DTH Einblicke with Iván Pérez Dr. Stephanie Schroedter

This is a very brief and humble teaser of the topic discussed yesterday at the rehearsal room of the Dance Theatre Heidelberg, open to anyone who would like to join the discussion (for other Einblickes, click in the link above). A lot was discussed about the musicology in dance, how dancers hear music, what is the space of music in dance, the roles it has, etc. It was all very interesting but one moment struck me and I had to write it down to put it here:

This came when Iván answered a question from Dr. Schroedter regarding the role of music in choreography – if he choreographs to the music or against it, what is the space that music takes, how is his approach to this and to the experience of listening to the music as a conscious and careful act to juggle during creation:

Listen first. Let it inside before you let something to the outside. Sometimes there is even a gap period, of getting used to the music, between the listening and the creation”

How often do we do this in our daily lives? I believe this message can be applied to so many things in the rushed world we live in. Take time for the inputs, take time for letting them really sink in. You might think you gave enough time but it might be an illusion. How long can you listen more before you let something go to the outside? How often do you give yourself space of a “digesting” period? The same way this could reflect more mindful vs reactive creations, we can transpose it to the way we conduct ours lives. Because art is ultimately about what makes us human.

I also wondered if this digestion, or listening without responding can be a way of maintaining a judgement-free approach, a kind of “cleaning” method, making sure the mind is clean before creation, without any preconceptions, just the pure factual music/input one has been exposed to. This “getting used to the music”, can it serve to clean some rough edges that will pollute the initial creating experience?

Finally, I was very happy to hear Dr. Schroedter drawing similarities between Bausch and Perez. I have thought about it before, but I am no scholar. For me what is most striking between them, is that while they both make you feel so much, and their work can be so aestheticly pleasing, like forming small poems about life that your heart smiles inside (which is afterwards very hard to describe or put into words of a blog post)…they seem to me to have very different approaches about the articulation of their work. Both are for me quite genious in their visions. I associate Bausch with mystery, which sometimes can translate into unreadable scenes, everyone is different but I believe people can be lost if they completely lack clues. From my humble experience as an audience member in Heidelberg, with the extensive framework around each piece, from Open Rehearsals to these Einblicke discussions…I associate Perez with generosity and articulation. The mystery is not lost. You can still hold your breath during moments of his works. But both him and the company he leads share so much with the audience, giving us tools to understand more, tools to think deeper, tools that eventually will lead us to be even more touched by their art.

How generous is it to share the articulation behind your work? How generous is it to value dialogue and exchange? It is very generous and it is the way forward, the way to the future. It is the way art can reach more people and be truly inclusive – and for sure, the more people it touches, the bigger the change it can bring to this world.