Битеф

x REČ SELEKTORA

Ree je o izuzetno zanimljivom multimedijalnom projektu singapurskog umetnika Čoja Kafaija, čiji je najširi okvir „mapiranje" savremene azijske plesne scene, tačnije njenih glavnih aktera - koreografa. Projekat je kombinacija projekcije dokumentarnog filma na ovu temu, izložbe portreta ovih koreografa, pojedinačnih video-intervjua s njima i prezentacije rada nekih od njih, Ta prezentacija je osmišljena kao modularno predavanje-performans koji moderira sam Kafai: svakom festivalu je ostavljeno da bira dve od četiri ponuđene prezentacije, a Bitef se opredelio za rad indonežanskog umetnika Rijanta i kineskog autorskog tandema Sijao Ke i Cihan. Prezentacije su mnogo više od toga: od predavanja-performansa pretvaraju se u prave pozorišne minijature koje prevazilaze izvođačke tehnike i koreografske ideje i na pametan, duhovit i dirljiv način bave se i mnogim društvenim pitanjima: od prekarijatskog položaja umetnika, preko odnosa tradicionalnih izvođačkih formi i savremenog plesa do rodnog identiteta u Aziji.

Xo PREDSTAVi

SOFTMACHINE: Rijanto + Sijao Ke x Cihan je dvodelna predstava Čoja Kafaija koja predstavlja deo projekta Soft Machine, koji istražuje status savremenog plesa kroz rad širom Azije. Rijanto je plesač iz indonezije koji se specijalizovao za tradicionalni erotski pies Lenger, dok je podjednako posvećen i drugim tradicionalnim plesnim formama sa Jave. Veoma rano je savladao transrodne forme plesa i neprekidno opčinjava mušku publiku svojim zavodljivim ženskim imitacijama. Od kako se preselio u Tokio 2003. godine, razvio je razne koreografske prakse, koje se oslanjaju na tradiciju od koje je krenuo, ali se i transformišu u odnosu na nju. Ova dokumentarna predstava preispituje tenzije između tradicionalnih i savremenih koreografskih praksi u kontekstu globalnog preiaska sa ruralnog na urban! način života, Sijao Ke i Cihan zajednički istražuju telo do njegovih krajnjih granica, sa posebnim osvrtom na socijalni i politički kontekst Kine, Sijao Ke se od malih nogu bavila tradicionalnim narodnim plesom Kine, da bi se kasnije okrenula savremenom plesu u okviru kog je razvila svoj umetnički izraz, Cihan je počeo kao fotograf, da bi s vremenom svoj rad razvio u različitim pravcima u okviru savremene kineske umetnosti. Ova dokumentarna predstava istražuje granice umetničke slobode i dočarava iskustvo konstantnog nadzora u kineskoj kulturi.

x CURATORS’ WORD

This is an extremely interesting multimedia project by a Singapore artist Choi Kai Fai, whose broadest frame is “mapping” the contemporary Asian dance scene or, to be more precise, its main participants - the choreographers. The project is a combination of a topic-related documentary movie screening, an exhibition of the choreographers’ portraits, video interview with them, and a presentation of some of their work. The presentation is designed as a modular lecture-performance, moderated by Kai Fai himself: each festival can choose two out of four presentations, and Bitef has opted for the work of Indonesian artist Rianto and Chinese artistic duo Xiao Ke and Zihan. The presentations are much more than that: from lecture-performance, they transform into real theatre miniatures which surpass performance technique and choreographic thought and, in a very smart, funny and moving way, reveal many social issues: from precarious position of artist and the relationship between traditional art forms and contemporary dance, to gender identity in Asia.

x ABOUT THE PRODUCTION

SOFTMACHINE:Rianto + Xiao KexZihan is a double bill performance by Choy Ka Fai. It is a part of the Soft Machine project that investigates the contemporary status of dance through a research across Asia, Rianto is a dancer from Banyumas Indonesia who specializes in the traditional erotic dance of Lengger, while being equally versatile in other Javanese traditional dance forms. Fie mastered the cross-gender dance repertoire at a very young age, and continues to enchant male spectators with his seductive female impersonation. Since moving to Tokyo in 2003, he has developed different choreographic practices, deriving and departing from his traditional beginning. The documentary performance inquires into the tensions between traditional and contemporary choreographic practices on the global shifts from rural to urban lifestyles. Xiao Ke and Zihan make collaborative works exploring the body in its extremity of expressions, reflecting on the social and political context of China. Xiao Ke was trained as a classical Chinese folk dancer from a very young age and later on develops her own creations in contemporary dance. Zihan started as a photographer and has since developed multiple strands of work in the audio visual field of contemporary art in China. The documentary performance investigates the boundaries of artistic freedom and speculates on the experience of being under constant cultural surveillance in China.

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