarisation has been van het publiek, die onmiddellijke communicatie! setting in these last few years. The reason for Toch treden er bij mij de laatste jaren steeds this? Many circus makers seldom question their vaker gewenningsverschijnselen op. De practice and, without any irony, tend to mistake oorzaak? Veel circusmensen bevragen zelden their lifestyle and undoubtedly exceptional métier hun praktijk en hebben de neiging om hun for artistic skill and for art tout court. And this levensstijl en hun weliswaar uitzonderlijke without any irony. The outcome: an acute ambachtelijke kunnen zonder ironie te shortage of enthralling performances. As for verwarren met kunstenaarschap en met kunst myself: Cie Maboul Distorsion has since made tout court. En dat zonder ironie. Het gevolg: een way for a dramaturgic practice that focuses on nijpend tekort aan boeiende circus­voor­ methods for artistic research in the creation of stellingen. Wat mij betreft: Cie Maboul contemporary circus performances. Distortion heeft ondertussen plaatsgemaakt voor een dramaturgische praktijk die focust op Should you question the relevance of this methodes voor artistiek onderzoek in de creatie autobiographical introduction and fretfully feel van hedendaagse circusvoorstellingen. that this discourse belongs in the column page of your local paper, here are two motivations for you. Mocht u zich vragen stellen bij de relevantie van One. My personal balancing between the deze autobiografische introductie en geïrriteerd definition of circus as a uniting ritual in which art bedenkt dat dit schrijven thuishoort in de and life are one, and the questions I put to the columnsectie van uw plaatselijke krant (en zelfs medium with regard to research that is based on dan nog), ik geef u twee redenen. Eén. Mijn a personal and artistic necessity as a precondition persoonlijke balanceren tussen de definitie van for circus to be even considered a form of art, circus als een verbindend ritueel waarin kunst reflects the balancing of circus itself: somewhere en leven één zijn en de vragen die ik stel aan het between sports, ritual and performing arts. medium wat betreft onderzoek dat vertrekt

Bauke Lievens 38 And two. My dramaturgic practice corroborates vanuit een persoonlijke en artistieke noodzaak a causal connection between the methods als voorwaarde om mogelijks over circus als employed in the creation of contemporary circus kunstvorm te kunnen spreken, reflecteert het performances and the final dramaturgy of the balanceren van het circus zelf: ergens tussen very same performances. This text is a first, sport, ritueel en podiumkunst. tentative attempt at naming that connection. In casu: A Bas Bruit by Cie MPTA (Mathurin Bolze) En twee. Mijn dramaturgische praktijk bevestigt and Vortex by Cie Non Nova (Phia Ménard), both het vermoeden naar een causaal verband of which performed at the London International tussen de methodes die worden toegepast in Mime Festival in January 2014. de creatie van hedendaagse circusvoorstellingen en de uiteindelijke Vortex: humankind in the eye of dramaturgie van diezelfde voorstellingen. Deze the storm tekst is een eerste, voorzichtige, aanzet tot het Vortex is the fight of one performer with nine benoemen van dat verband. In casu: A bas bruit fans, miles of plastic sheet, and wind, plenty of van Cie MPTA (Mathurin Bolze) en Vortex van wind. Like any battle, Vortex, too, is an attempt Cie Non Nova (Phia Ménard) die beide te zien at transformation. It is a pursuit of stripping the waren tijdens het Londen Mime Festival, januari countless layers of skin (social, cultural and 2014. sexual) in hopes of arriving at the naked truth of the individual. However, as every attempt at Vortex: de mens in het oog taming the wind is without avail, this fight, too, van de storm is lost in advance. For what is left when the Vortex is een gevecht voor één performer, battle with all that surrounds us is fought? negen ventilatoren, meters plastiekfolie en When are we ‘truly’ ourselves, except when we wind, veel wind. Net zoals elke strijd is ook are born and when we die? And what is the Vortex een poging tot transformatie, een meaning of such a wrestle with an ephemeral streven om de ontelbare lagen (sociale, and unsettled element that forces us to let culturele en seksuele) huid af te strippen in de things go instead of trying to control them? It is hoop tot de naakte essentie van het individu te the wind that makes us adapt ourselves to its komen. Maar net zoals elke poging om de wind course, not the other way around. This futility, te temmen tevergeefs is, is ook dit gevecht op however, does not prevent us from joining voorhand verloren. Want wat blijft er over eens battle over and over again, hoping for a change, het gevecht met alles wat ons omgeeft a catharsis or a rebirth. gestreden is? Wanneer zijn we ‘echt’ onszelf, behalve wanneer we geboren worden en Phia Ménard, who juggled for many years with wanneer we sterven? En wat betekent die Jérôme Thomas’ company, now targets the worsteling met een efemeer en onstabiel wind as object to be manipulated and element dat ons verplicht om de dingen los te conquered in Vortex. Still, while she engages in laten in plaats van diezelfde dingen te willen combat with this ‘unjugglable’ element, the controleren? Het is de wind die ons dwingt om wind juggles her just as much. Accordingly, the ons aan te passen aan haar traject, en niet arena in Vortex is circular, as is the residue of omgekeerd. Die vergeefsheid belet ons echter the spiralling trajectory of a cyclone1. In this niet om telkens opnieuw de strijd aan te binden intangible, natural décor, Phia Ménard finds in de hoop op een verandering, een catharsis of herself positioned amid plenty of plastic, the een hergeboorte.

1 A vortex is a spinning motion in a vertical flow. A vortex may Phia Ménard, die jarenlang jongleerde in het be two- or three- dimensional. Two-dimensional vortices are gezelschap van Jérome Thomas, maakt in stable, whereas three-dimensional vortices are unstable. Vortices may occur as mono-, bi- or tripolar spin axes. Found Vortex de wind tot het te manipuleren en at the Dutch Aviation Encyclopedia, reference: http://www. overwinnen object van haar kunnen. Echter, nederlandseluchtvaart.nl/forums/f28-nederlandse-luchtvaart- encyclopedie-dutch-aviation-encyclopedia/vortex-4639/ . terwijl zij de strijd aanbindt met dit

Bauke Lievens 39 pre-eminent symbol of overconsumption, ‘onjongleerbaar’ element, manipuleert de wind pollution and other excrescences of our human haar evenzeer. De arena van Vortex is dan ook efforts to control the elements that surround cirkelvormig, net als het residu van het us. spiraalvormige traject van een wervelstorm.1 In dit onzichtbare, natuurlijke decor plaatst Phia The audience, seated in a circle around the Ménard zichzelf te midden van veel plastiek, hét small arena of Vortex, witnesses a struggle that symbool bij uitstek van overconsumptie, questions the nature and limits of our identity vervuiling en andere uitwassen van onze and of the outlines we use to think about menselijke pogingen om de elementen die ons ourselves. Cie Non Nova achieves this in a way omgeven te controleren. worthy of its name: “Non nova, sed nove” or “not new things, but in a new way”. Het publiek, gezeten in een cirkel rond de kleine piste van Vortex, is getuige van een strijd die de “Non nova, sed nove” vraag stelt naar de aard en de grenzen van onze This ‘new way’ of working is of particular identiteit en van de concepten die we hanteren importance in choosing the object and the om over onszelf na te denken. Cie Non Nova relationship with it, and the way this relation doet dit op een manier die haar naam waardig evokes a specific presence of the body. Artistic is: “Non nova, sed nove” oftewel “niet met research, in other words. Specifically, research nieuwe dingen, maar op een nieuwe manier.” that originates from a reflection on the essence of circus: the relationship with the object and “Non nova, sed nove” the corresponding technical expertise. Still, the Die ‘nieuwe manier’ van werken situeert zich significance of the body on the stage is not vooral in de keuze voor en de verhouding tot rooted in spectacle, nor in the display of het object, en in hoe die relatie het lichaam een seemingly infeasible physical abilities. Owing to specifieke aanwezigheid geeft. Artistiek the object (the wind) becoming the central onderzoek, dus. Meer in het bijzonder een signifier in Vortex, the performance tells the onderzoek dat start vanuit een reflectie op wat tale of the influence this object has on the body. de kern uitmaakt van het circus: de relatie tot In other words: the meaning is expressed in the het object en de bijhorende technische way the intangible wind manipulates the plastic expertise. Toch is de betekenis van het lichaam and how the very same wind transforms the op scène niet geworteld in spektakel, noch in juggler’s body. The potential meaning is thus het tentoonspreiden van een quasi-onmogelijk based on the specific nature of the circus fysiek kunnen. Doordat het object (de wind) de discipline itself, which in turn influences the centrale betekenisdrager wordt in Vortex, is de dramaturgical structure of the performance. voorstelling het relaas van de invloed van dit And it influences the body, that appears as the object op het lichaam. Anders gezegd: de kern field for this battle. In this way, the object and van de betekenis wordt uitgedrukt in hoe de the body accept a dialectical relationship and onzichtbare wind de plastiek zakken the body is turned into an object as well. This manipuleert en hoe diezelfde wind het lichaam approach is also to be recognised in the work of van de jongleur transformeert. De mogelijkheid other contemporary circus companies such as tot betekenisvorming is dus gefundeerd in de Cirque Ici / Johann Le Guillerm and Compagnie specifieke aard van de circusdiscipline zelf, wat Un Loup pour l’Homme. op zijn beurt invloed heeft op de dramaturgische

1 Een vortex (lucht)wervel is een draaiende beweging in een The tragedy of circus and the fluïdum. Een vortex kan twee- of driedimensionaal zijn. relationship with the object Tweedimensionele zijn stabiel, terwijl driedimensionele vortexen instabiel zijn. Vortexen kunnen voorkomen als een For the past few years, Phia Ménard has been mono-, bi- of tripolaire wervel. Gevonden in de Nederlandse conducting research on I.C.E., or Injonglabilité Luchtvaart Encyclopedie, te raadplegen op: http://www. nederlandseluchtvaart.nl/forums/f28-nederlandse-luchtvaart- Complémentaire des Eléments encyclopedie-dutch-aviation-encyclopedia/vortex-4639/ .

Bauke Lievens 40 structuur van de voorstelling. En op het lichaam, dat verschijnt als het slagveld van die strijd. Op die manier komen het object en het lichaam in een dialectische relatie tot elkaar te staan en wordt het lichaam eveneens tot object gemaakt. Deze aanpak is ook te bespeuren in het werk van andere hedendaagse circusgezelschappen, zoals dat van Yohann le Guillerm/ Cirque ici en Cie un loup pour l’homme.

De tragiek van het circus en de relatie tot het object Phia Ménard voert sinds een aantal jaren onderzoek naar ICE, oftewel de Injonglabilité Complémentaire des Eléments. Dit onderzoek vond z’n residu in een cyclus van voorstellingen. In P.P.P. (Position Parallèle au Plancher, 2006) en Black Monodie (2010), jongleert Ménard met ijs. In L’après-midi d’un foehn (Version 1, 2008), Vortex (2011) en L’après-midi d’un foehn (Version 2, 2011) experimenteert ze hoe Company Non Nova – Vortex © Jean-luc Beaujault wind kan gemanipuleerd worden terwijl het lichaam tegelijk onderhevig is aan het object (Complementary Unjugglability of the van manipulatie. Momenteel bereidt Ménard Elements). This research has echoed in a cycle Belle d’hier (creatie 2015) voor, het vijfde luik of performances. In P. P. P. (Position Parallèle au van deze cyclus, waarin het onderzoek wordt Plancher, 2006) and Black Monodie (2010), verdergezet met water en stoom als Ménard juggled ice. In L’après-midi d’un Foehn ‘onjongleerbare’ elementen. (Version 1, 2008), Vortex (2011) and L’après- midi d’un Foehn (Version 2, 2011) she Ijs en wind zijn in feite alles wat klassieke experiments with wind, how it can be jongleerballen of –kegels niet zijn: het zijn geen manipulated while at the same time the body functionele, noch voorspelbare elementen. Daar is subject to the object of manipulation. At waar in het traditionele jongleren de jongleur de present, Ménard prepares Belle d’Hier (creation bewegingen bepaalt van het object, bepaalt hier 2015), the fifth component in the cycle, in hetgeen waarmee ‘gejongleerd’ wordt het which the research is continued with water and traject. Daar waar circus traditioneel staat voor vapour as ‘unjugglable’ elements. het temmen van de natuurkrachten, wordt hier een mens te midden van een onstabiele, niet Ice and wind are in fact everything classical volledig controleerbare en soms zelfs gevaarlijke juggling balls and clubs are not: they are neither kracht geplaatst. Of, in de woorden van Phia functional, nor predictable elements. While in Ménard: “I am matter which is transformed by traditional juggling the juggler determines the the eroding properties of air.” 2 movements of the object, here it is the object juggled with that determines the trajectory. Het resultaat is de blootlegging van de While circus traditionally stands for taming the tragische strijd die het circus in wezen is: hoe forces of nature, in this circus a human is placed in the midst of an unstable, not entirely controllable and sometimes even dangerous 2 Phia Ménard in gesprek met Anne Quentin in het presentatiedossier van Vortex, beschikbaar force. Or, in Phia Ménard’s words: “I am matter op www.cienonnova.com.

Bauke Lievens 41 which is transformed by the eroding properties hard de mens ook probeert zijn/haar omgeving of air.”2 of object (het lichaam van de voltigeur, de trapeze, jongleerballen, de Chinese mast of een The result is the exposure of the tragic struggle Bengaalse tijger) te controleren, het is een that is circus in its essence: no matter how vergeefse strijd. Net zoals in het werk van valiantly one tries to control his/her Yohann le Guillerm, die andere circusgrootheid, surroundings or objects (the body of the flyer, voert dit soort van onderzoek een falende mens the trapeze, juggling balls, the Chinese pole or ten tonele, die desondanks zijn vergeefse Bengal tiger), it is to no avail. Just as in Johann pogingen niet opgeeft en ons en cours de route Le Guillerm’s work, another circus maker of zijn menselijke capaciteiten toont. Dit is de consequence, this type of research stages an rituele kern van circus, die ons herinnert aan de erring human being, who in spite of his futile held uit de Griekse tragedie waarvan het publiek efforts, does not surrender and exhibits his op voorhand wist dat hij zou komen te sterven. human capacities en cours de route. This is the En net zoals in het Griekse amfitheater of zoals ritual heart of circus that reminds us of the in de piste van le Guillerm komt de naakte, Greek tragic hero whom the audience knows in struikelende mens in de arena van Vortex enkel advance will perish. Just as inside the Greek vooruit door cirkels te maken. Op die manier amphitheatre or Le Guillerm’s arena, the naked, begrepen vertaalt een specifieke methode van stumbling human in the arena of Vortex makes artistiek onderzoek (namelijk het denken vanuit progress only by running in circles. In this way, a het te manipuleren object zelf) zich in de specific method of artistic research (to consider dramaturgie van de voorstelling: het lichaam the angle of the object that is to be wordt het centrale teken in de communicatie manipulated) translates into the performance’s van betekenis en de dramaturgische structuur dramaturgy: the body becomes the central van de voorstelling is die van een tragedie. character in the communication of meaning, and the dramaturgical structure of the S.O.S. dramaturgie performance is tragic. Dramaturgie is een bijzonder heikel punt in het circus. Daar waar de dramaturgie van het S.O.S. dramaturgy traditionele circus bestaat uit een aaneen­ Dramaturgy is a particularly thorny subject in schakeling van losse nummers, met elk hun circus. Whereas dramaturgy in traditional circus kleine spanningsboogje en bijeengehouden consists of a series of loose acts, each with door de spreekstalmeester of in het beste geval their own tension and held together by the door een eenheid in stijl, bezondigt het nouveau ringmaster or a unity of style at best, the cirque zich meestal aan een ouderwetse nouveau cirque usually errs in using an old- interpretatie van narratieve dramaturgie die fashioned interpretation of narrative zich braaf van a naar b beweegt. Het resultaat dramaturgy that obediently moves from A to B. van deze laatste aanpak is drieledig. Op The result of the latter is threefold. One. As dramaturgisch vlak valt een dergelijke regards dramaturgy, such a performance voorstelling ofwel uiteen in verhalende/ separates into narrative/dancing fragments on dansante fragmenten enerzijds en the one hand and circus acts on the other, circusnummers anderzijds, want op het because at the highlight of an act all hoogtepunt van elke act verdwijnt elke communication that does not denote the communicatie van een andere betekenis dan physical danger disappears. Two. The object het fysieke gevaar zelf. Ofwel wordt het object (trapeze, juggling balls, silk) is supposed to (trapeze, jongleerballen, doek) op een weinig represent something else in a hardly convincing geloofwaardige manier geacht de representatie way. Picture for a random example cringe- te zijn van iets anders. Denk hierbij aan tenenkrullende circusnummers waarin de 2 Phia Ménard in conversation with Anne Quentin in Chinese mast de mast van een schip voorstelt, the presentation document for Vortex, available at www.cienonnova.com. om maar iets te zeggen. Ten slotte worden de

Bauke Lievens 42 worthy circus acts in which the Chinese pole circuslichamen in deze dramaturgische aanpak symbolises a ship’s mast. Three. Bodies in this steeds tot vlakke en psychologisch ondiepe type of circus dramaturgy are turned into personages gemaakt, een soort poppetjes die psychologically shallow characters, as if they zonder duidelijke beweegreden truukjes were a kind of puppets that perform tricks uitvoeren in een geleend verhaal dat hen lijkt without any apparent motive, in a borrowed opgelegd. narrative that seems forced upon them. Dramaturgie is dus wel degelijk één van de Indeed, dramaturgy is one of the biggest grootste uitdagingen voor de veelzijdige challenges in the versatile practice that tends praktijk die zich het hedendaagse circus placht to call itself contemporary circus. It is a te noemen. Het is een uitdaging die naar mijn challenge that is, in my opinion, inextricably mening onlosmakelijk verbonden is met een bound up with reflection on circus as a medium reflectie over het circus als medium en over de and with the specific principles that are intrinsic specifieke wetmatigheden die eigen zijn aan to that medium. In the case of Vortex, the dat medium. In het geval van Vortex zorgen de empirical and reflective roots of artistic empirische en reflectieve worteling van het research into the nature of the object and artistieke onderzoek in de aard van het object discipline (juggling the wind) ensure that the en de discipline (het jongleren met wind) er voor form (how?) and content (what?) coincide in a dat vorm (hoe?) en inhoud (wat?) samenvallen dramaturgy that functions as a structuring and in een dramaturgie die werkt als structurerend, organising principle. After all, the struggle with ordenend principe. Immers, de strijd met de the wind appears both as a circus discipline or wind verschijnt als circusdiscipline of techniek technique and as the signifier that en is tegelijk de drager van de betekenis die communicates meaningful content to the wordt gecommuniceerd naar een publiek. Het audience. The result is not that Phia Ménard’s resultaat is dat het lichaam van Phia Ménard body ends up being a fictitious character in a niet tot een fictief personage gemaakt wordt in borrowed dramaturgy, but that the een geleende dramaturgie, maar dat de performance’s essence is enclosed in the betekenis van de voorstelling net vervat zit in struggle of her body with the object. The circus de strijd van datzelfde lichaam met het object. discipline and content of the performance are Circusdiscipline en inhoud van de voorstelling thus managed out of the very same idea. One worden dus gehanteerd van hetzelfde idee. could even argue that the meaning follows from Men zou zelfs kunnen stellen dat de betekenis the circus discipline. In this dramaturgy, the voortvloeit uit de circusdiscipline. In deze body is led into a confrontation with a real dramaturgie verschijnt het lichaam in een natural force and therefore, in the present confrontatie met een reële natuurkracht en dus moment. And that proves to be the particular in het hier en nu. Dat is ook de specifieke kracht strength in circus, which, regrettably, all too van circus, die jammer genoeg al te vaak often drowns in a dressing of implausible, verloren gaat onder een sausje van theatrical fiction. ongeloofwaardige, dramatische fictie.

On necessity Over noodzakelijkheid Apart from its roots in the specific nature of the Naast de verankering van het artistieke object and discipline of circus, the artistic onderzoek in de specifieke aard van het research process in Vortex seems to originate circusobject en de -discipline, lijkt het primarily from a personal necessity that needs onderzoeksproces van Vortex in de eerste to be addressed. The onset for this creation is, plaats te ontspringen aan een persoonlijke as Phia Ménard describes, this issue: in what noodzaak die wil gecommuniceerd worden. way can she put the relation between who she Phia Ménard benoemt als vertrekpunt voor is and the abstract concept of who she is, on deze creatie de vraag naar hoe ze de relatie the stage? Central to this issue is the reflection tussen wie ze is en het denkbeeldige concept

Bauke Lievens 43 on her body being the objet de préférence, and van wie ze is, op een scène kan zetten. Centraal her search for another object, one that can hierbij is haar reflectie dat het lichaam het objet cause her body to transform. While talking de préférence is, en dat haar zoektocht er één is about the relation between body and object, naar een ander object dat het lichaam kan doen one automatically faces the subject of the eye transformeren. Tegelijk komt men, wanneer of the Other. After all, it is the same eye that men spreekt over de relatie tussen lichaam en turns the body into an object, through that act object, automatisch terecht bij de blik van de of looking itself. The performance’s content Ander. Het is immers ook die blik die het deals with the process of shaping the lichaam tot object maakt, en dat doorheen het performer’s corporeality into an object by kijken zelf. Net omdat de voorstelling means of manipulating wind, as well as through inhoudelijk handelt over het proces waarin de the eye of the Other. That is the precise reason lichamelijkheid van de performer wordt why the choice for a live medium with vormgegeven tot een object door de spectators (literally those who watch) and the manipulatie van de wind, maar ook doorheen emphasis on corporeality are a necessity. de blik van de ander, is de keuze voor een live medium met toe-schouwers (letterlijk ‘zij die A Bas Bruit: the walking human being kijken’) én met de nadruk op lichamelijkheid Whereas Vortex forms a very relevant part of m.a.w. noodzakelijk. the uniting and continuous lines of research that run through Phia Ménard’s oeuvre, that is A bas bruit: de mens al wandelend not the case with A Bas Bruit (2012) by Cie Daar waar Vortex zich op een bijzonder MPTA (Les mains, les pieds et la tête aussi). A relevante manier laat inschrijven in de Bas Bruit is described as “how certain verbindende en continue onderzoekslijnen die epidemics spread, well before they have a het oeuvre van Phia Ménard doorkruisen, is dat name and a face”.3 A Bas Bruit does this with helaas niet het geval met A bas bruit (2012) van the rhythm of an initial, collective movement: Cie MPTA (Les Mains, les Pieds et la Tête aussi). walking quietly. Mathurin Bolze associates this A bas bruit presenteert zichzelf als een growing rhythm with the work of the French voorstelling “die zich verspreidt als een nouvelle vague anthropologist Jean Rouch, besmetting voordat het virus een naam heeft who conducted research on the structure and gekregen”.3 A bas bruit doet dat met de cadans origin of processes of collective movements. van een beginnende collectieve beweging: stilletjes wandelend. Mathurin Bolze verbindt In A Bas Bruit, the walking human being is put dit kiemende ritme aan het werk van de Franse on the stage in a hamster wheel, on an electric nouvelle vague antropoloog Jean Rouch, die treadmill, and in projected film. In its greatest onderzoek deed naar de structuur en het moments, the rhythmical footsteps remind us ontstaan van collectieve werkprocessen. of the fact that one single human being is the beginning of a collective endeavour, both In A bas bruit wordt de wandelende mens ten literally and figuratively. Or as anthropology tonele gevoerd, in een draaiend rad, op een once taught us: the intimately personal lies elektrische loopband en in een geprojecteerde within the collective, and vice versa. In other film. Op de beste momenten herinneren de words: no big deal. ritmische voetstappen ons aan het feit dat één wandelende mens het begin is van een Old glue collectieve beweging, en dat zowel letterlijk als On the frontal stage there are two men and a figuurlijk. Of zoals de antropologie ons leerde: woman whose walking is sprinkled with a het intiem persoonlijke ligt verscholen in het dance every now and again, a male voice collectieve, en omgekeerd. No big deal, dus. reading aloud fragments of text by Jean Rouch

3 Zie website Cie MPTA, te raadplegen op: 3 See website Cie MPTA, available at: www.compagnie-mpta.com. www.compagnie-mpta.com.

Bauke Lievens 44 (on walking, naturally), a classical ‘clown falls Oude lijm down a flight of stairs’ act, or a hand-to-hand Op de frontale scène staan twee mannen en duo. It all seems glued together with a type of een vrouw, wiens wandelen af en toe doorspekt glue long past its expiry date, and so it falls to wordt met een dansje, een mannenstem die pieces. The only constant is the walking and the tekstfragmenten van Jean Rouch voorleest visual use of space, which is designed around (over wandelen uiteraard), een klassiek ‘clown two mobile wooden platforms, one with the valt van de trap’-nummer of een hand-op-hand turning hamster wheel and the Chinese pole, duet. Het geheel lijkt aan elkaar geplakt met the other with the treadmill and a wooden roller een soort lijm waarvan de houdbaarheidsdatum blind. reeds lang verstreken is en valt dan ook in brokken uit elkaar. De enige constanten zijn het Both the scenic space and the dramaturgical wandelen en het plastische ruimtegebruik, structure of A Bas Bruit are at the same time vormgegeven in twee mobiele houten fragmented and designed (very) narratively. In a platforms met respectievelijk het draaiende rad conversation with Mathurin Bolze afterwards, en de Chinese mast, de loopband en een he describes A Bas Bruit as an example of houten rolgordijn. ‘circus dramaturgy’: an empirical way of working, in which the performance is “written in Zowel de scenische ruimte als de a physical way”. He describes his directorial dramaturgische structuur van A bas bruit zijn duty as “the spatial organisation of three tegelijk fragmentarisch en (zeer) narratief persons and their corresponding personalities vormgegeven. In een nagesprek noemt on the scene”. There is no mention at all of an Mathurin Bolze A bas bruit een voorbeeld van intentional embedding of research in the ‘circusdramaturgie’: een empirische manier van particularity of some circus discipline or other, werken waarin de voorstelling op een “fysieke quite the contrary. manier wordt geschreven”. Hij omschrijft zijn taak als regisseur als “de ruimtelijke organisatie Artistic research van de drie mensen en hun bijhorende A Bas Bruit is the result of a process in which a persoonlijkheden op scène”. Nergens is er (rather vague) idea is pictured, to then be sprake van een bewuste verankering van het expressed through a seemingly random choice onderzoek in de specificiteit van deze of gene of circus techniques. Or it is the result of a circusdiscipline, integendeel. procedure in which the perceptions and observations that were learned during Artistiek onderzoek rehearsals, are ‘assembled’, in hopes that the A bas bruit is het resultaat van een manier van audience will not be looking for a werken die ofwel een (bijzonder vaag) idee straightforward idea behind it and will allow vooropstelt en dan allerhande, schijnbaar itself to drift away on empirical impressions. willekeurige, circustechnieken kiest om dat idee During the same conversation, Mathurin Bolze uit te drukken ofwel van een procedé waarin de indicated that the second option would apply: percepties en ervaringen die worden opgedaan “circus is ‘real’ in the sense that the dramaturgy in het repetitieproces aan elkaar worden is a collection of perceptions and experiences ‘gemonteerd’, in de hoop dat de toeschouwer that can be remembered by the audience niet op zoek zal gaan naar een duidelijk idee, afterwards. It is not the expression of an idea. maar zich laat overspoelen door dezelfde This way, it is more concrete and there are empirische indrukken. Mathurin Bolze geeft in more layers for interpretation than in theatre.” hetzelfde nagesprek aan dat het eerder om de Yet, what is performed on the stage is the tweede optie gaat: “circus is ‘echt’ in de zin dat theatrical dramaturgy of a collage, a montage de dramaturgie een verzameling van percepties technique not seldom venerated in nouveau en ervaringen is die de toeschouwer zich cirque in the 1980s and 90s as an innovative achteraf kan herinneren. Het is niet de and post-dramatic strategy. The part that uitdrukking van een idee. In die zin is het

Bauke Lievens 45 particularly fails in this attempt at ‘realness’ is concreter en zijn er meer interpretatielagen that the characters are in fact cardboard dan in het theater.” Echter, wat verschijnt op blueprints. The female character for example, is de scène van A bas bruit is een theatrale typecasted in every cliché available on dramaturgie van de collage, een montage­ femininity: she balances between the caring techniek waar het nouveau cirque in de jaren mother figure and femme fatale with her jacket ’80 en ’90 niet zelden mee dweepte als een carelessly draped on her back, complete with vernieuwende en post-dramatische strategie. tango dress and high-heeled dancing shoes. Wat vooral niet werkt aan deze poging tot ‘echtheid’ is het feit dat de personages The body is not explored or used as an explicit bordkartonnen schetsen zijn. Zo is het carrier of meaning, neither in relation to an vrouwelijke personage bijvoorbeeld getypecast object, nor in relation to the other bodies on the in alle mogelijke clichés van vrouwelijkheid, scene. This is not contemporary circus, this is balancerend tussen zorgende moederfiguur en old-fashioned theatre in which the lines are femme fatale met het jasje nonchalant over de simply swapped for (walking) circus bodies. This rug gedrapeerd, inclusief tango kleedje en is confirmed by Mathurin Bolze’s statement dansschoenen met hak. that “circus enables us to embody metaphors such as ‘be upset about something’ or ‘put your Nergens wordt het lichaam onderzocht of life in someone’s hands’, and make them ‘real’” ingezet als specifieke drager van betekenis, Circus cannot conform to the representation of noch in de relatie tot een object noch in de something else, particularly because the relatie met de andere lichamen op scène. Dit is relationship to an object and the métier that is geen hedendaags circus, dit is ouderwets intrinsic to most circus disciplines make the theater waarin de tekst simpelweg vervangen body into a presence that will not stand for an werd door (wandelende) circuslichamen. illustration of something else. Should Getuige hiervan de woorden van Mathurin contemporary circus wish to keep growing, I Bolze wanneer hij zegt dat “circus ons toelaat think it is time for artists to employ artistic om metaforen zoals ‘ergens van ondersteboven research methods that are rooted in the zijn’ of ‘je leven in iemands handen leggen’ specific nature of the medium itself. Or, as te belichamen en ze op die manier ‘echt’ te Phia Ménard has understood well: in relation maken”. Circus past niet in het keurslijf van to the object, the métier and corporeality de representatie van iets anders, net omdat in the present moment. de relatie tot een object en het ambachtelijke kunnen dat inherent is aan de meeste circusdisciplines het lichaam een aanwezigheid verlenen in het hier en nu die zich niet laat inzetten als symbool voor iets anders. Wil het hedendaagse circus dus verder groeien, dan is het tijd, denk ik, dat artiesten artistieke onderzoeksmethodes hanteren die zijn verankerd in de specifieke aard van het medium circus zelf. Of zoals Phia Ménard goed gezien heeft: in de relatie tot het object, het ambacht en in een lichamelijkheid in het hier en nu.

This article is part of the research project Between being and imagining: towards a methodology for artistic research in contemporary circus by Bauke Lievens, financed by KASK/School of Arts, Ghent (Belgium).

Bauke Lievens 46 The Circus Circus van of Tomorrow morgen Disregards the vergeet de Future toekomst

JOOST GOUTZIERS JOOST GOUTZIERS

They work their fingers to the bone, artists in Ze werken zich een slag in de rondte, contemporary circus. To create, to develop de artiesten van het eigentijds circus. and to renew are the buzzwords. They are, Creëren, ontwikkelen en vernieuwen zijn de however, swayed by the issues of the day. toverwoorden, maar de waan van de dag There is no database of performances and not regeert. Een databank met voorstellingen much that adds to the cultural heritage. Hardly ontbreekt en het cultureel erfgoed wordt weinig any performance is reprised. Those are new gevoed. Reprises van voorstellingen zijn er grounds yet to be opened up. nauwelijks. Daar valt nog een wereld te winnen.

Mathurin Bolze is artistic director of Compagnie Mathurin Bolze is artistiek leider van Compagnie MPTA. He makes circus with his hands, feet and MPTA. Hij maakt circus met handen, voeten en head, is how he describes his work. At once this het hoofd, zo omschrijft hij zijn werk. Dat accounts for the company’s full name: Les mains, verklaart meteen de naam van zijn gezelschap: les pieds et la tête aussi. les Mains, les Pieds et la Tete Aussi.

In the associative, fragmented performance A In de associatieve, fragmentarische voorstelling Bas Bruit he combines acrobatics with dance, ‘A bas bruit’ combineert hij acrobatiek met music, design and technique in an intelligent train dans, muziek, vormgeving en techniek, in een of scenes about the rambling, running and intelligente aaneenschakeling van scenes over seeking man. As the performance unfolds, de wandelende, rennende en zoekende mens. projections become more essential. Gaandeweg krijgen projecties een grotere rol.

The performance is not a very transparent one. Het is een weinig transparante voorstelling. For the maker, it is sure to form a complete Voor de maker zal de puzzel kloppen, maar hij whole, but the spectator is left with unanswered laat zijn toeschouwer met vragen achter. Wie questions. Those who wish to see this beautifully deze mooi vormgegeven voorstelling nog eens designed performance again will need to revisit wil zien, moet terug naar het theater. Een the theatre. There are no impending plans to registratie ligt niet in het verschiet. make recordings. Mathurin Bolze is een Franse circusmaker en Mathurin Bolze is a French circus maker and much een bejubeld vernieuwer. applauded innovator. His company is already Met zijn gezelschap heeft hij inmiddels vijf credited with five performances, among which is voorstellingen op zijn naam staan, waaronder the well-received Du Goudron et des Plumes. het uitstekend ontvangen ‘Du Gudron en Les Plumes’. He has developed an innovative oeuvre, which would make one expect that he would want to Hij werkt aan een innovatief oeuvre en dan zou have his work recorded. Still, that is not the case. je verwachten dat hij het belangrijk vindt dat

Joost Goutziers 47 zijn werk wordt vastgelegd. De werkelijkheid is Mathurin Bolze: “There are no recordings of my anders. first performances left. I don’t like those and trailers are even worse. They show only the Mathurin Bolze: “Van mijn eerste voorstellingen highlights, without any nuance. My performances zijn geen opnamen bewaard gebleven. Daar need to be witnessed and experienced. You have houd ik niet van en trailers vind ik helemaal to feel the spectators next to you on the stand. If verschrikkelijk. Je ziet dan de hoogtepunten, niet recording my performance proved inevitable, I’d de nuance. Mijn voorstellingen moet je prefer photographs. Such isolated images can meemaken, zelf ervaren. De toeschouwers naast convey the atmosphere rather well. Or film je op de tribune, die moet je voelen. Als mijn images of visitors describing my performance voorstelling dan toch moet worden several years later; I think those can be beautiful geregistreerd, dan heb ik een voorkeur voor recordings.” foto’s. Die geïsoleerde beelden geven de sfeer beter weer. Of filmbeelden van bezoekers die Mathurin Bolze is an artist and has great mijn voorstelling zoveel jaren later gaan confidence in a moment’s magic. From his point beschrijven, dat vind ik ook een mooie of view, that is hardly surprising. registratie.”

Every move, every manipulation, every sound Mathurin Bolze is kunstenaar en hij zweert bij de is well-considered. His performance is one to magie van het moment. Dat is vanuit zijn experience. A recording is a poor substitute for perspectief een begrijpelijke keuze. Over elke the original, bereft of character or enchantment. beweging, elke manipulatie, elk geluid is It is no more than an uninspired impression nagedacht. Zijn voorstelling, daar moet je bij zijn. beyond the maker’s reach. Een registratie is een slecht aftreksel van het origineel, ontdaan van sfeer, betovering. Niet He draws his inspiration from art by others. He is meer dan een liefdeloze impressie waar de a ready spectator in performances by colleagues. maker geen grip op heeft. There, he absorbs impressions with the eyes of a professional, and 90 minutes of watching equals Zelf laat hij zich inspireren door kunst van 90 minutes of working. Anthropologist Jean anderen. Hij is graag te gast bij voorstellingen Rouch’s films are another source of inspiration. van collega’s. Hij zuigt dan de indrukken op, kijkt In the case of A Bas Bruit, it is the film Jaguar, in als een professional en anderhalf uur kijken is bij which three fortune seekers emigrate from Niger hem anderhalf uur werken. De films van to Ghana. antropoloog Jean Rouch inspireren hem ook. In het geval van ‘A bas bruit’ is dat de film ‘Jaguar’ Dance, theatre and music are stimuli, too, over drie mannen, gelukszoekers, die van Niger which becomes clear by the references in his naar Ghana emigreren. performance. Still, how will Bolze inspire new generations of circus makers? Through Dans, toneel en muziek stimuleren hem net zo, personal connections? That is possible, yes. But dat blijkt uit de verwijzingen in zijn voorstelling. recordings of his work would be a longer lasting Maar hoe gaat Bolze nieuwe generaties and more tangible contribution. circusmakers inspireren? Door persoonlijk contact, ja, dat kan. Maar de registratie van zijn werk is een blijvende, meer tastbare bijdrage. Booming development Contemporary circus is a relatively new form Stormachtige ontwikkeling of art, and if its development keeps booming Eigentijds circus is een relatief nieuwe plenty of artistic companies will surface and be kunstvorm en als de stormachtige ontwikkeling part of the cultural heritage next to the polished doorgaat, komen er naast het gelikte Cirque du Cirque du Soleil. Their repertoire makes useful Soleil vanzelf artistiekere gezelschappen en

Joost Goutziers 48 Company MPTA/Mathurin Bolze – A Bas Bruit © Christophe Raynaud De Lage material for cultural scientists and not least voorstellingen bovendrijven die tot het cultureel interesting material for enthusiasts and students erfgoed gaan behoren. Dat repertoire is of circus arts at the outset of their careers. bruikbaar materiaal voor Recordings are essential for research into cultuurwetenschappers, maar minstens zo contemporary circus and allow circus makers to boeiend voor de liefhebber en de circusstudent capture their creative property. Technical facilities die aan het begin van zijn carrière staat. abound. It is intention that is sparse. Registraties zijn onontbeerlijk voor onderzoek Among artistic products, theatre has the naar eigentijds circus en geven circusmakers de advantage that scripts were documented and mogelijkheid hun creatief eigendom vast te preserved, that performances were described, leggen. Technische mogelijkheden zijn er and repertoire is repeated and interpreted over genoeg. Nu de wil nog. and over. In ballet, there is a specific notation system to record movements, and cameras Toneel heeft als kunstuiting het grote voordeel are welcome tools for choreographers. dat teksten bewaard zijn gebleven, voorstellingen zijn beschreven en repertoire A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare is wordt voortdurend gespeeld en well-known by enthusiasts. The same goes for geïnterpreteerd. Ballet kent een eigen notatie The Nutcracker by Marius Petipa or more modern om bewegingen vast te leggen en een camera works by choreographers such as Pina Bausch, is een welkom hulpmiddel voor choreografen. George Balanchine, Hans van Manen and Jiří Kylián. Their work is part of the world repertoire. ‘Midzomernachtdroom’ van Shakespeare zit in de hoofden van liefhebbers. Dat geldt evenzeer Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen has had voor ‘De Notenkraker’ van Marius Petita of his repertoire inventoried using video recordings moderner werk van choreografen Pina Bausch, that were digitalised later on. His dance George Balanchine, Hans van Manen en Jiri testament is stored in an archive. Kylian. Hun werk behoort tot het wereldrepertoire. The Tanztheater Wuppertal, just another appealing example, keeps Pina Bausch’s De Nederlandse choreograaf Hans van Manen choreographies alive. On the occasion of the (1932) heeft zijn repertoire laten inventariseren.

Joost Goutziers 49 company’s 40th anniversary in 2014, Café Müller Van zijn werk zijn video-opnamen gemaakt die is being performed. Collective cultural awareness later zijn gedigitaliseerd. Zijn danstestament is nurtured by conveyance, by reprises and ligt opgeslagen in een archief. recordings. Het Tanztheater Wuppertal, om nog een Tim Roberts, director of the London circus school aansprekend voorbeeld te noemen, houdt de Circus Space, applauds the notion of a database choreografieën van Pina Bausch in leven. for circus performances. “We lack a canon of Tijdens het veertig jaar bestaan van het existing work from which we can draw during gezelschap in 2014 is ‘Café Muller’ te zien. classes. Because it is one thing to make Collectief cultureel bewustzijn wordt gevoed recordings, which often does not happen, and door overdracht, door reprises en registraties. another entirely for us to be able to see those recordings.” Tim Roberts, de directeur van de Londense circusschool Circus Space, juicht het toe als er It is haphazard ook een databank met circusvoorstellingen zou How can a circus canon be created? And are ontstaan. “We missen een canon van bestaand there truly so few recordings in contemporary werk waaruit we tijdens de lessen kunnen circus? Of course there are many. This is the putten. Want als er al registraties van acts 21st Century and performers have grown up worden gemaakt, en dat gebeurt vaak niet, hoe with social media. Just open YouTube, it is komen wij daar dan aan?” teeming with circus videos. Often, those are trailers. When it is not the companies or artists Het is willekeur themselves who post the material on the Hoe komt een circuscanon tot stand? En wordt internet, it is the spectators or the PR persons er in het eigentijds circus dan helemaal niets in their stead. bewaard? Natuurlijk wel, de gezelschappen leven in de 21e eeuw en groeien op met sociale media. This still happens, however, in a haphazard way; Zoek maar op YouTube, het wemelt van de it does not create a manageable database. It is filmpjes. Vaak zijn het trailers. En zetten a task for the companies themselves to capture gezelschappen en artiesten hun materiaal niet their repertoire. Resource centres can help in zelf op internet dan doen de toeschouwers of building a digital library. HorsLesMurs is such pr-mensen van theaters dat wel. a resource centre for contemporary circus. This French organisation manages a documentation Maar dat blijft willekeur, daarmee ontstaat nog centre and publishes on modern circus. geen afgewogen database. Het is aan gezelschappen om hun repertoire vast te leggen. Furthermore, there are recordings by the De steunpunten kunnen helpen bij het opbouwen professional enthusiast: Jean-Michel Guy, who van een digitale bibliotheek. Hors les Murs is zo’n works at the French Ministry of Cultural Affairs, steunpunt voor eigentijds circus. Die Franse and his associate Julien Rosemberg, both organisatie beheert een documentatiecentrum circus connoisseurs. They assembled two DVDs en publiceert over het moderne circus. with a selection from the contemporary repertoire. It is the result of their passion for Daarnaast is er verslaglegging door de modern circus, which in a way also applies to professionele liefhebber. Jean-Michel Guy, hij is Philippe Cibille’s photographs of a variety of werkzaam bij het ministerie van cultuur in circus acts, artists and performances. Frankrijk, en zijn compagnon Julien Rosemberg, beide circuskenners, maakten twee dvd’ s met Does an artist or company personally profit een selectie van het repertoire van eigentijdse from recordings? Without a doubt. Firstly, they gezelschappen. Het is een gevolg van hun offer the opportunity of establishing one’s own bezieling voor het moderne circus en dat geldt in artistic property. Just to be clear about the zekere zin ook voor de foto’s die Philippe Cybille

Joost Goutziers 50 creators. Secondly, programmers at theatres maakte van uiteenlopende acts, artiesten en and festivals, too, benefit from elaborate circusvoorstellingen. recordings. Programmers obviously do not base decisions solely on DVDs, but, still, an Heeft een artiest of gezelschap zelf ook baat bij introduction to a company can make them registraties? Daar is geen twijfel over mogelijk. In decide to attend a performance, which can de eerste plaats biedt het de mogelijkheid om result in another performance for the artist. het eigen artistiek eigendom vast te leggen. Het kan maar duidelijk zijn wie de geestelijk vader is. Thirdly, recordings simply make good money. Maar ook programmeurs van theaters en The commercial crew behind the Canadian festivals zijn gebaat bij uitvoerige registraties. company Cirque du Soleil is very well aware of Niet dat elke programmeur zich laat leiden door that. DVDs with recordings of shows such as dvd’s, maar hij/zij krijgt wel een indruk van een Dralion, Quidam and Alegría are for sale on the gezelschap en kan op basis daarvan besluiten markets or available via their own web shop. een voorstelling te bezoeken. Dat levert de artiest weer een optreden op. Reprise, a dirty word A database of performances can help new En dan valt er natuurlijk gewoon goed geld te generations of artists resume acts or verdienen met registraties. De zakelijke jongens performances created by predecessors. achter Cirque du Soleil weten dat als geen ander. However, it is exactly this ‘resuming’ that is Dvd’s met opnamen van shows als ‘Dralion’, the touchy subject in contemporary circus. ‘Quidam’ en ‘Alegria’ liggen in de winkels of zijn te bestellen via de eigen webshop van het Tim Roberts: “We do not use the repertoire Canadese circus. in the way theatre or dance academies do. Students of circus will never randomly Reprise, een vies woord reproduce a performance by 7 Fingers or Een databank met voorstellingen kan nieuwe Archaos. It is not in our genes. Our students generaties helpen om de acts of voorstellingen create new material. That is our strength and van voorgangers te hernemen. Maar dat our weakness.” ‘hernemen’ ligt bij het eigentijds circus gevoelig. Tim Roberts: “Wij gebruiken het repertoire niet Reinterpretations of existing work do present zoals theater- of dansacademies dat doen. opportunities, according to Roberts. Circusstudenten zullen nooit een performance van 7 Fingers of Archaos lukraak reproduceren. “Surely I can imagine reinterpretations of Dat zit niet in onze genen. Onze studenten appealing performances being made. Our circus creëren nieuw materiaal. Dat is onze kracht en students may one day take a close look at Traces onze zwakte.” by 7 Fingers, like the theatre students that keep creating new versions of Waiting for Godot.” Herinterpreteren van bestaand werk biedt volgens Roberts wel kansen. Roberts’ colleague Samuel Jornot, who is artistic director at ACaPA, the Academy for “Ik kan me goed voorstellen dat later her­inter­ Circus and Performance Art in Tilburg (NL), pretaties van aansprekende voorstellingen does not believe in reprises or new worden gemaakt. Mogelijk gaan onze performances using existing material. “Circus is circusstudenten ooit ‘Traces’ van 7 Fingers onder by definition the performance of excellence in de loep nemen, zoals theaterstudenten alsmaar the present moment. An individual accepts a nieuwe versies maken van ‘Wachten op Godot’.” challenge and deals with it. It is a metaphor for one’s existence in the presence of an audience. Zijn collega Samuel Jornot, artistiek directeur Every act is therefore unique and entirely van ACaPA, de circusopleiding in Tilburg, dependent on that individual artist.” Nederland, gelooft niet in reprises en nieuwe

Joost Goutziers 51 “A circus artist does not play a character, he voorstellingen met bestaand materiaal. “Circus is is authentic. Like a sculpture, a circus per definitie het tonen van excellentie in het hier performance is an artistic expression that can en nu. Een individu gaat een uitdaging aan en only be made by this particular artist. That is dealt er mee. Het is een metafoor voor het why I do not believe in recording and preserving bestaan en het publiek is erbij aanwezig. Elke act repertoires in order to remake them in the is om die reden uniek en volledig afhankelijk van future. In a remake, an actor plays the circus die ene artiest.” artist and that makes it theatre, not circus. Recordings are, on the other hand, suitable for “Een circusartiest speelt geen karakter, maar hij critical analysis and scientific research into the is authentiek. Net als een sculptuur is een artistic work.” circusperformance een kunstuiting die alleen door die ene artiest kan worden gemaakt. Cirque du Soleil – whatever your opinion on the Daarom geloof ik niet in registeren en het exploitation of a polished concept – knows how conserveren van repertoire om er later remakes to manage and exploit a repertoire. Shows are van te maken. Bij een remake speelt een acteur performed, year after year, and interchangeable de circusartiest en dan is het toneel, geen circus. artists concurrently play the same concepts in Registraties zijn wel geschikt voor kritische different places in the world. More finicky analyses en wetenschappelijk onderzoek naar companies, too, play their performances for het artistieke werk.” a succession of years. This often happens for commercial reasons, because the costs need Cirque du Soleil – wat iemand ook vindt van to be recovered. het uitmelken van een gepolijst concept – dat gezelschap weet repertoire te beheren en te Deep down, companies will want to develop exploiteren. Shows worden jaar na jaar gespeeld new creations continually. Mathurin Bolze of en inwisselbare artiesten spelen dezelfde Compagnie MPTA is such an artist, and it has concepten tegelijkertijd op meerdere plaatsen established his reputation. Still, he does not over de wereld. Ook meer eigenzinnige ignore the option that one of his shows could gezelschappen spelen hun voorstellingen een become a reprise. Perhaps, one day. The doubt, reeks van jaren. Vaak is dat een zakelijke keuze, the consideration, they suit this young, inspired de kosten moeten worden terug verdiend. form of art. Diep in hun hart zullen gezelschappen het liefst Even though it conflicts with the urge for steeds nieuwe producties ontwikkelen. Mathurin renewal, there is more than one company to Bolze van Cie MPTA is daar een voorbeeld van en be found that already considers reprises. hij dankt er zijn reputatie aan. Toch sluit hij niet The market does have its own considerations. uit dat een van zijn shows ooit in reprise zal gaan. Audiences and programmers ask for reprises of Misschien, ooit. Die twijfel, die afweging, het past previous successes. Sometimes money has to bij deze jonge, bevlogen kunstuiting. be brought in, but reprises also are a means for companies to establish their repertoires and to Maar al druist het in tegen de drang te make them live on. vernieuwen, toch zijn er meerdere gezelschappen die nu al een reprise overwegen. Aurélien Bory of Compagnie 111 chose to rerun De markt kent nu eenmaal zijn eigen afwegingen. earlier work. His company created Plan B in Het publiek en programmeurs vragen om 2003 and reprised the show in 2013. The cast herneming van successen. Soms is het noodzaak is new, which provided opportunities for omdat er geld in het laadje moet, maar reprises revitalising Plan B. In the performance – on, zijn ook een mogelijkheid voor gezelschappen in front of and against a high wall – fine om hun repertoire te legitimeren en te laten acrobatics, juggling and martial arts are voortleven. combined with technical refinement.

Joost Goutziers 52 Another example: Cie Archaos performed its Aurélien Bory van Compagnie 111 koos ervoor show In Vitro 09 in 1999. The performance has eerder werk opnieuw uit te voeren. Zijn been reprised with contributions by circus gezelschap maakte ‘Plan B’ in 2003 en hernam students from Rio de Janeiro in 2009. deze show in 2013. De cast is nieuw, dat bood hem kansen om ‘Plan B’ te revitaliseren. Then there are the old performers at Les Arts Sauts. These acrobats astounded with their Deze voorstelling – op, voor en tegen een hoge spectacular aerobatics, accompanied by an wand – combineert fraaie acrobatiek, jongleren opera singer. The singer, as well, found herself en martial arts met technisch raffinement. high in the air. The audience watched the show Nog een voorbeeld: Cie Archaos speelde de show from reclining chairs positioned in circles ‘In Vitro’ in 1999. Deze voorstelling is in 2009 around the ring. met inbreng van circusstudenten uit Rio de Janeiro opnieuw aan het publiek getoond. Les Arts Sauts was discontinued in 2007. En dan zijn er de oude rotten van Les Arts Sauts. However, from the collective new initiatives got Deze acrobaten verbaasden met spectaculaire going. The heritage is kept alive. The aerial luchtacrobatiek, begeleid door een acrobatics, the atmosphere, the music and operazangeres. Ook die zangeres bevond zich even the comfortable chairs return in a hoog in de lucht. Het publiek bekeek het performance by the French CirkVOST. But to be spektakel vanuit ligstoelen die in kringen om de honest, there are few examples of reprised piste stonden opgesteld. performances. Ask Tim Roberts, ask the artists – they can only give a handful of examples. Les Arts Sauts is in 2007 opgeheven, maar uit het collectief ontstonden nieuwe initiatieven. Het Personal dedication erfgoed blijft levend. De luchtacrobatiek, de sfeer, It is interesting to take a closer look at the work de combinatie met muziek en zelfs de of French juggler Phia Ménard. Her work is small- comfortabele ligstoelen zijn terug te zien in een scale, smaller than that of Compagnie 111 or voorstelling van het Franse Cirk Vost. Maar eerlijk Les Arts Sauts, and she still creates a personal gezegd: veel voorbeelden van reprises zijn er niet. repertoire in her own way. For the performance Vraag het Tim Roberts, vraag het aan de L’après-midi d’un Foehn she was inspired by artiesten, ze komen niet verder dan een handvol world repertoire: composition by Claude voorbeelden. Debussy and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Een persoonlijke opdracht Phia once was called Philippe Ménard. She is a Het is boeiend het werk van de Franse jongleuze juggler who learnt much from Jérôme Thomas, Phia Ménard onder de loep te nemen. Zij werkt an innovator of juggling. Change is the basis of kleinschalig, kleinschaliger dan Compagnie 111 her performances, and the theme is hardly of Les Arts Sauts, maar ze creëert op haar eigen separable from her life as a transgender artist. manier een persoonlijk repertoire. En met een voorstelling als ‘L’après midi d’un foehn’ (een Juggling clubs belong to the past now. Look at woordspeling) laat ze zich inspireren door P. P. P. for example: against a background of wereldrepertoire: de compositie van Claude refrigerators she juggles ice balls, delivers a huge Debussy, de choreografie van Vaslav Nijinsky. sphere of ice, and catches ice balls falling from the sky. In a playful way, she exhibits her Phia was ooit Philippe Ménard. Een jongleur die womanliness and this appears to be a personal veel opstak van Jerome Thomas, vernieuwer van dedication. de jonglerie. Verandering is de basis van haar voorstellingen en dat thema is nauwelijks los te zien van haar achtergrond als een transgender.

Joost Goutziers 53 In the new performance Vortex she plays with Ze jongleert al lang niet meer met knotsen. wind, a concept interpreted with fans. The Neem ‘P.P.P.’: in een decor met ijskasten jongleert audience watches a burlesque man dressed in ze met ijsballen, bevalt ze van een grote ijsbal en black and white. He sticks strips to a plastic bag vangt ze ijsballen die naar beneden vallen. Speels and the wind from the fans turn the plastic into toont ze haar vrouwelijkheid en dat lijkt een a dancing doll who is then joined by other dolls. persoonlijke opdracht.

The burlesque character gradually changes, lets In de nieuwere voorstelling ‘Vortex’ speelt ze met go of fundamentals, and everything that gets wind, een concept met ventilatoren. Het publiek peeled off his body is inflated by the wind into ziet een burleske man in zwart en wit. Hij plakt moving, sometimes threatening figures. The stroken aan een plastic zak en wind uit atmosphere changes from merry, elated to ventilatoren verandert dat plastic in een oppressive. And telling for Ménard: the dansende pop die weer gezelschap krijgt van character changes gender. andere poppen.

Despite the universal qualities of the story, the Het burleske personage verandert gaandeweg, personal theme of Phia Ménard is interlaced laat essenties los en alles wat het van het with the performance. Which would lead to the lichaam pelt wordt door wind opgeblazen tot assumption that she is the only one that can bewegende, soms bedreigende figuren. De sfeer perform Vortex. wisselt, van vrolijk, uitbundig naar beklemmend. En tekenend voor Ménard: het personage “Not at all,” she candidly relates. “I consider verandert van sekse. inviting other performers to play Vortex. I want to see if that is possible. It is a question that Hoe universeel het verhaal ook moge zijn, het occupies my mind.” persoonlijke thema van Phia Ménard zit in de performance verweven. Dan zou je That is how Phia Ménard circulates her veronderstellen dat zij, alleen zij, ‘Vortex’ kan repertoire. She passes her knowledge over, on spelen. a personal level. It is an informal manner that is more common in contemporary circus than is “Welnee,” vertelt ze onbevangen. “Ik overweeg the intentional construction of cultural heritage. andere performers uit te nodigen ‘Vortex’ te gaan Mathurin Bolze may recognise this practice. spelen. Ik wil weten of dat kan. Die vraag houdt me bezig.” But besides the circulation through personal contacts (like Marthurin and Phia) there is a Zo verspreidt Phia Ménard haar repertoire. Ze new and large area to be developed: geeft haar kennis door op een persoonlijk niveau. registrations and databases. There is still a Dat is een ongedwongen manier die bij eigentijds world to win. circus meer gemeengoed is dan het bewust bouwen aan cultureel erfgoed. Mathurin Bolze This article is inspired by the residency of cultural journalists at London International Mime Festival 2014, as a part of Unpack the Arts. Thanks to zal zich in deze werkwijze herkennen. Yohann Floch, Rachel Clare, Minnie Boardman, Tim Roberts, Samuel Jornot, Wim Claessen, Phia Menard, Mathurin Bolze, Fuerzabruta and the participants of the residency. Maar naast de overlevering via persoonlijke contacten (zoals Mathurin en Phia) is er een nieuw en groot terrein dat ontgonnen moet worden: registraties en het vormen van een database. Er is nog een wereld te winnen.

Dit artikel is geïnspireerd door een residentie van cultuurjournalisten tijdens London International Mime Festival, als onderdeel van Unpack The Arts. Grote dank aan: Yohann Floch, Rachel Clare, Minnie Boardman, Tim Roberts, Samuel Jornot, Wim Claessen, Phia Menard, Mathurin Bolze, Fuerzabruta en de deskundige deelnemers aan de residentie.

Joost Goutziers 54 Compagnie Non Nova: L’après-midi d’un Foehn and Vortex

NATASHA HASSIOTIS

With his ballet L’après-midi d’un faune in 1912, lose a part of their body and continue to live or Nijinsky shocked Paris with a fetishistic regenerate the cut-off part. A third association: statement on auto-erotic gratification. the monk who famously lost the part of his body Diaghilev’s lover assumed – on stage – a that ‘sinned’, the French theologist and different identity under the pretext of following philosopher Pierre Abelard. To all those familiar the narrative/poetry of S. Mallarme. A member, with Phia Ménard’s personal history, and her sex via his mentor, of the gay scene of the era, change operation, all this can hardly seem to be Nijinsky exhibited a polymorphous sexuality that set on stage by chance. was seen either as pornography by many or as a seductive, newly found artistic freedom by a In her interview with the participants of the ‘crowd’ of connoisseurs. residency programme Unpack the Arts, Phia Ménard said that she “wanted to speak about For her work L’après-midi d’un Foehn, Phia transformation, and that, via a repetitive, Ménard mixed languages (French and German) indifferent act in the beginning of the work, [she] and paraphrased the original title while keeping wanted to totally engage her audience in what Debussy’s score. A circle of inward turned fans, was about to follow”. I would say that she arranged around a circular stage, limited and succeeded in that, although the sight of the delineated the space within which the performer cutting plastic bags and putting the performance took place. Cécile Briand, the pieces together using scotch-tape as the show performer of L’après-midi d’un Foehn – a shorter began rather put me off at the start, as it and more fairytale-like version of a second Non reminded me of a postgraduate thesis and Nova performance, Vortex – was heavily dressed research “on the nature of performance in real in clothes that resembled those of a monk from time in possibly diverse environments”. (And we Late Medieval times. Her hairstyle further have seen so much of that in the past twenty pointed in that direction. Other possible years or so...) explanations for the choice of costume (obviously an essential element of the show) Therefore by association L’après-midi d’un Foehn, would again be associated with that particular from the start, brought into mind two themes period and its esoteric, metaphysical quest. Her that I believe to be of paramount importance in appearance created a sense of mystery and the work of Phia Ménard, both of which deal with alluded to the figure of ‘the storyteller’, the one identity: on the one hand, the transformation of who ‘will reveal secrets of the supernatural’ to characteristics of her profession, namely as an his/her audience, like a circus performer, or the artist (once a juggler) of the circus; and her sex, old kind of ‘wanderer’. The metaphysical element being a transgender person. One might say that came to the fore also as a reference to the the two are interwoven. alchemists who mixed different elements to achieve immortality, while studying animals, like Circus has been, or in many occasions still is, salamanders, which could be transformed, even marginal, ‘different’, homeless except during

Natasha Hassiotis 55 those days that the troupe pitches in order to artform filled with patriarchal notions on perform; it has, or used to have, freak shows, gender and transforming the most base of meaning that it hosted the abject, what is sentiments and thoughts into abstract material outside the norm, what is unacceptable in of pure idealisation of the body, a system that society. By making a show out of the ‘irrational’ rationalises psychical activity, has its jugglers (metaphorically speaking), circus brought back and magicians too, such as the one in The to society what was previously rejected as Nutcracker. Dr. Drosselmeyer brings the magic ‘improper’, ‘monstrous’, ‘abnormal’. Circus, doll to Clara on the significant night of though, is made by humans for humans. To Christmas Eve, Dr. Coppelius delves into the entertain fear, to push limitations, to show the mysteries of life, and even in Pétrouchka the extreme, to play with ‘l’interdit’. What is mysterious puppeteer brings sensational forbidden and what is unspeakable. Having said spectacles to the pageant of the little village. that, one may assume that for many circus performers, life – as has been mythologised If L’après-midi d’un Foehn was an innuendo, through cinema and even cartoons – was Vortex was more or less explicit, or so it impossible and (at times) cruel. Bitterness and became as the work progressed. This time it self-pity are not unknown feelings to ageing or was the choreographer/director who other circus participants. performed, situated amidst a set of fans put in a circle, creating the same ‘miraculous’ effect of Phia Ménard made a considerable effort to put blowing air into the plastic bags, which again concrete, extreme circus acts under scrutiny, to were partly prepared by Ms Ménard at the very distil and reveal their ability and to bring to the beginning of the show, who cut and taped surface what is potentially impossible to speak together pieces of plastic bags until the or to successfully enunciate; this could possibly spectators had taken their seats and all noises ‘falsify’ a regular dance performance, leading had ceased. This time it was an Old Testament- people to wonder as to what they were like scene that came into life in front of us: the watching – acrobatics, theatre, performance or air, like the breath of God, gave life to a multi- other... Circus may mediate with its non-fixed coloured ‘society’ of plastic puppets who flew signifiers and create metaphors capable of freely and effortlessly in the air, dancing and explaining to an even a very young audience (as whirling, occasionally even embracing in front was surprisingly the case with L’après-midi d’un of the excited eyes of the beholders. A sense of Foehn) things about creation, balance, pain, threat somehow altered the ambiance of ease emotions, and more. In any case fairytales are and Paradise-like happiness, as stripey bags made of such (sometimes harsh) themes, and mingled with the smaller, brightly coloured children in the audience seemed to greatly ones. It brought into mind a regulative process, enjoy the show. a call into the norm, symbolised by the association of the stripey bags to the formal Back to the work: it was sheer magic to see the suits of the white collar dominant male plastic bags, simple plastic bags that can be executive culture. After a while, she filled the found in any supermarket around the world, in circular stage (another allusion to her circus all colours, being inflated by the air of the fans background) with more bags which she took and made to ‘dance’ around the stage, taking out of the pockets of her huge overcoat. At the shape of human figures, engaging in some point, the bags, with the appropriate partnering and making movements that direction of air flow, created a basic DNA humans would have made if they danced ballet sequence above the head of the performer. or any type of ballroom dance. The ‘magician’ All right, we have seen those schemes and on stage let the little ‘puppets’ whirl and then symbols before, in dance performances which chased them and gathered them in a box. aimed at showing inequality, lost ‘Ages d’Or’, Ballet, the high and/or mainstream art, white, and general concern about the human associated with the dominant male culture, an condition. Nonetheless, in the context of

Natasha Hassiotis 56 having discarded her coat) as if it was a cocoon, and had come to a ‘new life’, Vortex had become the daring effort to speak of a personal experience of deep transformation. From chrysalis to woman, the artist showed anger – probably her own sentiments prior to her sex change operation, and possibly after, if we consider the sarcastic umbilical cord-like length of plastic she pulls out of her vagina (as mimicked anatomically by a plastic organ). An allusion, again, both to the well-known magic trick of the handkerchiefs that seem to endlessly come out of the magician’s pocket until, if overdone, the performer arrives at a paradoxical admittance of a lack of control over the act (i.e. fabric keeps coming and coming and coming out of the pockets of a clown), and to the basic point of diversification in naturally born women: their reproductive system. At that time, apart from the legitimate cry for a recognition of equality and denial of any prejudiced attitudes, this act of birth seemed slightly odd, because it brought to mind a traditionally misogynist male attitude towards women as the ‘weak sex’ because of their ability to give birth, and, at the same time, Ms Ménard’s balancing act while trying to situate Company Non Nova – L’après-midi d’un Foehn herself as a female among women. Vortex, as signifiers shifted constantly from performance to allusions to circus and to I would say that her attitude is still informed by gender, such symbols acquired somewhat a slight misogynism; she defined herself as the fresher overtones. ‘eternal seductress’, an ‘ideal woman’, an ageless object of desire, away from concerns So, there we were in the middle of the about children-bearing, or an ageing body and a performance, lamenting Paradise Lost, and loss of sex-appeal due to an overdose of family drawing from the authority of the Good Book life and worries, as is often the case, or as it is and popular notions about the ‘brotherhood of traditionally seen should be the case, for many men’ in order to justify the artist’s decision to women. In her interview with the Unpack the claim her right to equality and freedom, first as Arts participants, she did not refer to her sex a human being and second as a gendered being change or any experience that had to do with who, on top of everything, chose – despite all this aspect of her life. She stated though clearly shifting and shifted signifiers – to have a that she is “a woman”, and that she does not specific sex and a gendered life. Like juggling, “mind having her work idealised, but would not Ms Ménard’s performance was a constant like this to also happen to [her], because that balance of paradoxes: from free-flow to set way [she would] be very lonely, and [she does rules, where on the outside her situation may not] like to be alone”. be seen as defying rules. That is as much as may be said about her works By the time she started to rip off the pantyhose presented at the London International Mime with which her whole body was covered (after Festival, because any other attempt, in my

Natasha Hassiotis 57 opinion, would have to go through the meanders of whether there is women’s art, gay I shall close my thoughts on Phia Ménard’s art and so on and so forth. If we decide to go double-bill by concentrating on the new things into this territory we should decide what makes that her artform may mean for dance, ‘female writing’ be seen as such – its possible performance. The power of its metaphor is attributes, its peculiarities, its subject matter, slowly turning into an alternative scene. “Life is a its stance towards dominant ideologies and Circus” said Martha Graham, an exponent of more. It would be a long itinerary into mainstream culture and expressionism, in the discovering the ‘untold’ stories of impossible to mid-20th Century; it helped her express her pin down identities, even of females in regard to feelings about Erick Hawkins. “I could eat you themselves. We should examine and make alive”, she wrote about her sentiments during room for the overload of mythologies in regard rehearsals. Monty Python’s Flying Circus called to our bodies, our education, our morality and/ for surrealism in life and even Madagascar III or ethics, our politics, our ability for symbiosis called for – yes, a traditionally familiar big through child-bearing, our relation to family, spectacle with trapeze, animal acts, and so on, love, eroticism and sexuality. Our flair for but also for joining the uncertainty of circus life. It freedom, our aggressive side, our histories. might be a useful balance act between ‘sens How do we address then Ms Ménard’s role as propre’ and ‘sens figure’ to use ‘circus’ as a enchantress (apparent in her coquettish different way to see. ‘Contemporary circus’ may appearance and girlish style)? As a ‘we don’t become a good companion, despite the need another misogynist comment, an enemy differences, of contemporary and experimental from within’ or as a ‘free to choose her stance dance. They can fill gaps and give new impetus to and attitude, free to join and try to understand each other. Maybe without rope performers and the marginal, the abject’, the latter of which Ms jesters, who even filled Nietzsche’s imagination Ménard seems especially to have had quite an in Zaratustra, but instead with shifting (literal experience with, both in terms of professional and metaphorical) signifiers of bodies ready to choice as well as of personal life? accept and embrace, even express the marginal, the unspeakable, the abject.

Natasha Hassiotis 58 Some Vissa Reflections on reflektioner kring the Show föreställningen Fuerzabruta at ”Fuerzabruta” på the Roundhouse The Roundhouse in London i London.

ÖRJAN ABRAHAMSSON ÖRJAN ABRAHAMSSON

On the final evening of the Unpack the Arts Sista kvällen under ”Unpack the Arts” i London residency in London we were invited to a show bjöds vi till en föreställning som våra värdar that our hosts refused to tell us anything about vägrade att berätta någonting om i förväg, låt in advance, although Yohann Floch’s wry smile var att Yohann Flochs skeva leende sade mer spoke volumes. The show Fuerzabruta at the än tusen ord. Föreställningen ”Fuerza Bruta” på Roundhouse was obviously going to be some The Roundhouse låg uppenbart en bra bit way off the track beaten by contemporary utanför den utstakade nycirkusvägen. Men låt circus. No matter. It does you good sometimes gå. Ibland är det av godo att se scenkonst utan to see shows about which you know nothing vare sig förkunskaper och (alltför) förutfattade and without any (or least not too many) meningar. preconceived ideas. Så vi kom, vi såg, vi segrade. So we came, we saw, we conquered. Segrade i den meningen att ingen föreställning Conquered in the sense that no show during under residenset väckte så starka, bitvis hätska our residency evoked such powerful, and at känslor i vår lilla expertgrupp. Ingen times such heated, feelings among our little föreställning visade heller så tydligt skillnaden i group of experts. Nor did any other show perspektiv mellan residenset dans- och demonstrate the existence of such a clear teaterkritiker, akademiker, producenter och difference in outlook among the dance and nycirkusspecialister. Ett fascinerande och theatre critics, academics, producers and disparat tankeutbyte, där till och med ordet specialists in contemporary circus in our party. fascist användes, utspelades i tunnelbanan A fascinating and disparate exchange of ideas, efter showen, och fortsatte sedan i vår in which the word fascist was even used, took hotellbar och säkert på andra ställen. place in the Tube after the show and then continued in the bar of our hotel and no doubt Varför så heta känslor? Onekligen in other places. tankeväckande. På grund av våra olikartade bakgrunder och professionella perspektiv? Why such heated feelings? Thought-provoking Sannolikt. Likväl är det intressant att det krävs it most assuredly was. A result of the en show som ”Fuerza Bruta” för att tydliggöra differences in our backgrounds and our skillnaderna, även om jag inte uppfattade att perspectives as professionals? Probably. All the någon direkt älskade showen utan snarast same it is interesting that it took a show like tvärtom. Men utifrån ganska olikartade Fuerzabruta to make those differences almost motiveringar. crystal clear, not that I got the impression that

Örjan Abrahamsson 59 anyone loved the show exactly, rather the Till att börja med lite bakgrundsinformation och reverse. Although for rather different reasons. fakta om föreställningen, eller Las Vegas- showen som någon, hmm, fransk expert kallade To begin with a little background information den. and some facts about the show – or the Las Vegas-show as one of the, uhm, French experts När ”Fuerza Bruta” hade Londonpremiär 2006 called it. var det den ”fastest-selling show in Roundhouse history”, och återkom därför i When Fuerzabruta premiered in London in december 2013 med 100 (!) föreställningar. En 2006 it was the “fastest-selling show in publiksuccé vilket i klartext betyder stora, Roundhouse history”, and so it returned for 100 snabba och lättförtjänta pengar. (!) performances in December 2013. A hit show or to spell it out in block capitals: a lot of quick På sin hemsida säljer The Roundhouse in and easily earned money. ”Fuerza Bruta” som en ”electrifying show” och ”an event where dreams are real and reality On their home page, the Roundhouse sells takes a back seat. Give in to it, let go and enjoy Fuerzabruta as an “electrifying show” and “an the spectacular ride. event where dreams are real and reality takes a back seat. Give in to it, let go and enjoy the Och spektakulär är tveklöst ”Fuerza Bruta”. spectacular ride.” Med hektisk musik ivrigt påhejad av diverse slagverk, luftakrobatsnummer en masse, And there is no doubt that Fuerzabruta is stroboskopeffekter liksom extrema och spectacular. The frantic music is eagerly egged spektakulära ljuseffekter som på ett exklusivt on by various percussion instruments, there are technoparty, plus mycket annat, medan aerial acrobatic numbers by the bucketful, publiken står mitt på The Roundhouse scen och stroboscopic lamps together with the kind of delvis, men vänligt och försiktigt, interagerar extreme and spectacular lighting effects you’d med föreställningen, och bitvis uppmanas att find at an exclusive technoparty, and a great dansa, vilket dock sker med viss tillkämpad deal else besides, while the audience stand in glädje denna kyliga fredagskväll. the middle of the Roundhouse stage, interacting benevolently and cautiously with the Varför ”Fuerza Bruta” dröjt så länge med att show to some degree, and being invited to återkomma till London beror på att showen dance now and then, which they do with rather varit mer eller mindre bosatt i New York i fem (!) forced pleasure on this chilly Friday evening. år, där kompaniet gav totalt 2 000 föreställningar. En halv miljon åskådare, bara i The reason Fuerzabruta has taken so long to New York. return to London is because the show has been more or less permanently resident in New York Förvirrande nog har kompaniet och showen for five whole years, with the company giving samma namn. Själva kompaniet grundades 2000 performances. Half a million spectators, 2003 i Argentina som en avknoppning av det just in New York. tidigare kompaniet ”De La Guarda” (1993- 2003) vars föreställning ”Villa Villa” var ett slags Rather confusingly the company and the show tidig, råversion av ”Fuerza Bruta”, vilket share the same name. The company was ordagrant betyder ”brute force”. formed in Argentina in 2003 as an offshoot of a previous company, De La Guarda (1993-2003), Kompaniets leds av Diqui James, som var med i whose show Villa Villa was a sort of early, crude ”De La Guarda” och var en av Fuerzabrutas två version of Fuerzabruta, which literally means grundarna, och som 2003 omedelbart anlitade brute force. flera medlemmar från just ”De La Guarda”. Som kompositören Gaby Kerpel, liksom från den

Örjan Abrahamsson 60 The company is led by Diqui James, who was tekniska och koordinerande sidan, Alejandro part of De La Guarda and one of the two García och Fabio D’Aquila. founders of Fuerzabruta, and who, in 2003, immediately engaged several former members Totalt består kompaniets ledning av fem män, of De La Guarda. Among them the composer med en samlad kunskap från teater och musik, Gaby Kerpel and, on the technical and till teknik och rent praktiska frågor. Drivande coordination side, Alejandro Garcia and Fabio och avgörande är uppenbarligen Diqui James, D’Aquila. född 1965, med en bakgrund inom teater. Han stod på själv på scen i sju år innan han insåg att The management of the company is made up of han föredrog att vara kreatör, regissör, a total of five men with skills and experience konstnärlig ledare. ranging from theatre and music to technical and purely practical matters. The driving force is På kompaniet hemsida finns en Diqui James, who also has the final say. He was programförklaring: born in 1965 and has a background in the Fuerzabruta is today. It is not the theater of the theatre. He spent seven years on stage before future, nor the work that is repeated over and realising he preferred being a creator, director over from the past. Fuerzabruta is now. Invents and artistic director. nothing. It is an unavoidable natural phenomenon, the The company’s manifesto can be read on their result of millions of years. It originated in the home page: “Fuerzabruta is today. It is not the ocean, at the bottom of a glass, walking down theater of the future, nor the work that is the sidewalk. Fuerzabruta is not to be repeated over and over from the past. understood. It simply is. Fuerzabruta is now. Invents nothing. It is an unavoidable natural phenomenon, the Framför allt de två sista meningarna gör result of millions of years. It originated in the givetvis en professionell kritiker skeptisk, milt ocean, at the bottom of a glass, walking down sagt. Och potentiellt överflödig. Arbetslös. Min the sidewalk. Fuerzabruta is not to be erfarenhet som kritiker under tjugo år – jag är understood. It simply is.” frilansande dans-, performance- och cirkuskritiker i Sveriges ledande dagstidning Those last two sentences in particular are Dagens Nyheter sedan femton år, men är i bound to make a professional critic feel boten litteraturvetare – säger mig dock att sceptical, to put it mildly. And potentially alltid tvivla när en konstnär påstår sig veta att superfluous. And if this proves to be more than de gör. a minor trend eventually unemployed. However, my experience as a critic over twenty years – I Ögonblickets konst måste bedömas utifrån vad have been a freelance dance, performance and som faktiskt sker på scen, eller som i The circus critic for Sweden’s leading daily Dagens Roundhouse, i taket och väggarna, medan ett Nyheter for fifteen years, although I am a tusental upprymda människor trängs på själva literary critic at heart – tells me always to doubt scenen (med kryckor i hand får jag själv when artists insist they know what they are generöst nog en sittplats) och showen virvlar doing. fram och tillbaka i högt tempo, till än högre, hektisk musik. The basis for any judgement of art of the moment has to be what is actually occurring on Det är en i tvetydig mening en bedövande stage, or as at the Roundhouse, in the roof and show. Som varken för tankarna till dans, teater on the walls, while a thousand or so exhilarated eller cirkus, utan snarast till andra, extremt spectators throng the stage itself (in my case framgångsrika, shower från 90-talet och the crutches I am holding mean I am generously framåt, som ”Stomp”, ”Riverdance”, ”Tango assigned a seat) and the show whirls back and Pasión”, ”Gypsy Fire” och givetvis Cirque de

Örjan Abrahamsson 61 forth at great speed to ever louder and more Soleils alla sanslöst populära föreställningar. frantic music. Eller snarast ”event”, ungefär i den anda som just ”Fuerzabruta” framställer det, som inte är ” This is a stunning show, and I use the word with to be understood. It simply is.” deliberate ambiguity. And one that doesn’t make you think of dance, theatre or circus so Det finns dock en intressant skillnad. Nästan much as of those other extremely successful alla dessa stora shower har ett mer eller mindre shows of the 90s and onwards, such as Stomp, givet, sammanhållande koncept som ”Stomp” Riverdance, Tango Pasión, Gypsy Fire and, of och Cirque de Soleils shower. Till och med course, all of Cirque du Soleil’s incredibly ”Riverdance” försöker åtminstone berätta en popular shows. Or rather ‘events’, in the sense, historia, låt vara med tvivelaktig framgång. as Fuerzabruta would have it, of the show as something that is not “to be understood. It ”Fuerzabruta” saknar en sådan uppenbar simply is.” konceptuell eller dramaturgisk drivkraft – den bara ”är” – och har märkvärdigt nog ändå There is, however, one interesting difference. lyckats bli en succé, genom att bara dundra och Almost all these major shows have a more or braka på. Likväl finns ett par återkommande, less given, overarching concept – as in the case metaforiska element som bräckligt bär of Stomp and the shows of Cirque du Soleil. föreställning. Mer om det längre fram. Even Riverdance at least tries to tell a story, albeit with questionable success. Den minsta gemensamma nämnaren för dessa enorma publikframgångar tycks vara Fuerzabruta lacks an obvious conceptual or underhållning med spektakulära inslag i dramaturgical driving force of this kind – it just överdådigt och uppenbart påkostat format. Det “is” – and, strangely enough, has managed to ska kännas lyxigt att se dessa shower som become a hit show by just thundering away and ständigt tycke befinna sig på ändlösa crashing along. Although there are one or two världsturnéer – och som med recurrent metaphorical elements that provide a ryggmärgsreflexer nästan alltid sågas, gärna fragile underpinning for the show. More on elakt, förklenande och brutalt av den those later on. professionella kritiken.

The common denominator for these huge hit Varför? Det är en intressant fråga, om man för shows seems to be entertainment along with ett ögonblick glömmer den professionella elements of the spectacular that are kritikens erfarna, och därmed gärna skeptiska extravagantly and, quite evidently, expensively blick inför allt som är luktar spektakel snarare mounted. It is supposed to feel like a luxury än scenkonst. being able to see these shows that always seem to be on endless world tours and that are Men shower som ”Riverdance” och almost always, and as a matter of reflex, ”Fuerzabruta” utger sig aldrig för att vara konst brutally savaged and patronisingly dismissed by ens i ordet vidaste bemärkelse, utan erbjuder the professional critics. ögonblickets fägring, uppseendeväckande artisteri, scenografiska underverk. Kort sagt, Why? This is an interesting question, if you can det slags underhållning och shower som i alla set aside for a moment the experienced and tider lockat den så kallat vanliga, eller otränade, therefore sceptical stance of the critic towards publiken, snarare än erfarna anything that smacks of spectacle rather than scenkonstfantaster. art. En stunds trivsam verklighetsflykt. Kravlös But shows such as Riverdance and Fuerzabruta underhållning som strängt taget lika gärna, eller never make themselves out to be art even in snarast hellre, borde recenseras och kritiseras

Örjan Abrahamsson 62 the broadest sense of the word. What they are av säg en sportjournalist eller analyseras av en providing instead is the beauty of the moment, samhällsvetare, etnolog eller sociolog. Klassisk sensational artistry, and miracles of set design. kritik av detta slags shower är dömd att vara The kind of entertainment, the kind of show, to hopplöst förutsägbar och självklart negativ. put it bluntly, that has appealed throughout the ages to an ‘ordinary’ or unsophisticated Likväl tillhör det åtminstone mitt professionella audience, rather than to knowledgeable fans of arbete att, lyckligtvis inte alltför ofta, recensera the stage arts. föreställningar som ”Fuerzabruta” i Dagens Nyheter. Vilket jag alltid gör med viss vånda The enjoyable escapism of the moment. eftersom det nästan alltid är förödande enkelt Undemanding entertainment that might just as att skriva smart, roligt, elakt. Men som well – or, strictly speaking, should – be reviewed dagstidningskritiker måste jag trots allt skriva för instead by a sports journalist, say, or analysed tidningens läsare och jag gör dem ingen tjänst by a social scientist or an ethnographer or an genom att vara, som sagt, hopplöst förutsägbar. anthropologist. Utmaningen är att försöka skildra vad som faktiskt är omtumlande och beundransvärt, utan And yet it is part of my professional duties to att förlora den kritiska blicken. Onekligen ett review, although fortunately not that often, balansnummer på slak lina. shows like Fuerzabruta for Dagens Nyheter. Which I always do with some apprehension as it Inser nu att den här artikeln blivit något annat is almost always devastatingly easy to write a än jag hade som utgångspunkt. Men låt gå. crudely witty review. But as a critic for a daily Försök stå ut. Åter till ”Fuerzabruta”. paper I have to write for the readers of that paper and I would be doing them a disservice by Som sagt saknar showen ett koncept eller en being hopelessly predictable. The challenge is to tydlig berättelse, och liksom bara brakar på i try to describe what may actually be admirable, högsta tempo i en rent karnevalisk yra, med even staggering, without abandoning a critical scen på scen, utan egentligt sammanhang. Det stance. Undeniably a balancing act on a slack börjar med ett musiknummer, fortsätter rope. luftakrobatnummer, vidare en scen när en gigantisk, silverskimrande ridå dras halvvägs I now realise this article has turned into runt scenens cirkel och två kvinnor så att säga something rather different from what I originally springer i luften, horisontalt på ridån som dels intended. No matter. Just have to put up with it. rör sig i vågor, med mänsklig hjälp, dels belyses i Back to Fuerzabruta. diverse starka, syntetiska färger. Rent visuellt tillhör det numret showens mest bedårande, As I pointed out, the show lacks a concept or a åtminstone i några minuter. clearly discernible narrative and just sort of thunders along at maximum speed with all the Det är också vad som framför allt genomsyrar frenzy of the fairground, scene after scene, denna 80 minuter långa show: varje scen pågår without any real coherence. It begins with a länge och utdraget, för att liksom alla i publiken musical number, continues with aerial ska hinna med och förstå. ”Fuerzabruta” drar ut acrobatics, and follows that with a scene in på och återupprepar snarare än varierar varje which a giant shimmering silver curtain is drawn nummer, så att effekten blir att i stort sett varje halfway round the circular stage and two women nummer verkar pågå i en evighet. leap into the air, so to speak, horizontally over the curtain, which is moving in waves, helped by Särskilt förtjust tycks Diqui James vara i scenen human hands, while being illuminated in various med mannen i skinande vit kostym som bright synthetic colours. In purely visual terms tokspringer på ett löpband, som dras in mitt på this number is one of the most stunning in the scen bland publiken. Han springer och springer, show, for a few minutes at least. blir plötsligt skjuten i bröstet, men fortsätter

Örjan Abrahamsson 63 Fuerzabruta – Fuerzabruta

That could also be said to apply to the whole of ändå att stoiskt vacklande springa och springa this eighty-minute-long show: each scene is senare genom väggar (av papp), och sitt hus drawn out at length, so that every member of och sitt livs historia. the audience has time to get it. Rather than varying each number, Fuerzabruta extends and Scenen återkommer totalt tre (!) gånger, med reiterates them with the result for the most vissa, tämligen obetydliga variationer, liksom part that each number seems to go on for an för att ingen ska undgå att fatta den i och för eternity. sig intressanta metaforiska bilden: Människan som fruktlöst försöker fly sitt öde och springa Diqui James seems to be particularly fond of ifrån sig själv. Om man är riktigt påhittig kan the scene that consists of a man in a blinding man kanske tolka scenen som ett slags white suit who runs like crazy along a conveyor inverterad metafor av Becketts ”I väntan på belt that has been hauled into the centre of the Godot”. Fast Beckett är roligare. stage among the spectators. He just keeps running and then is suddenly shot in the chest Möjligen finns här föreställningens röda tråd, but still goes on running, stoically and with a dess sammanhållande metaforiska idé. Det wobble, and after that he runs through walls (of handlar om människans fruktlösa försök att cardboard) and his house and the history of his undfly sitt öde, om kärlekens omöjlighet, om life. naturens obändiga krafter. Och om att kunna höra sirenernas berusande, euforiska sång, The scene recurs three times in total with some men aldrig beröra och förenas med dem pretty insignificant variations just so no one will (eftersom sången fick de sällan simkunniga fail to grasp what is, intrinsically, an interesting männen att hoppa i havet).

Örjan Abrahamsson 64 metaphorical image: a person futilely Kärlekens omöjlighet gestaltas omtumlande attempting to flee from their fate and run away starkt när en man och en kvinna hängande i from themselves. If you were feeling really linor från taket, snurrar runt i ett gigantiskt inventive you might even interpret the scene as segel ovanför publikens huvuden, som två a kind of inverted metaphor for Beckett’s överlevade från ett skeppsbrott. Allt snabbare, Waiting for Godot. Although Beckett is more allt hetsigare, försöker de nå varandra, men amusing. förgäves. Centrifugalkraften, den bittra verkligheten, omöjliggör deras desperata försök This may be the connecting theme of the show, att nå varandra. its overriding metaphorical idea. The futility of attempting to escape your fate, the Föreställningens på en gång mest betagande impossibility of love, and, perhaps most och problematiska scen är när publiken plötsligt strikingly, the untameable forces of nature. It i Roundhouse tak får syn två enorma bassänger may also be about being able to hear the med botten av transparent plast. Bassängerna intoxicating, euphoric song of the sirens while lutar och gungar, så att publiken kan se såväl never being able to join them. vatten skölja fram och tillbaka och sedan sex halvnakna kvinnor, som simmar och kastas The impossibility of love is portrayed with omkring i bassängerna som undersköna shocking power when a man and a woman sjöjungfrur utlämnade åt havets krafter. suspended on lines from the roof spin round in a Sjöjungfrur, nymfer, ouppnåeliga sirener som vi gigantic sail above the heads of the audience inte kan nå, eller mindre förskönande, guldfiskar like two survivors of a shipwreck. They try to i sin skål. reach one another ever faster and ever more frantically, but in vain. Centrifugal forces, harsh Inledningsvis är det överraskande, fyndigt och reality, make their desperate attempts to reach fabulöst vackert, särskilt när bassängerna one another impossible. gradvis sänks ned mot åskådarnas huvuden, tills vi rentav kan beröra bassängens botten. The show’s most captivating and at the same Det borde vara en svindlande upplevelse, men time most problematic scene occurs when the istället går den sceniska magin upp i rök när audience suddenly catch sight of two enormous den möts av i en ganska motbjudande pools with transparent plastic undersides in the machosexistisk verklighet. roof of the Roundhouse. The pools pitch and sway so the audience can see the water För givetvis tar ett antal medelålders män swirling back and forth as well as six half-naked tillfället i akt att, skrattande och grisigt, trycka women swimming and being thrown about in sin händer mot kvinnornas bröst, stjärtar och the pools like miraculously beautiful mermaids könsdelar. Effekten blir, åtminstone i mina at the mercy of the power of the sea. Mermaids, ögon, alltför mycken – manschauvinistisk – nymphs, unattainably distant sirens, or less verklighet och förtar omedelbart scenens glamorously, goldfish in their bowl. potentiella magi. Om man så vill uppstår en Brechts ”Verfremdungseffekt”, men med Initially the effect is surprising, inventive and knappast avsedd verkan. fabulously beautiful, particularly as the pools are gradually lowered towards the heads of the Strängt taget påstår jag inte att männen agerar spectators until we can actually touch the fel, låt vara grisigt, utan att hela iscensättningen undersides of the pool. This ought to be a bottnar i en unken kvinnosyn, som redan är breathtaking experience but all the stage magic uppenbar genom att endast, dessutom goes up in smoke when it runs slap bang into halvnakna, kvinnor simmar i bassängerna. what turns out to be a fairly repellent male Medan Männen istället sköter maskineriet. chauvinist reality.

Örjan Abrahamsson 65 Because, of course, a number of laughing Jag försöker inte vara politiskt korrekt eller ens middle-aged men take the opportunity to press anlägga ett feministiskt perspektiv (även om their hands smuttily against the women’s det vore tacksamt). Dessutom, som den breasts, bottoms and genitals. To my mind at heterosexuella man jag är, vore det patetiskt att least, the result is far too much like real life male förneka att halvnakna kvinnokroppar absolut chauvinism and it immediately destroys the har en viss attraktionskraft och, hmm, speciell potential magic of the scene. What Brecht effekt på, gissningsvis, inte enbart mig. Likväl called a ‘Verfremdungseffekt’ comes into play, gör denna scen mig mest avtänd. Och uttråkad. as it were, although this alienating effect could scarcely have been intended. Själva ursprungsidén med två genomskinliga bassänger hängande i taket är lysande, rentav I am not saying that what the men did was briljant, liksom vattnets vågor, liksom den wrong, strictly speaking, no matter how smutty metaforiska bilden av människan som tvingas they were, but that the way the scene is staged underkasta sig naturens krafter, för övrigt is based on a particularly stale view of ytterligare en metafor som präglar femininity, already evident in the fact that only föreställningen. women, and half-naked ones at that, are swimming in the pools. While the men tend Problemet är bara delvis kvinnosynen. to the machinery. By the way, as my translator Huvudproblemet är ”Fuerzabruta”s regissör här Frank Perry, who has kindly turned my Swedish liksom i hela showen, liksom nöjer sig med det into English, informed me in an e-mail, part omedelbart spektakulära och aldrig tycks of Fuerzabruta’s spectacular set actually kunna ta ett steg ifrån ursprungsidén, utveckla collapsed during a show in mid-January och förändra den. Kort sagt, dramaturgin är (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england- snudd på frånvarande: varje scen står liksom london-25792353). The show stopped of och stampar på samma ställe, i vad som för course. But, as just a few people were injured mig blir en smått plågsam evighet. and no one actually died, Fuerzabruta was soon back on the money track. The show must I den långa ”guldfiskscenen” – bassängerna always go on. And on. sänks och höjs två gånger – finns ingen koreografi eller ens försök till utveckling av idén, I am not trying to be politically correct or even vilket gör att min första association till Ester to apply a feminist perspective (although that Williams snart raseras. Det finns inte heller would be rewarding). Besides, as the något virtuost nycirkusartesteri att tala om. Så heterosexual male I am it would be pathetic to förutom att erbjuda en daterad kvinnosyn, blir deny that half-naked female bodies most hela den inledningsvis så undersköna scenen definitely exert a certain attraction and have a, oändligt lång, seg och tråkig. uhm, particular effect and presumably not only on me. And yet this scene leaves me turned off Synd på så rara ärtor, men jag tror, som sagt, for the most part. And bored. att en pekuniär succéshow som denna kräver detta slag frånvaro av klassisk känsla för The original idea of two transparent pools dramaturgi och varje försökt till genuin suspended from the roof is brilliant, as are konstnärlighet. Det är just spektaklets och den the waves on the water, and the metaphorical karnevaliska yrans enkelhet, eller fränare image of the human being having to submit uttryckt den demokratiska enfalden, som är to the forces of nature, which is yet another grunden till framgång. metaphor that runs like a theme through the show. Visst finns fabulöst vackra och smarta och omtumlande ögonblick i ”Fuerzabruta” men de The problem is only partially to do with the way var få och oftast just korta, ögonblickliga. Som women are viewed. The main problem is that helhet är det en platt, intetsägande, bitvis

Örjan Abrahamsson 66 Fuerzabruta’s director seems to be perfectly motbjudande, och framför allt paradoxalt nog content here as in the rest of the show to make långtråkig show, trots det genomgående do with what is immediately spectacular and intensiva tempot. never appears able to take the next step on from the original idea, which would involve Så landar också jag i en hopplöst förutsägbar developing it or changing it. Dramaturgy is kritik, trots försök att se och tolka ”Fuerzabruta” virtually absent, so that each scene ends up just i välvilligt ljus. plodding on the spot, so to speak, for what turns out to be an almost unendurable eternity Inte heller jag lyckas springa ifrån mig själv. as far as I am concerned. Slut Besides, there isn’t even a hint of choreographic bodywork or any attempt to develop the concept in the lengthy ‘goldfish’ scene – the pools are lowered and raised twice – which means that my initial association with Esther Williams pretty soon disappears. Nor is there any virtuoso contemporary circus artistry worth mentioning. So apart from offering a dated view of women, the entire and initially so magically beautiful scene becomes far too long, repetitive and boring.

It’s a shame, of course, that something that promises so much should deliver so little. But, as I said, I think that a show that is as big a success in monetary terms as this one, actually requires this kind of absence of dramaturgy in the classic sense, and of any attempt at genuine artistry. It is the very simplicity of the spectacle and that fairground frenzy, or to put it more harshly the gullibility of the masses, that is the foundation of its success.

There are, of course, fabulously beautiful, clever and stupefying moments in Fuerzabruta but they are few in number and usually very brief, not to say momentary. As a whole the show is flat, nondescript, now and then repellent, despite its persistent frantic pace.

So, sadly enough, I’ve ended up with a hopelessly predictable piece of criticism, despite my obviously futile attempts to see and interpret Fuerzabruta in a benevolent light.

Just like the man in his blinding white suit, I can’t run away from myself either.

Örjan Abrahamsson 67 The Uncanny Нелагодноста во in Space просторот

ROBERT ALAGJOZOVSKI ROBERT ALAGJOZOVSKI

The use of body, space and Употребата на телото, просторот и audience in the performance Vortex публиката во претставите на Фиа by Phia Ménard and the theatre Менар, Вртлог (Phia Menard, Vortex) и на show of the Argentine company аргентинската трупа Фуерцабрута Fuerzabruta (Fuerza bruta)

During the Unpack the Arts residency in London Во рамките на новинарско-критичарската for cultural journalists and art critics, organised резиденција во Лондон, во организација на by Crying Out Loud, I saw four different Crying out loud, а во рамките на проектот на performances in the field of contemporary Unpack the Arts, видов четири различни circus, all involving elements of physical and претстави од областа на новиот циркус, dance theatre. As a newcomer to the wonders испреплетени со елементи на физички и of contemporary circus, an ordinary review on денс театар. Веројатно, за новајлија во one of the four shows will probably prove to be чудата на современиот циркус и обична a difficult task. Nevertheless, in the style of рецензија за едно од четирите шоуа ќе someone inexperienced in this field, I decided to претставува тежок жанр, но јас, токму и во compare and contrast the two disparate манирот на неопитен во областа, решив performances Vortex by Phia Ménard and преку компаративно-контрастивна анализа Fuerzabruta by the Argentine company of the да ги споредам диспаратните изведби на same name. At the very start I would like to Фиа Менар, Вртлог (Phia Menard, Vortex) и на point out that the performances, the type of аргентинската трупа Фуерцабрута (Fuerza circus, and their format are in complete bruta). Уште веднаш ќе кажам дека opposition, yet it is precisely their difference претставите, типот на циркус, форматот се that allows insight into the different artistic целосно спротивни, но дека токму нивната visions adopted in looking at some of the basic различност ќе овозможи добар увид во categories in contemporary circus, such as различните визии кои можат да ги имаат body, space and audience. уметниците во користењето на едни од основните категории во современиот циркус In both performances the dominant role is како телото, просторот и публиката. played by the circus artists and their corporeality. These shows are all about the И во двете претстави циркускиот уметник, performers. Even though in their action and plot односно неговата корпореалност игра both performances use different props that доминантна улога. Овие претстави се simulate natural elements such as wind, water претстави на актерите. Иако и двете and hard matter, the shows are nevertheless користат помошни реквизити, односно ги based on the actors: they play a central role in користат симулациите на природните characterisation. Hence, Vortex confronts us елементи како ветрот, водата, тврдата with a close-up of the body of the actress. The материја и во драматургијата на дејствието, stage is small and circular so as to present this сепак претставата е базирана на актерите, corporeality even more directly, to make us feel тие имаат централно место во the actress as if under a magnifying lens, since карактерологијата. Во таа смисла, Вортекс

robert alagjozovski 68 the artistic idea and the meaning of the нè соочува со телото на актерот во крупен performance is expressed through the body. план. Сцената е камерна, кружна за да ни ја The body of the actress is a metonymy for the претстави што подиректно корпореалноста, world, for the cosmos. The transformation of да нè натера да го почувствуваме актерот the actress is the transformation of civilisation, како под лупа, зашто преку телесноста се of the cosmos. Civilisation changes from the пласира уметничката идеја и знаковноста на outside, from materialised relations, to the претставата. Телото на актерот е метонимија inside, to the human condition: the exotic на светот, на космосот. Трансформацијата на becomes esoteric, the outside worlds replace актерот е трансформацијата на the inner worlds, the man tries to find himself, цивилизацијата, на космосот. to liberate himself from the built-up layers, Цивилизацијата се менува од надвор, од rejecting all that civilisation carries, rendering it опредметените односи, кон внатре, кон as the abject1 colon in the gut, as a black човековите состојби, егзотериското станува serpentine monster that must be defeated and езотериско, надворешните светови ги outplayed, so that man can reach himself and заменуваат внатрешните, човекот сака да се his inner essence. The entire performance is најде себеси, се ослободува од dramatically composed as a spiral journey напластените слоеви, го отфрла сето она towards the self, as an increase of intensity, as што цивилизацијата го носи, како абјектно1 a gradual rejection of the coating of civilisation, дебело црево од својата утроба, како црн of the layers of costumes through the process змијолик монструм што треба да се победи of peeling one’s own skin and revealing one’s и надигра, за да може човек да дојде до new self: a new birth, a newborn, inherently себеси, до својата внатрешна суштина и connected to the cosmos. In fact, the post- себност. Целата претстава е драматуршки Freudian and transgender aspects of the body, организирана како спирално патување во based on the theories of Julia Kristeva and себеси, како засилување на интензитетите, Judith Butler, deserves a whole study. Thus, градациско отфрлање на цивилизацискиот perhaps the extratextual information that Phia слој, од натрупаните костими преку лупење is an artist who has changed her sex and на сопствената кожа и откривање на својата gender should be taken into consideration, нова себност, новото раѓање, како although this is not explicitly incorporated into новороденче, исконски поврзано со the performance. космосот. Може да се направи цела студија за постфројдистичките или трансродовите Unlike in Vortex, in Fuerzabruta the way in аспекти на телото, на трагата на теориите на which the actors are used is completely Јулија Кристева и Џудит Батлер. Во таа different. They are presented at a distance. насока може да се земе предвид и Even though there are many actors, they are екстратекстуалната информација дека Фиа е suspended farther off in space, performing their уметница која што го променила својот пол и acts high above the audience, akin to faraway род, иако тоа имплицитно не е stars. They are distanced and alienated as if инкорпорирано во авторската изведба. projected on a film screen. But even in this spectacular show the emphasis is put on that За разлика од Вортекс, во Фуерцабрута се which is human – human fate, human life – so користи сосема различен концепт на the central message is again conveyed by the употреба на актерите. Тие се дадени во actors’ bodies. They vibrate above us in space, далечен план. Актерите иако се многу тие they run from and seek one another, they enjoy висат далеку во просторот, ги изведуваат themselves. Just as the name of the company своите точки високо над публиката, како suggests, the artistic vision is not gentle далечни ѕвезди. Далечни и оттуѓени како на towards the bodies of the actors. They are put филмско платно. Но и во ова спектакуларно in a situation where their physical capabilities шоу, и покрај многуте помошни реквизити, are stretched to the limit. Moreover, certain нагласката е ставена на човечкото, на

robert alagjozovski 69 scenes in the show highlight the brutality of човечките судбини, на животот на луѓето, contemporary life, in that the bodies of the така што главната порака повторно ја actors bring down walls, run as fast as they can, пренесуваат актерските тела. Тие вибрираат hang suspended like helpless puppets, and горе во просторот, бегаат, се бараат, ferociously bang themselves against the уживаат. Како што и самото име на трупата performance platform. кажува, уметничката визија не е нежна кон актерските тела. Тие се поставени во Even though both performances foreground ситуација на максимално растегнување на the body of the actor, it can be concluded that своите физички можности. Уште повеќе, their conceptual origin is completely different: одредени сцени во претставата инсистираат the concept of the detail versus that of the на суровоста на современиот живот, така panoramic plan, that of the exotic versus the што телата на актерите рушат ѕидови, emphasised esoteric. Still, they both insist that трчаат најбрзо што можат, висат како the audience feel and see the body, and немоќни марионети и се удираат со сета sensually and emotionally identify with the сила од подлогата врз која што настапуваат. actors through their corporeality. Both performances have different motives for their Можеме да заклучиме дека и двете brutal treatment of the actor’s body. Vortex претстави го стават телото на актерот на symbolically and subtly destroys, tears, преден план, дека иако поаѓаат од две transforms its body, whereas Fuerzabruta сосема различни концпеции, на детал и на subjects the body to external, suicidal, hopeless панорамски план, на нагласена егзотерија, brutality. наспроти нагласена езотерија и двете настојуваат публиката да го почувствува, да Moments of difference, but also correspondence, го види телото, и сензитивно и емотивно да are visible in respect of the second dimension се поистовети со актерот преку неговата mentioned in this text, namely the relationship телесност. И двете претстави од различни to space. The space in Vortex is small, chamber- мотиви имаат сурв однос кон актерското like. The set is circular, and the audience is in тело. Вортекс симболички и суптилно го near proximity to the actress. Because the уништува, го кине, го трансформира своето action is esoteric and personal, the small stage тело, а во Фуерцабрута тоа тело е invites the audience into the intimate world of подложено на надворешна или на суицидна, the actress, and its circular shape offers a безизлезна бруталност. situation of comprehensiveness, where everyone is able to see all that is unfolding. Моменти на разлика, но и на преклопување Through this concept the audience is in fact може да се констатираат и во однос на part of the action, part of the actress’ world: втората димензија со која што се анимаваме there is no border between the audience and во рамките на овој текст, односот кон what is happening on stage. The experience of просторот. Просторот во Вортекс е мал, the actress implies the experience of the камерен. Сцената е поставена кружно, а viewers. Hence the need for a small and публиката е на блиска дистанца од актерот. intimate space: to feel the veracity of what is Бидејќи дејството е езотериско, лично, unfolding in front of our eyes. малата сцена ја поканува публиката во интимниот свет на актерот, а со самото тоа Fuerzabruta shares the same artistic vision of што е кружна инсистира на постигнување embracing the world, but employs a completely ситуација на сеопфатност, секој да може да different methodology. The cast settles for види сè што се случува. Со таквата spectacle, for the use of the entire space of the концепција публиката е всушност дел од great and deep circular hall. It aims to present дејствието, дел од светот на актерот, нема space as a metonymy for the earth’s sphere, to граница помеѓу тоа што се случува на сцената. Искуството на актерот се

robert alagjozovski 70 convey human fate in an epic dimension. The подразбира и како искуство на гледачите. ensemble uses various vertical, horizontal, as Затоа е потребен мал и камерен простор. Да well as dangerous slanting angles to show the се почувствува веродостојноста на она што oneness of time, the oneness of space, as in the се одигрува пред наши очи. current process of globalisation. This massive space is also restless. It does not follow the Фуерцабрута поаѓа од истата артистичка conventions of the fourth wall. It is active. The визија да го прегрне светот, но користи space shrinks, the space presses down, the сосема поинаква методологија. Трупата се space diminishes frightfully. The space is определува за спектакл, за користење на another metonymy, this time of the complexity широк, на целиот простор на огромната и of life itself. Just like in real life, in the space of длабока кружна сала. Таа сака да го долови Fuerzabruta we sometimes feel subdued, просторот како метонимија за земјината oppressed, as if carrying the whole world on our топка, за да ги прикаже човечките судбини shoulders. Other times we feel powerless, we во нивната епска димензија. Ансамблот float in space, motionless, just like in real life we користи различни вертикални и find it impossible to move despite life’s хоризонтални, дури и опасни коси планови possibilities. There are times when we run and за да ја покаже севременоста, односно chase ourselves through life, unable to find сепросторноста, актуелната глобализација. ourselves, passing each other by, unable to И тој масивен простор не е пасивен. Не ги understand each other – much like what we следи конвенциите на четвртиот ѕид. see in the high planes of Fuerzabruta. Активен е. Просторот се стеснува, просторот Sometimes we share space, we fill it, we enjoy притиска, просторот ужасно се намалува. it, either as participants or voyeurs. And Просторот е уште една метонимија, овојпат sometimes we cannot move from the same на комплексноста на самиот живот. И во spot, from the same space, regardless of how просторот на Фуерцабрута како и во hard we try to run away. Akin to the tradition of животот, некогаш се чувствуваме тескобно, absurd theatre, the performance Fuerzabruta притеснето, како цела земјина топка creates several such brilliant scenes: of being танталовски да ја носиме на своите плеќи. penned in, of being unable to escape from life, Другпат се чувствуваме немоќно, лебдиме from its almost metaphysical frozenness, неподвижно во просторот како што сме despite its ephemeral dynamics. неможни во животот и покрај сите негови можности. Другпат се бркаме низ животот, а Hence, regarding the use of space, it can be не можеме да се најдеме, се разминуваме, concluded that the authors of both не можеме да се разбереме како што се performances use a populated and active space бркаме низ високите планови на претставата with the aim of bringing the audience as close на Форца Брута. Некогаш просторот го as possible to the action in order to obfuscate споделуваме, го исполнуваме, уживаме, the conventional border between the artistic воајерски или партиципаторно. А некогаш не truth and reality. In Vortex this space is intimate можеме да се помрднеме од едно исто and static, whereas in Fuerzabruta it is massive, место, од еден ист простор, колку и да се but active and dynamic due to the various трудиме со сите сили да избегаме. Како во fragmentations and divisions of space during најдобрите традиции на театарот на the course of the performance. апсурдот, во претставата на Фуерцабрута се создадени неколки такви брилијантни сцени, What was previously mentioned about the на приклештеноста, на неможноста да се body and space can also be applied to the use избега од животот, на неговото речиси of the audience, because all parts make up one метафизичко замрзнување и покрај сета artistic vision, and it is precisely this consistent ефемерна динамика. realisation of the various components of the circus performance concept that confirms the

robert alagjozovski 71 quality of the work of art. However, it seems Значи, и за употребата на просторот може that these two performances differ the most да заклучиме дека авторите на двете when it comes to the way in which the audience претстави користат еден населен и активен is used. In both shows the audience is drawn простор чија цел е да ја донесат публиката into the action, but the method is quite што поблиску до случувањето за да се different. The audience in Vortex is packed претопи конвенционалната граница меѓу within a small space, and thus they can almost уметничката вистина и реалноста. Во feel that the action on stage is happening to Вортекс тој простор е камерен и статичен, во them; they can feel the actress’ breath, her skin, Фуерцабрута е масивен, но активен и her sweat, her transformations. But, although разигран преку различните декомпозиции и present, this audience is passive. They are just a поделби на просторните планови во текот на mute witness to what is happening on stage претставата. and they are not involved in any way in the actress’ performance or in the generation of Она што го рековме за телото и просторот meaning. The wind, the plastic figurines or можеме да го кажеме и за користењето на monsters can touch the audience, but the публиката, затоа што сите сегменти се spectators are powerless to intervene. испреплетени во една уметничка визија, и токму доследноста на остварувањето на The audience in Fuerzabruta is massive: this is a концептот во различните компоненти на big show with many actors, performed on a циркуската претстава го потврдува large and mobile stage, with various props and квалитетот на самото уметничко дело. Но, се perspectives. But yet again the strategy of the чини дека по начинот на користење на artistic vision is to use the audience in the role публиката, овие две претстави најмногу се of an actor. The audience and their behaviour разликуваат. И во двете претстави публиката can even alter and affect the course of the е вовлечена во дејствието, но тоа го прават action, regardless of how controlled the action на сосема различен начин. Публиката во is by the technicians. The spectators are in the Вортекс е набиена на мал простор, и поради middle, in the centre of the set. The show is тоа речиси го чувствува дејствието на happening everywhere around them: the сцената како на неа самата да и се случува, audience can not only see, but they can also го чувствува здивот, на актерот, неговата feel the bodies of the actors. It even seems that кожа, неговата пот, неговите the audience is aggressively attacked by the трансформации. Но иако е присутна, оваа action on the stage: with the wall between the публика е пасивна. Таа е само нем сведок на spectators and the spectacle gone, the она што се случува на сцената и не е audience even attempts to fight off the invasion вовлечена на кој било начин во актерската of actors, as a metonymy for the invasion of the игра, или во генерирањето на значењата. Other in life, of life itself. 2 The ceiling descends Ветрот, пластичните човечиња или – it is a pool of water that can drench the монструми, можат и неа да ја допрат, но таа audience at any moment, at the same time е немоќна на кој било начин да интервенира. being full of the artists’ attractive, half-naked bodies. The desire of the audience to reach out Публиката во Фуерцабрута е масивна, тоа е for the offered pleasure, combined with the една голема претстава, шоу на многу актери, impending danger from the same source, is an на голема и подвижна сцена, со различни excellent metaphor for the complexity of реквизити и планови. Но повторно, today’s urban life. стратегијата на уметничката визија е да ја искористи публиката како уште еден актер. As a conclusion to this review, I would say that Таа и нејзиното однесување може дури и да both performances, Vortex and Fuerzabruta, го смени или да повлијае на текот на show innovation, and thus, risk, through the дејствието, без разлика колку е way in which they employ the bodies of the контролирана од техничкиот персонал.

robert alagjozovski 72 Company Non Nova – Vortex © Jean-luc Beaujault actors, the space and the audience. By breaking Публиката е во средината, во централниот the convention of keeping the audience at a дел од сценскиот простор. Шоуто се случува distance, and thus by actively including the насекаде околу неа, таа не само што може audience in the shaping of the space, they да го види и да го почувствува телото на enable a more direct experience and create an актерите. Таа е дури нападната агресивно од impression of involvement. However, this дејствието на сцената, ѕидот меѓу неа и closeness may have a double effect. On the one спектаклот е паднат и таа дури посегнува да hand, a group of people may really enjoy the се одбрани од натрапништвото на актерите, performance, but there are also those whose како метонимија за натрапништвото на expectations, greater than usual, are not lived Другите во животот, на самиот Живот.� up to – due to the overwhelming feeling of Плафонот, се спушта, тоа е еден базен со involvement. Hence, my personal impression of вода и во секој момент може да се излие врз both shows was that they lasted too long, that главата на публиката, без разлика што тоа the spiral dramatic play of Vortex revolved истовремено е и базен со атрактивни, around several unnecessary circles, while полуголи тела на уметниците. Стремежот на Fuerzabruta’s socio-political statements at the публиката да посегне по задоволството што beginning of the performance were watered и се нуди заедно со надоаѓачката опасност down into an entertainment spectacle. од истиот извор е одлична метафора за комплексноста на денешниот урбан живот. 1 I would like to provide a lengthier reference on the abject because I believe it could be the basis for another study on Vortex. I have decided to do this because, on a symbolic Како заклучок на целиот есеј би рекол дека и level, the moment of ejecting the big plastic band that was later transformed into a serpentine monster left the greatest двете претстави, Вртлог и Фуерцабрута, impression on me. A true culmination occurred during the покажаа голема иновативност а со тоа и dancing duel with the large black beast, which, propelled by the unpredictable natural power of the wind, the actress had to ризик одбирајќи ги начините на кои ги defeat, constantly adjusting her dance and movements to the користат телата на актерите, просторот и

robert alagjozovski 73 movements of the monster, i.e. the abject. What is the abject? According to the Macedonian cultural theorist Jasna Kotevska, публиката. Нивното рушење на конвенцијата there are two ways of understanding the abject. The first is the на дистанцата на публиката, односно use of the word in English as a term that denotes something (morally) low, debased, degraded, but from Julia Kristeva активното вклучување на публиката во onwards it is used as a complex notion for what stands between обликувањето на просторноста овозможија the sub-ject (I) and the ob-ject (everything that is not I); hence she chooses the word ab-ject. искуството да биде многу подиректно, создадоа впечаток на инволвираност. Но The theory of Kr(i)steva in Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection (1980) illuminates the duality (the attraction and токму таа преголема блискост може да repulsiveness) of the phenomenon of the unclean. For Kristeva, постигне и двоен ефект. Од една страна да the unclean is one of the four aspects (together with taboo, food and sin) through which the category she names as the abject создаде група на луѓе кои премногу ја сакаат is manifested. What is the abject? Before and after Kristeva’s претставата и луѓе кај кои претставата не ги book, the term in the English language remains related to the categories of the disdained, the wretched, the lowly, but has исполнува очекувањата кои се и поголеми little direct connection to physical uncleanliness: rather it is од обично, поради преголемото чувство на associated with a moral, cultural, social decline. However, after Kristeva’s book – though dictionaries continued to register the вовлеченост. Во таа смисла на ниво на личен everyday use of the term abject as a negative phenomenon – in впечаток, мојата импресија и од двете aesthetics, literary theory, contemporary psychoanalysis and gender studies, the abject began to be used as a complex tool претстави беше дека предолго траеја, дека for addressing a specific, borderline phenomenon. Namely, спиралната драматургија на Вртлог се according to Kristeva: The abject is seen as a place between the unconscious and вртеше во неколку непотребни прстени, а the conscious, where at one place and one time the inside and дека Фуерцабрута ги разводни социо- outside meet (drives and outside phenomena). The abject is the subject’s border from the inside to the outside and vice versa. политичките знакови од почетокот на The abject has a super-personal location and a super-historical претставата во спектакл на забава. time. It is the place where the archaic and contemporary (the animalistic and cultural) suddenly meet. The abject does not exist in two places simultaneously, but 1 Би сакал да дадам поголема референца за абјектот затоа within an interspace, because if we come to the end of one што сметам дека тоа би можело да биде тема на уште object (assuming that the object borders another object from една студија за претставата Вртлог. А тоа го правам затоа the same substance), we will come to the beginning of the other што на едно симболичко ниво, моментот на исфрлањето object; those two objects are not ideally separated, but rather на големата црна пластична лента, која што потоа се they come into contact with a mutual quality; they merge in one претвори во змијолик монструм ми остави најголем place and exchange something mutual – the abject. впечаток во претставата. Вистинска кулминација беше The abject is a position of tension and danger. Mary Douglas has моментот на танчерски двобој со огромиот црн ѕвер, воден already discussed this in her work Purity and Danger: An Analysis од непредвидливата природна сила на ветрот којшто of Concepts of Pollution and Taboo (1966). Here she claims that актерката мораше да го победи во еден нерамноправен the person who transcends from one state into another is in a дуел постојано прилагодувајќи го својот танц и движења position of danger and presents danger for others, and that to во однос на движењата на монструмот, односно абјектот. be on the margins means to be in touch with danger, to be in Што е абјектот? Според македонската теоретичарка на touch with the source of power. The abject contains both threat културата, Јасна Котеска, има два начини преку кои се and violence, as is suggested in the first sentence of Kristeva’s сфаќа абјектот. Првиот е дека зборот абјект на англиски се essay: “There looms, within abjection, one of those violent, dark употребува како термин за нешто (морално) ниско, паднато, revolts of being, directed against a threat that seems to emanate недостоинствено, итн. но од Јулија Кристева наваму се from an exorbitant outside or inside, ejected beyond the scope користи и како комплексен поим за она што стои помеѓу су- of the possible, the tolerable, the thinkable.” Both the outside бјектот (мене) и о-бјектот (сѐ што не е јас), оттука таа го бира and inside are a threat to one another, since the essence of our токму зборот а-бјект. being, of our existence, is violent, rebellious. However, the danger Теоријата на Јулија Кр(и)стева од “Моќта на ужасот: есеј за in question is not a danger to the subject, but solely to order and абјектот” (1980) ја осветлува двостраноста (привлечноста its institutions. (See Kotevska, Jasna. (2006). Sanitary Enigma. и одбивноста) на феноменот на нечистото. Кај Кристева Templum: Skopje, pp. 46-52.) нечистото е еден од четирите чинители (заедно со табуто, храната и гревот) низ кои се пројавува категоријата што 2 It seems unpalatable to comment on this, but simply as an ја именува како абјект. Што е абјект? И пред, и по книгата anecdote – a surreal breakthrough of the subconscious in на Кристева, зборот абјект во англискиот јазик се врзува life, an incorporation of Murphy’s Law – only a week after the за категориите на презреното, подлото, ниското, но што performance that is the subject of this essay, during another помалку има директна врска со физичката нечистотија, а performance, in a terrible accident, part of the set really did повеќе асоцира на морален, културен, социолошки пад. collapse, injuring several actors and audience members. Но, по книгата на Кристева- иако речниците продолжија да ја регистрираат секојдневната употреба на абјектот како негативен феномен – во естетиката, литературната наука, современата психоанализа и родовите студии абјектот почна да се исползува како сложена алатка за определување на еден специфичен, граничен феномен. Имено според Кристева: 1) Абјектот се сфаќа како место помеѓу потсвеста и свеста, каде на една локација и во исто време, се среќаваат внатрешното и надворешното (нагоните и надворешните феномени). Абјектот е субјектовата граница од внатре кон надвор и обратно. 2) Абјектот има и над-лична локација и над-историско време.

robert alagjozovski 74 Тоа е она место каде одеднаш се допираат архаичното и современото (анималното и културалното). 3) Абјектот не постои на две места оддеднаш, туку на меѓу- простор, бидејќи ако стигнеме до крајот на едно нешто (под претпоставка дека нештото се граничи со друго нешто што е од иста супстанца), ќе дојдеме до почетокот на другото нешто, но тие меѓусебе не се идеално одвоени, туку се допираат со еден заеднички квалитет, се слеваат на едно единствено место и таму споделуваат нешто заедничко, тоа заедништвото е абјектот. 4) Абјектот е позиција која е напната и опасна. Ова го пишува веќе Мери Даглас: “Личноста која минува од една состојба во друга самата се наоѓа во опасност и зрачи опасност по другите” , и: “Да се биде на маргината значи да се биде во допир со опасноста, да се биде на изворот на моќта”. Абјектот содржи закана и насилство. Првата реченица од книгата на Кристева гласи: “Во самата абјектност се наѕира еден од оние жестоки, мрачни бунтови на битието, насочени против заканата која како да излегува од една прекумерна надворешност или внатрешност, исфрлена надвор од досегот на можното, дозоленото, замисливото”. И надворешното и внатрешното претставуваат закана едно за друго, затоа што суштината на битието, на нашето суштествување е насилна, револтна. Но, опасноста за која зборуваме не е опасност по субјектот, туку единствено по поредокот и неговите институции. Види во: Јасна Котеска, „Санитарна енигма“, Темплум, Скопје, 2006, 46-52 стр, 2 Сметам дека би било невкусно да се коментира, но сепак како анегдота, како еден надреалистички пробив на несвесното во животот, како инкорпорација на марфиевиот закон, само една недела по претставата што е предмет на оваа рецензија, во друга изведба, плафонот навистина се урна и повреди неколкумина, и актери и публика, во еден ужасен инцидент.

robert alagjozovski 75 Transformation Transformace as an Impetus jako hnací síla

VERONIKA ŠTEFANOVÁ VERONIKA ŠTEFANOVÁ

Each of us has experienced, either consciously or Procesem proměny prochází každý z nás, ať už unconsciously, a process of transformation. si to vědomě přizná, nebo jen podvědomě Social changes accompany transformations of přijme. Proměňuje se společnost, s ní životní lifestyle, fashion or artistic trends. If an art critic is styl, módní trendy i trendy umělecké. Pokud not able to effectively react and accommodate není kupříkladu umělecký kritik schopen his/her attitudes to such transformations, which proměňovat své názory v čase a ve vztahu ke naturally emerge, s/he can’t openly speak on and změnám, které se kolem něj přirozeně dějí, evaluate works of art created by others. nemůže otevřeně hovořit a hodnotit umělecká díla jiných. A major transformation in my own critical attitudes has perhaps occurred over the last six Snad nejvíce jsem si svou vlastní kritickou years, during which time I have decided to follow proměnou prošla za posledních šest let, kdy the path of contemporary circus and its aesthetic jsem se rozhodla následovat cestu nového transformations. In this period I have witnessed cirkusu a jeho estetickou proměnu. Za tuto accelerated and unrestrained changes in dobu jsem poznala, jak rychle a svobodně se contemporary circus as it has taken issue with its nový cirkus mění. V této proměně polemizuje audiences, as well as with itself. As Jean-Michel s námi i se sebou samým. Jak píše Jean-Michel Guy states in his article ‘The Specificity of Circus’, Guy ve svém článku The specificity of circus published in the collection Documentation of uveřejněném ve sbírce Documentation of CARD. Circus Artistic Research Development: CARD. Circus Artistic Research Development: “Circus is a social and historical construction that varies considerably according to time, space, Cirkus je sociální a historický konstrukt, který se cultures, people, and maybe from one moment proměňuje ve vztahu k času, prostoru, to another for a single individual.” kulturám, lidem a možná z jedné chvíle na druhou ve vztahu k určitému individuu.1 If we want to understand the contemporary Chceme-li poznávat nový cirkus a jeho proměnu circus and its transformation, in terms of both its v čase i prostoru, je třeba nesetrvávat pouze na temporal and spatial relations, it is necessary to jednom místě. Nový cirkus má totiž výrazně ‘dis-locate’ ourselves since the contemporary mezinárodní charakter. Především díky tomu, circus is an extremely international enterprise, že ve většině případů je uměním beze slov. and, in most cases, is predominantly an Hlavním vyjadřovacím prostředkem zůstává expression of non-verbal art. The pivotal tělo a schopnost člověka pomocí něj vytvářet expressive element remains a body and the neobvyklé a extrémní pohyby. Půvab a human ability to generate extraordinary and komplikovanost nového cirkusu spočívá v jeho extreme movements. The charm and difficulty of multižánrové povaze a jeho potenciálu contemporary circus lies in its multi-genre nature přesahového uměleckého druhu. and its potential to transcend the boundaries of Inscenace nového cirkusu se skládá, stejně jako artistic disciplines.

1 Circus is a social and historical construction that varies Similar to a theatre or dance work, a considerably according to time, space, cultures, people, an contemporary circus production consists of maybe from one moment to another for a single individual. various elements. The key, and at the same

Veronika Štefanová 76 time the least accessible, element of such a inscenace divadelní nebo taneční, z různých production is the live artist – actor, acrobat, složek. Zásadní a zároveň nejnesnadněji performer, mime, dancer, etcetera. The artist uchopitelnou složkou každé takové inscenace transforms his/her personality and physical self je živý umělec – herec, artista, performer, mim, into a form that represents other concrete or tanečník atd. Svou osobnost a své fyzické já abstract phenomena – a form that refers to tento umělec transformuje do podoby, která other realities. However, the contemporary představuje jiné konkrétní nebo abstraktní jevy, circus marks a discernible blending of signifier odkazuje k jiným skutečnostem. V novém (signifying performer) and signified (character/ cirkusu ale v artistově výkonu dochází role): performers always present themselves k viditelnému prolnutí představujícího a and their real physical performance, yet, představovaného; vždy bude představovat sebe simultaneously, they produce a certain image, samého ve svém reálném fyzickém výkonu a illusion, situation or atmosphere while zároveň, pomocí tohoto specifického performing the specific circus routine. cirkusového pohybu, vytvářet určitou představu, iluzi, situaci nebo náladu. In the contemporary or traditional circus, an V cirkusu, novém i tradičním, artista uchvacuje artist ensnares a spectator with his/her diváka svým pohybem, může ho uvést i do stavu movement; s/he can even transport the viewer excitace. Nápadné zvýrazňování lidské fyzické into an ecstatic state. The audience, confronted materiálnosti umožňuje publiku při pohledu na with the conspicuous accentuation of human ni vytvářet nové významy. Tělo artisty ovlivňuje physical materiality, is enabled to generate new tělo diváka, vyvolává v něm fyzické i psychické meanings. Acrobat’s body influences spectator’s impulzy a reakce. Tělo ukazuje sebe samo a body; the former stimulates physical and mental zároveň může odkazovat k jiné skutečnosti. impulses or reactions in the latter. The body Pohyb je pak divákovi nabídnut jako kód manifests itself and, simultaneously, it potentially k rozluštění toho, co nám autor inscenace, chce refers to a different reality. The movement is sdělit. Pohyb je tedy pomyslnou spojovací offered as a coded message communicated by šňůrou, kterou se artista může propojit s the author of the production to a spectator who, divákem. then, can decipher it. Thus, the movement is an V rámci semináře Unpack the Arts jsem měla imaginary line through which an artist can možnost zhlédnout tři inscenace v rámci connect with a spectator. festivalu London International Mime Festival (Vortex a L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn od During the Unpack the Arts seminar I had an Compagnie Non Nova, A Bas Bruit od MPTA opportunity to attend three productions – Compagnie les mains, les pieds et la tête presented at the London International Mime aussi) a mimo festival také gigantickou show Festival (Vortex and L’après-midi d’un Foehn by v Roundhouse (Fuerzabruta). Nelze přímo říct, Compagnie Non Nova, and A Bas Bruit by že se v případě všech čtyř inscenací jednalo MPTA – Compagnie les mains, les pieds et la výsadně o nový cirkus. Nicméně prvky tête aussi) and a gigantic spectacle at the některých cirkusových disciplín se v nich Roundhouse (Fuerzabruta). We can’t argue objevovaly – párová akrobacie, čínská tyč, that all four productions fall exclusively under manipulace s předměty, vzdušný tanec. the category of contemporary circus. Kromě zamýšlení se nad formou mě všechny Nonetheless, they included aspects of some čtyři inscenace provokovaly především k tomu, circus routines – pair acrobatics, Chinese pole, abych si uvědomila význam a funkci artistů manipulation with objects, aerial dance. v těchto inscenacích vystupujících. Jedno téma, které by všechny čtyři události mohlo propojit, Besides a meditation on the form, all four je i téma transformace. productions provoked me to recognise the meaning and function of the acrobats who appeared in these productions. One topic which

Veronika Štefanová 77 could interconnect all four events was the motif Ve vlastní kůži of transformation. Phia Ménard, zakladatelka a hlavní performerka Compagnie Non Nova, prošla ve svém životě In one’s own skin nejen velmi zásadní osobní a osobnostní Phia Ménard, the founder and the main transformací, ale při pohledu na její současné performer of Compagnie Non Nova, experienced dílo je patrné, že prošla především výraznou during her life an important intimate and transformací uměleckou. Jakožto průkopnice personal transformation. Looking at her present moderního, řekněme novocirkusového work, it is apparent that she has primarily žonglování, se dnes více soustřeďuje undergone a major artistic transformation. As a na experimentální manipulaci s předměty. Phiu pioneer of modern juggling, she concentrates on Ménard lze dnes vnímat nikoli jen jako manipulation with objects. Today Phia Ménard cirkusovou artistku, ale jako uměleckou can be perceived not only as a circus artist, but vizionářku a experimentátorku, která ve svých as an artistic visionary and experimenter. In her nejnovějších inscenacích povyšuje manipulaci new productions, she has deepened her research s předměty na vysokou technickou i uměleckou of object manipulation to such an extent as to úroveň. turn it into a high-level artistic discipline with skilled technique. Pro inscenace Vortex a L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn, jako jejich autorka a režisérka, použila stejný In the productions of both Vortex and L’après- scénický prostor; malá kruhová aréna, osázená midi d’un Foehn she, as an author and director, po celém obvodu několika funkčními větráky. used similar staging: a little circular arena Diváci tak měli možnost nahlížet jevištní akci ze surrounded by several functioning fans. všech stran jako v tradičním cirkusu. Spectators could watch the stage action from any angle, just as in the traditional circus. Dramaturgie Vortex je postavena na několika významových úrovních. Neživý objekt se The dramaturgy of Vortex is based on various v představení proměňuje pomocí větrného živlu semantic levels. Inanimate objects – plastic bags v objekt živý. Tímto objektem jsou igelitové – are animated by means of the blowing wind. sáčky, jejichž tvar připomíná lidské tělo – hlava, The plastic bags resemble human bodies – head, dvě nohy, dvě ruce. Hlavní a jedinou účinkující two legs, two arms. The only performer in Vortex inscenace Vortex je Phia Ménard, která hned na is Phia Ménard, who at the beginning of the show začátku publiku dokazuje, že igelitové loutky demonstrates to the audience that the plastic jsou neživé předměty, které přímo na jevišti bag puppets are inanimate objects which, there formuje do tvaru lidského těla. Pomalými a on stage, she forms into the shape of a body. She přesnými pohyby stříhá a lepí, a diváky tak slowly and precisely cuts and glues, and naturally přirozeně napíná. Nejsilnější moment captivates the audience’s attention. The most překvapení nastane, když slepeného igelitového striking and surprising moment occurs when she panáčka dynamickým gestem vyhodí do dynamically throws the glued plastic bag figurine vzduchu a on začne tančit v poryvu větru. Ten up in the air and it starts dancing in the gusts of vytvářejí spuštěné větráky. Sáčky pak nejsou wind blowing from the fans. Hence, the plastic klasickými loutkami, jimiž manipuluje člověk, bags, manipulated by an artificially produced jsou totiž manipulovány uměle vytvářeným element, are not like traditional puppets, which živlem. Trajektorie jejich pohybu je náhodná. are usually manipulated by a human. The Proto mohou překvapit nejen diváky, ale i trajectories of their movements are contingent samotnou performerku. on many factors. Consequently, they can surprise both audience and performer. Výjimečnost Vortex spočívá i ve dvojí manipulaci, takzvané metamanipulativní The exceptional nature of Vortex lies in its dual technice: vítr je manipulován a vítr zároveň manipulation, in the so-called meta-manipulative manipuluje loutky. Phia Ménard se pak během

Veronika Štefanová 78 technique: the wind is manipulated and představení může věnovat sledování pohybu simultaneously manipulates the puppets. Phia loutek, se kterými navazuje přímý fyzický Ménard, then, can observe the movement of kontakt. Jejich trajektorii buď opisuje, nebo puppets with whom she physically interacts: she fyzickou silou mění, případně přerušuje. follows, changes, or interrupts their trajectories. S otázkou transformace se pojí především dvojí The question of transformation is related to the charakter Phii Ménard existující ve scénickém duality of Phia Ménard’s stage character. At certain prostoru. Phia Ménard v určitých momentech points, Ménard switches from the level of an přechází z roviny objektu, který je na začátku object, a status which at the beginning of the show představení umocněn kostýmem i umělou is enhanced by her costume and an artificial male maskou muže, do roviny subjektu, zvláště pak mask, to the level of a subject, especially in the v obrazech, jejichž součástí jsou pomalu scenes in which she undresses parts of her body. obnaženy části jejího těla. Stejně jako se mění Following the object-subject alterations, Ménard objekty v subjekty, přechází Phia Ménard z role oscillates between her role and herself. k vlastní osobnosti. Zvláště pak v obrazu, v Symptomatic of this is the image in which she němž zápasí s černým plastovým monstrem, struggles with a black plastic monster, symbolically které symbolicky vyvrhla z útrob svého disembowelled from inside of her coat. kostýmu.

Ménard’s stage presence is a declaration: ‘have a Existence Phii Ménard ve scénickém prostoru je body and be a body’. In this state she switches také deklarací „míti tělo a býti tělem“. V tomto between the fictitious world of play and real stavu přechází z fiktivního světa hry do reálné corporeality. The artist, then, transforms her tělesnosti. Artistka se tak transformuje z těla body from the semiotic order to the order of real znakového do těla reálného. Nehraje, ale body. She doesn’t act, she co-exists with objects. koexistuje s předměty.

Od osobnosti k roli From the self to the role Svým dramaturgickým pojetím má inscenace The dramaturgical concept of the production L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn blízko k mladšímu L’après-midi d’un Foehn appeals to a younger divákovi, který dokáže ocenit nejen půvab, spectator who will be able to appreciate not originalitu a křehkost jednotlivých obrazů, ale only the charm, originality and fragility of the také narativní povahu inscenace. Skoro až images, but also the narrative character of the pohádkově působí jednotlivé obrazy, jež jsou show. The images, created by a technique vytvářeny stejnou technikou jako ve Vortex. similar to that of Vortex, have an almost Pohádkovost L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn spočívá fairytale-like atmosphere that comes from the v použití loutky jakožto zástupce konkrétních use of puppetry. The puppets represent actual postav, které mezi sebou navazují vztahy. Také characters which interact with each other. The ve schopnosti vytvářet dramatické situace, atmosphere also creates dramatic situations in v nichž zásadní konflikt spočívá v boji dobra se which the crucial conflict stems from the zlem; v případě L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn bez struggle of good and evil – in the case of šťastného konce. V této inscenaci jsou L’après-midi d’un Foehn with no happy ending. vytvářeny jednotlivé dramatické situace In this show, dramatic situations emerge from v návaznosti na fabuli příběhu inspirovaného the story, which draws inspiration from the hudbou stejnojmenného Debussyho baletu. music of Debussy’s ballet of the same name. Na začátku představení L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn je přítomna žena (Cécile Briand), která na At the beginning of L’après-midi d’un Foehn, kruhové scéně osázené větráky stříhá a lepí there is a woman (Cécile Briand) who stands on postavičky z igelitového sáčku, stejně jako Phia the circular stage, surrounded by the fans, as Ménard ve Vortex. Na rozdíl od Phii Ménard she cuts and glues figures from the plastic bags Cécile Briand v L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn hraje

Veronika Štefanová 79 – in the same manner as Phia Ménard in Vortex. roli. Na začátku představení nemaskuje svou Unlike Phia Ménard, in L’après-midi d’un Foehn tvář, pouze halí své tělo do černé kápě. Cécile Briand enacts a role. In the opening scene she Briand je na rozdíl od Phii Ménard hereckou doesn’t mask her face; she only covers her body postavou a zároveň demiurgem jevištní akce. in a black cowl. Briand, contrary to Ménard, Ovládá a manipuluje plastové figurky vyrobené embodies a character and, at the same time, is ze sáčků. Je tedy interpretkou a zároveň a master of the stage action. She controls and manipulátorkou. Částečně usměrňuje pohyb manipulates the plastic bag figures. Thus, she is loutek a pomocí hůlky si je k sobě přitahuje simultaneously a performer and manipulator. nebo je odstrkuje. She partially controls the movement of puppets with a little stick with which she pulls them L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn nevnímáme primárně towards herself or pushes them away. jako cirkusovou inscenaci, nicméně i tak jsme jako diváci svědky výjimečného pohybu, který ve L’après-midi d’un Foehn isn’t primarily a circus vzduchu předvádí poletující a třepetající se production, even though we as spectators loutky, jejichž kinetická energie se transformuje witness an extraordinary movement of floating do významových pohybových vzorců tance a and fluttering puppets whose kinetic energy is akrobacie. transformed into the semantic movement paradigms of dance and acrobatics. Rozložená skládačka Mathurin Bolze, zakladatel souboru MPTA – Dismantled puzzle Compagnie les mains, les pieds et la tête aussi, Phia Ménard and Mathurin Bolze, the founder patří podobně jako Phia Ménard ke generaci of MPTA – Compagnie les mains, les pieds et la novocirkusových artistů devadesátých let tête aussi, belong to the generation of circus dvacátého století, v nichž nový cirkus nabral jiný artists from the 1990s who took the art in a směr. Jednotlivé umělecké druhy a formy se different direction. The fusion of individual s cirkusem mísily mnohem plynuleji. Nový cirkus artistic disciplines and forms with se jako umění začal více osamostatňovat a contemporary circus came about very fluidly. nabývat na autentičnosti. Začaly se objevovat Contemporary circus as an artform became silné tvůrčí individuality, které více more autonomous and authentic. New and spolupracovali s umělci z jiných uměleckých powerful creative individuals, who increasingly oborů. Vznikla tak skutečná živá umělecká cooperated with artists from other artistic syntéza. disciplines, emerged. The fusion resulted in a real and vital artistic synthesis. Nový cirkus v devadesátých letech prodělával svou vlastní transformaci. Jakožto součást The contemporary circus of the 1990s generace cirkusových artistů formujících se experienced its own transformation. As a v devadesátých letech ve Francii prošel si member of this generation of circus artists uměleckou transformací i Mathurin Bolze. Začal forming in France, Mathurin Bolze also jako cirkusový artista a dnes je novocirkusovým experienced an artistic transformation. He režisérem. started as a circus acrobat and ended up as a contemporary circus director. Cirkusová režie je obor, který nelze studovat tak jako třeba taneční choreografii nebo divadelní Circus directing is not a discipline to be studied režii. Je to proces, ke kterému se cirkusový as, for example, is dance choreography or artista musí postupně dopracovat na základě theatre directing. It is a process which a circus přímé zkušenosti se svým tělem. Díky artist must gradually undergo through his first- schopnosti tělo maximálně vnímat a hand experience with his/her own body. S/he uvědomovat si jeho schopnosti a možnosti can create only on the basis of his/her intense může tvořit. Cirkusový režisér, jakým je i perception and recognition of the body and its Mathurin Bolze, si musí uvědomit i limity těla a

Veronika Štefanová 80 Company MPTA/Mathurin Bolze – A Bas Bruit © Christophe Raynaud de Lage capacity. A circus director must also be aware umšt se empaticky vcítit do těl artistů, které ve of the limits of the body and empathise with the svých inscenacích režijně vede. Jako bodies of the artists s/he works with in novocirkusový režisér totiž transformuje jejich productions. As a contemporary circus director, těla do své inscenační vize. s/he transforms performers’ bodies in order to put his/her artistic vision into practice. V jeho inscenaci A Bas Bruit bylo snazší složky vnímat odděleně spíše než komplexně. Jako In Mathurin Bolze’s A Bas Bruit, it was easier to diváci jsme byli svědky velkolepé pohyblivé perceive individual elements rather than a scénografie, častých světelných proměn, complex work. As spectators, we watched a filmové projekce, a především extrémních a spectacular mobile scenography, frequent light zároveň virtuózních pohybů lidského těla. changes, film projections, and mostly extreme Nejvýraznější z těchto složek byl právě pohyb and virtuous movements of the human body. artistů umocněný originální scénickou The strongest of the elements was the mašinérií, připomínající perpetuum mobile. movement of the artists, enhanced by an Velký točící se válec dokonce vypadal jako original stage machinery which resembled a křeččí kruh. Na scéně byl také pojízdný pás, perpetual motion machine. A big rotating barrel který se nepravidelně zrychloval nebo even reminded us of a hamster wheel. There zpomaloval. Scénografii doplňovala různá was also a conveyor belt on the stage, which dvířka, propadla a otvory, kterými artisté irregularly accelerated or slowed down. Set prolézali, propadávali, zjevovali se a mizeli. design consisted of various doors, trapdoors V A Bas Bruit je pohyb přizpůsobován strojům and holes in which artists appeared and umístěným na scéně, je tedy záměrně disappeared. In A Bas Bruit, human action transformován do rytmu a formy pohyblivé accepted the movement of stage machines; it dekorace. Jako kdyby s jednotlivými kusy was, then, intentionally transformed into the mašinérie každý z artistů navazoval osobní

Veronika Štefanová 81 rhythm and form of moving decoration. It was vztah, hledal možnosti, jak s nimi splynout, stát as if each performer personally interacted with se jejich součástí. Tím se jejich fyzický výraz individual pieces of machinery, searching for the odlidšťoval, transformoval do umělé podoby possibilities of how to merge with them in order stroje. to become a part within their whole. As a result, their physical expression was dehumanised, Mathurin Bolze v rozhovoru prozradil, že při transformed into the artificial form of the práci na inscenaci s jinými artisty vždy vychází machine. z povahy i výrazu artistů samotných. Nabízí se tedy otázka, jakou pozici má v inscenaci A Bas Mathurin Bolze mentioned in an interview that Bruit účinkující artista? Zda je jeho přítomnost he always bases his productions on the nature v inscenaci podmíněna představováním určité and expression of the artists themselves. There role, nebo v ní vystupuje sám za sebe? Tím is, then, an obvious question: what is the pádem by pohybové abstraktní vyjádření nebylo position of an artist in A Bas Bruit? Is his/her reprezentací jiné skutečnosti, ale prezentací stage presence determined by the particular osobní zkušenosti. character, or does s/he present himself/ herself? If the latter is the case, then the Mathurin Bolze v programu k inscenaci i abstract movement expression didn’t represent v rozhovoru uvedl všechny tři účinkující artisty another reality, being a manifestation of (Mitia Fedotenko, Elise Legros, Cyrille Musy) personal experience. jako spoluautory inscenace. V novém cirkusu se s takovým přístupem setkáváme často. Artista In the production’s programme, as well as in the je pak vnímán nejen jako interpret, ale jako interview, Mathurin Bolze indicated that all tvůrčí individualita, jejíž pohyb, gesto i mimika three performers (Mitia Fedotenko, Elise jsou jedinečné a neopakovatelné. Individualita Legros, Cyrille Musy) were also co-authors of pohybová i výrazová se u všech tří artistů the piece. Such an approach is quite projevila i během představení. I přesto, že characteristic for the contemporary circus. společně figurovali v některých scénických Thus, a contemporary circus artist is considered obrazech, působili, jako by si každý kolem sebe not only a performer but rather a creative vytvořil izolovaný a neprostupný mikroprostor. individual whose movement and gestures are V rámci ne příliš srozumitelné koncepce unique and irreproducible. The individuality, inscenace se artisté ztráceli někde mezi svou both kinetic and expressive, of all three artists postavou a sebeóu samými. pervaded the performance. Even though they co-produced some stage images, it seemed Manipulace a euforie that each of them formed around himself/ Fuerzabruta dovezená do Londýna až herself an isolated, impenetrable micro-space. z Argentiny nemá rysy inscenace, jaké obvykle Within the hardly comprehensible concept of vidíme v divadle nebo šapitó. I když je uváděna the production, the artists kept disappearing v uzavřeném prostoru, má charakter spíše somewhere in-between the characters they průvodového karnevalového veselí. Tato represented and themselves. společenská událost je totiž plná divokého rytmu, barevnosti i bujarosti. Není spojena Manipulation and euphoria s blaženým estetickým opojením, ale s přímým Brought to London all the way from Argentina, fyzickým zakoušením tělo na tělo. Diváci jsou Fuerzabruta didn’t resemble any production we doslova vrženi do jedné arény, kde společně are used to attending either in a theatre or a napjatě čekají, co se bude dít. Toto napětí naruší circus tent. Although it was presented in an silné dunění bubnů a hlasitý hrdelní zpěv. Zvuky, enclosed space, it had the character and gaiety rytmická melodie, světelná show a rejdění of a carnivalesque procession. It was a social artistů zavěšených na lanech poletujících event full of wild rhythm, colour and exuberance, vzduchem přirozeně způsobují úlek i ohromení connected with an immediate corporeal divácké klaky.

Veronika Štefanová 82 experience rather than with blissful aesthetic Po chvíli divokého rejdění a pokřikování artistů elation. Spectators were literally thrown into an nad hlavami přihlížejících je zřejmé, že autoři arena in which they waited for whatever would Fuerzabruta chtějí překvapovat, lekat a bavit. come. Excitement was interrupted by powerful Záměrně proto narušují hranice mezi hledištěm drumming and loud throat singing. Sounds, a jevištěm, čímž vtahují diváky do centra dění. rhythmic melodies, light shows, and the bustle of Jeviště je pak všude tam, kde stojí diváci, kteří artists, hanging on the ropes and flying up in the jsou integrální součástí akce. air, naturally startled and overwhelmed spectators. Bujaré veselí a euforie, to je Fuerzabruta. Artisté navozují divákům pocit, že se společně všichni After a short time spent in the wild tumult of dobře baví a užívají si opojení každého artists, who moved and screamed above the okamžiku. Nemá smysl hledat jeden význam heads of onlookers, it was clear that the authors v obrazech, které artisté na lanech, běžící muž of Fuerzabruta wanted to surprise, shock and na páse nebo polonahé dívky v průhledných entertain. As a matter of fact, they intentionally bazénech vytvářejí. Každý z diváků si za ně disrupted the border between audience and může dosadit, cokoliv chce, má-li potřebu stage, and involved spectators in the heart of nějaký význam vůbec dosazovat. Galaktická action. The stage was, then, anywhere, show plná záblesků barevných světel, neustálé encompassing the standing spectators who přesuny z místa na místo, a navíc těžko became an integral part of the performance. překonatelná touha pohybovat se v dunivém rytmu člověku ani neumožní soustředit se a Rambunctious gaiety and euphoria – that was přemýšlet nad tím, co se to všechno kolem něj Fuerzabruta. The artists drew the audience into vlastně děje. an atmosphere of mutual entertainment in which both parties enjoyed every moment. It was of no Fuerzabruta je víc než inscenace. Je fyzickým consequence to search for the meaning of zakoušením a pokušením. Na jednu stranu images, created by artists hanging on the ropes, možná podbízivým, na stranu druhou těžko running on a conveyor belt, or swimming half- odolatelným. Název Fuerzabruta je doslova naked in see-through pools. Each spectator could nomen omen; síla a euforická energie, která create his/her own meaning, if s/he felt like doing skoro hraničí s brutalitou dobrovolně páchanou so. A galactic show full of flashing colourful lights na těle každého artisty, manipuluje energii and constant spatial changes, accompanied by diváckou. O to intenzivněji tato manipulace an irresistible desire to move to the thunderous probíhá, dojde-li k přímému fyzickému kontaktu rhythm, Fuerzabruta excluded concentration and artisty s divákem. rational articulation of stage action. Autoři této show moc dobře vědí, jakými Fuerzabruta was more than a production. It was prostředky působit na psychiku diváka a jak jeho a physical experience and temptation. On the náladou manipulovat. Je to jiná forma one hand, it might perhaps be a pandering komunikace prostřednictvím kódu temptation; on the other, hardly an irresistible zašifrovaného ve více či méně ustálených one. The name Fuerzabruta says it all: power and pohybových tvarech. euphoric energy, enacted with almost brutal commitment by the body of each artist, Ve Fuerzabruta proto není manipulována manipulates the energy of the spectators. The loutka, ale živý jedinec. Dochází tak k intensity of the manipulation is enhanced by the transformaci energie obou zúčastněných stran, immediate physical interaction between artists ale také k transformaci sociálních rolí. Divák and spectators. přestává být divákem a tak, jak je tomu v tradičním karnevalovém veselí, se stává The authors of the show know very well which právoplatným účastníkem. I divák je v průběhu elements have an impact on the psyche of the představení transformován: vyšší produkce

Veronika Štefanová 83 spectator, and how to manipulate his/her mood. endorfinů funguje na principu transu, kterého It is a different form of communication by means účastníci dosahují na základě rytmizovaných of a code encrypted in more or less stable kinetic pohybů podmalovaných hudbou vyluzovanou patterns. převážně bicími nástroji. Fyzická energie se transformuje do jednoho proudu, na nějž se In Fuerzabruta, there was no manipulation with postupně nabalují okolo postávající diváci. Není puppets but this was achieved instead with to oslava boha Dionýsa ani brazilské individuals. The energy of all the participants was Candomblé, ale k festivitě karnevalu a rituálu transformed, as were their social roles. The má velmi blízko. spectator ceased to be a spectator, and, as it was in traditional carnivalesque gaiety, s/he Extrémní pohyb, lidský i člověkem became an effective participant. Even the manipulovaný, nabýval ve všech čtyřech spectator was transformed throughout the inscenacích významové povahy a v podstatě show: increased production of endorphins tak naplňoval dramaturgickou podstatu nového resulted in a trance-like state, achieved by the cirkusu. V některých byla patrná více audiences as they surrendered to the rhythmic transformace síly fyzické (A Bas Bruit a movement and the drumming music. Physical Fuerzabruta), v jiných transformace síly energy was transformed into one stream, which osobnosti (Vortex a L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn). gradually engulfed all the spectators. Although it Proto se lišil i význam a funkce jednotlivých was not a Dionysian festival, nor Brazilian artistů v těchto inscenacích účinkujících. Candomblé, Fuerzabruta was very close to Na diváky tak někdy působila jako hybný prvek carnivalesque festivity and ritual. jen síla fyzická (Fuerzabrutaú), jindy (A Bas Bruit) se fyzická síla prolínala s mentální In all four productions extreme human manipulací a podporovala více diváckou movement and manipulation exerted by a představivost. A někdy zůstalo jen u náznaku human had a particular meaning, and as such (Vortex a L‘Après midi d‘un Foehn) a jinými fundamentally fulfilled the dramaturgical essence vizuálními prostředky byl divák veden of contemporary circus. In A Bas Bruit and k abstraktnímu myšlení. Fuerzabruta, the dominant mode was the transformation of physical power; in Vortex and Transformace je proces a každý proces je L’après-midi d’un Foehn it was the produkcí nové energie. Tato energie je zákonitě transformation of personal power. The different hnací silou. Jakým směrem? To už si každý natures of transformation were reflected by the určujeme sám. meaning and function of the individual artists performing in these productions.

Consequently, spectators were either confronted with mere physical power (Fuerzabruta), or with physical power permeated with mental manipulation (A Bas Bruit), which increasingly stimulated the spectators’ imagination. In Vortex and L’après-midi d’un Foehn, there were only slight indications, supported with other visual elements, which guided spectators towards conceptual thinking.

Transformation is a process and each process produces new energy. This energy is inevitably an impetus. In which direction does it take us? It is up to us as individuals to decide.

Veronika Štefanová 84 Partners PROJECT LEADER: – Circuscentrum (B) CO-ORGANIZERS: – Copenhagen International Theatre( DK) – CIRCa (FR) – Festival novog cirkusa (HR) – Subtopia (SE) – Halles de Schaerbeek (B) – Finnish Circus Info Centre (FI) – Circusstad Festival Rotterdam (NL) – Humorologie (B) – Crying Out Loud (UK)

This project has been funded with support of the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

© Unpack the Arts. Only the project leader and co-organisers of Unpack the Arts can freely use this publication. If another organization or medium wants to publish (extracts of) the article, please contact [email protected]. www. unpack thearts .eu

Coordination publication: Maarten Verhelst English editing: John Ellingsworth Graphic design: Wilfrieda Paessens www.wilfrieda.com

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