dance artist & anthropologist
AS IF THE FISH IS THE FRAME
Concept and direction: Joanna Kalm
Performance and choreography: Jenna Broas, Bridget Lappin, Eleni Papaioannou, Gabi Serani, Joanna Kalm
"as if the fish was the frame" was made during my postgraduate diploma degree studies at The Place, London Contemporary Dance School. The work's nature is deconstructive: the choreographer's position of power is shown by having the choreographer present on stage and dialoguing with the performers during the performance, additionally the performers' creative and physical work is exemplified through them clearly showcasing – physically and verbally – their decision-making process in real time. Thus, both the power dynamics often present in choreographic processes as well as one's artistic ambitions are broken apart in a playful manner. Instead of chasing what would 'work' well on the stage and coincide with the discursive sense-making of the field, we opted for chasing what did not 'work' or seemed often quite pointless, ugly, or silly. But quite humorous.
Premiere 25th June 2015 at Robin Howard Dance Theatre.
"I believe in myself enough to say that I could have choreographed a good dance piece, one that the audience would actually like and enjoy. But where would be the fun in that for me, for the dance artists I am working with, for the audience? Where would be the excitement? The risk? I am not interested in the safe, in the ‘this works well’, in producing conditionally new work. I want to make unconditionally new work. But how? (Don’t know) It is a search. Not for what has already been established in our contemporary dance fashion, but for what lies further down the road of ‘this does not work’. I think I am going to fail. Fortunately I have people who are willing to fail with me. And this makes me happy."
