THE ARTIST’S SPACE – 2014
A contemporary choreographic concert
Sounds structure the artists’ movements
the density of sound urges the body to move
light creates new architectural spaces
all intertwine
energetic, physical and personal
A scenography emerges
transparent lines are drawn in space
moving pools of light contribute
lending the artists’ bodies new values
Focused on sound and music, expressed by the artists,
the choreographic concert searches for and challenges
the boundaries between sound and movement
between dance and music.
In THE ARTIST’S SPACE, choreographer Gunhild Bjørnsgaard takes audiences on a journey that starts from the music of the Romanian-born Greek-French architect-composer Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001). Xenakis’s rejection of conventional tonality and his use of physical, architectural and mathematical principles in his compositions gave rise to a unique and innovative musical aesthetic.
THE ARTIST’S SPACE evolved from a process of exploration and improvisation conducted by the choreographer, the contemporary dancer Nina Biong, composer/musicians Rolf-Erik Nystrøm and Eirik Raude, and dramaturgic advisor Marcelino Valiente. During rehearsals, various Xenakis scores were played and explored by the musicians, and movements improvised by all the participants. Through this creative process, each artist’s personal expression of music and movement intensified whilst retaining a strong awareness of Xenakis’s theories and his architectural drawings.
The project continues Bjørnsgaard’s investigation of the choreographic concert, a form she has invented as a means of exploring the intersections of musical and dance performance. In this work and her previous choreographic concerts musicians and dancers share knowledge of their specialist techniques and test their personal limits as they strive to learn and apply ideas and techniques from other, alien artistic disciplines. Raising questions about such concepts as prowess, virtuosity and excellence, the choreographic concert format connects with Company B. Valiente’s wider concern with the exploration of the inability to act as a consequence of mental and physical limitation.
CONCEPT, CHOREOGRAPHY, COSTUMES, SCENOGRAPHY: Gunhild Bjørnsgaard
PERFORMERS: Nina Biong (dance), Rolf-Erik Nystrøm (saxophone), Eirik Raude (percussion)
ARTISTIC ADVISOR & DRAMATURGE: Marcelino Valiente
SCENOGRAPHY: Gunhild Bjørnsgaard, Marcelino Valiente
LIGHTING DESIGN & TECHNICIAN: Martin Myrvold
PRODUCTION: Company B. Valiente
CO-PRODUCER: Bærum Culture House – the Regional scene of Dance in Norway.
Supported by the Nowegian fund for composer, the Norwegian Art Council, Norwegian Fund for Performing Artists, the Norwegian Embassy in Paris, CDC/Centre Développement Chorégraphique du Val-de-Marne, France.
Special thanks to CDC/Centre Développement Chorégraphique de Toulouse/Midi-Pyrénées and the International Music Festival in North-Norway/Harstad (Festspillene i Nord-Norge), Oslo Culture House/Tøyen by Stine Hårtuft.
