Are we fundamentally different than one another? Is there anything that links us all? Are we able to completely pull away from each other, without ever leaving a trace of a connection? Who is leading and who is following? Do we notice how our actions affect others, for better or worse? Do we realize our responsibilities in caring for each others’ weight?
The object of rope here is a materialized metaphor for the invisible web of connections we share amongst ourselves. The stillness that resides in the place of the privileged will not remain unaffected. It is only a matter of time that the entanglement of the obstacles involves everyone into the struggle. The space in which we move through, in a real-time improvisatory experience, is a manifestation of these queries.
“There is no sidelines” – Dr. Thomas DeFrantz
Choreographers and Performers : Bita Bell and Shirin Farshbaf
Music composed by Mahan Mirarab , Persian Side of Jazz
2020
KulturSommer, Vienna
Choreographers: Bita Bell and Shirin Farshbaf
Performers: Sofie Douda (instead of Bita Bell), Shirin Farshbaf
Animation Collaborator: Shadab Shayegan
Music composed by Michael Wall, edited by Bita Bell
2020
TRY OUT! Dschungel
Wien, Austria
2019
Stadttheater Gmunden
Gmunden, Austria
Press
Kurier.at
https://kurier.at/kiku/lust-auf-plastik-oder-ein-fantasievolles-wesen/400735326
The object of rope here is a materialized metaphor for the invisible web of connections we share amongst ourselves. Three Iranian female artists growing from the seeds of a culture that produced one of the most iconic poems in humanity (imprinted at the entrance of the United Nations), are yet struggling to fight in a battle of increasing our standards of human rights.
we want to delve into our own cultural-political experiences as a way to question and deepen our understanding of human connection. From this place of memory , and displacement of memory, and struggle, we will juxtapose dance, objects, and animation as a way of recreating new and empowering narratives, subversive to the mainstream expectations.
The dancers are tied to the ends of a 10 meters long rope. From the first glance this circumstance will define the shape and nature of their relationship; one that is always in reaction and dependency on the other. For example, if one decides to run, the other will either stop them by pulling in the opposite direction or will consequently follow if their weight is released. This dependency inevitably creates a dynamic in which the two dancers must negotiate their way of dealing with each other. There is absolutely no way that they can remain complicit and exist individually without listening to each other, given that they are always connected.
In our choreographic process, Shirin and I will base our movement research in weight-sharing, contact, and floorwork techniques while in constant sensation of gravity. We are both interested in choreography that is derived from text (in this case, a poem), dramaturging the movement through context, creating an overarching progress that fluidly unfolds, and ideally crossing our own artistic boundaries.
From this process, our choreography will naturally emerge into our next structure: an interactive and participatory event where the dancers invite the audience to take part. In a playful and engaging way, Shirin and I, will offer the ropes to the audience to also experiment with. Hopefully, we will feel that the very elements that seem to be separating us in our differences – are in fact the tools that can also build an inseparable connection.
Inspired from:
بنیآدم اعضای یک پیکرند
banī ādam a’zā-ye yekdīgar-and
The children of humans are limbs of each other
که در آفرينش ز یک گوهرند
ke dar āfarīn-aš ze yek gowhar-and
Having been created of one essence.
چو عضوى بهدرد آورَد روزگار
čo ‘ozvī be dard āvarad rūzgār
When the conditions of the time afflicts one limb
دگر عضوها را نمانَد قرار
degar ‘ozvhā-rā na-mānad qarār
The other limbs cannot remain at rest.
تو کز محنت دیگران بیغمی
to k-az mehnat-ē dīgarān bīqam-ī
If thou hast no sympathy for the troubles of others
نشاید که نامت نهند آدمی
na-šāyad ke nām-at nahand ādamī
Thou art unworthy to be called a human being
سعدی
Saʿdī
By Saadi Shirazi
bita bell 