A Celebration Not to be Missed—but in case you did—Journee Internationale de la Danse 2011

International Dance Day was established in 1982 by the International Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute of UNESCO. They, along with dancers and dance lovers around the world, have been celebrating on or around the 29th of April every year since. It has come a very long way from the intrepid expeditions in UNESCO's hallowed hallways, guerilla-style at noon, that I first attended a number of years ago. (Think 'tile-on-concrete,' dancers!) I am delighted to say that this ITI celebration has become an event not to be missed.  

© 2011 Charlotte Zoller-Salle I at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris

Each year, the dance committee invites a prominent dance artist to speak on behalf of dance. This year the author was the Belgian choreographer and dancer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker. I am sure I was not the only one who appreciated her honesty in saying that she is not "busy about meaning," despite the fact that the first question people often ask about dance is "What does it mean?" For her it isn't about translating meaning because, she says, there are things that dance can embody and express that are not nameable.  

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker© Photo: Herman Sorgeloos

 

We had the opportunity to see her perform Part 3 of Fase (a four-part work to the music of Steve Reich, created in 1983), which is an excellent example  of this. The base phrase in this section of the work, as in the music it is choreographed to, is repeated again and again and again, with small variations that accumulate over time to add up to a powerful transformation of the work from beginning to end. One can't put words to those kind of subtle, and very abstract variations in energy, angle and intent that change our experience as viewers entirely. And that is, indeed, one powerful and curious aspect of what dance can and sometimes does do.
 

A section from Thierry De Mey's film of De Keersmaeker's Rosas danst Rosas was also presented. I suspect it would be very unusual not to respond viscerally to De Mey's dance films. His lighting, footage, editing and music choices are merged with actual sound in such a way that we feel it in our skin -- we are there, and we are that. I find this Belgian composer, director and filmmaker to be a choreographer in his own right, and was sorry not to see more of his work on this program.

Rosas -r© Photo: Herman Sorgeloos

 

I appreciated the quiet connection between Salva Sanchis and his collaborator, pianist-composer Kris Defoort in their improvisational work, Action. I found the quality of Sanchis dancing honest, sincere and organic.
 

Frontier Danceland, the group of young dancers from Singapore, were beautiful movers in Albert Tiong's work Second Chance. I was impressed with how effective their lighting was, creating beautiful pools and shadows, especially knowing that their tech was set and run only briefly that afternoon.

 

© 2011 Charlotte Zoller-Salva Sanchis and Kris Defoort in their collaborative work "Action"

 

And that leads me to what I really want to talk about here, which is all the people you don't see and often don't even hear about when you go to a live performance: The lighting and technical staff, for example; the rehearsal directors and teachers who have dedicated their lives to training the next generation of artists; the staff of ITI and its Dance Committee members who have, year after year, decided that dance matters; World Dance Alliance, and World Dance Alliance Europe which collaborates with ITI on this event each year; the Permanent Delegation of Belgium to UNESCO; the Flemish Government and the National Arts Council Singapore; and those who are no longer with us but have carved out a path for us, like Ilona Copen who was a driving force for the creation of this and many other dance organizations and events. These are "dance enthusiasts" of the most dedicated and modest variety, and it is good to remember them from time to time, and thank them for keeping dance (even if it isn't 'busy about meaning') in our world.  

© 2011 Charlotte Zoller-Albert Tiong's "Second Chance"

"I think dance celebrates what makes us human. When we dance we use, in a very natural way, the mechanics of our body and all our senses to express joy, sadness, the things we care about. People have always danced to celebrate the crucial moments of life and our bodies carry the memory of all the possible human experiences. We can dance alone and we can dance together. We can share what makes us the same, what makes us different from each other.

For me dancing is a way of thinking. Through dance we can embody the most abstract ideas and thus reveal what we cannot see, what we cannot name.

We carry the world in our bodies.

I think that ultimately each dance is part of a larger whole, a dance that has no beginning and no end."
 

© 2011 Charlotte Zoller- The nonchalant display of the Eiffel Tower  as the background to the evening's reception