Presencia
2023
From the press:
"Ultimately, Ausencia and Presencia, in their independent and intertwining movement, show that there’s no “inch of time” (a lapsus of Zarhy during our conversation) or “moment of space” to which we can be inconsequentially neutral or indifferent in our relationality. Moving beyond the traditional epistemic binaries (absence vs. presence, tangible vs. ephemeral), in her choreographic practice Zarhy reframes some of the conceptual pillars of dance, performance, and everyday life.”
Melissa Melpignano (Dance Context webzine) on Ausencia and Presencia performed in the 36th edition of Festival Danza Estate in Bergamo, Italy.
Presencia is a work about memory and movement.
Dance is based on the essential fact that dancers learn and memorize movements they will repeat again and again. But these memories of the actual choreographic moves are imbedded with other personal memories, recall other works, or remind common life kinetic experiences. All these, unconsciously inform what takes place on stage.
Paraphrasing American scholar Donna Haraway we could say that it matters what personal memories are evoked when memorizing choreographic movements. And when two dancers meet on stage, it matters what each movement means for each one of the dancers.
In order to act out memories and render them visible to the public, for Presencia, May Zarhy and the dancers Brit Rodemund and Dominic Santia created a duet based on touch and then omitted the touch while insisting on performing the same movements. To reinforce this skill they took pantomime classes. In that process, Zarhy addressed not only the personal memories of the dancers, but created a common field of mindfulness with the public, who is able to interpret and understand the otherwise abstract gestures onstage, and identify a flow that is based on recollection, and one that is clearly abstract. The soundtrack by Daniela Ljungsberg made mostly from layers of recordings of sounds produced by movements of the dancers, likewise relates to the memory of the creative process.
As is Ausencia and other previous works, in Presencia, Zarhy dwells in that gap between the concrete and the abstract - between functional, daily movements and ones that we could call dance - that are the basis of her practice. That is where the question of “memory” is instrumental as the main mechanism of “identification” both for the dancers and for the public. Most importantly, it’s a quest into the way that personal sensations can be shared with the other - with the audience - and to practice a deep listening so that in Zarhy’s own words: “something intimate can be shared.”
Choreography: May Zarhy
In collaboration with the dancers: Brit Rodemund, Dominic Santia
Music: Daniella Ljungsberg
Rehearsal director, Outside eye: Moran Muller, Ariel Gelbart
Light: Rotem Elroy
Costumes: Vivi Ben Ezra
Research assistant: Nitsan Margaliot
Pantomime coaching: Katja Tannert
Consultation costumes: Claudia Hill
Technical assistant: Felix Lindner
Production: Dino Spiri
Selected works page image: Jubal Battisti
Distribution: Fauves - Agency for the Performing Arts (Léa Chalmont + Julia Danila)
Support:
Fonds Darstellende Künste with funds from the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media within the program NEUSTART KULTUR
Mifal Hapais
Rabinovich Foundation for the Arts, Tel Aviv
Presentations:
8, 9, 10.2.2023 | Suzanne Dellal Center, Tel Aviv
19.6.2023 Tanz | Moderne | Tanz Festival, Chemnitz Germany
21.6.2023 | Machol Shalem, Jerusalem Israel
22.6.2023 | Suzanne Dellal Center, Tel Aviv Israel
2, 3.2.2024 | Holland Dance Festival, The Netherlands
12.6.2024 | Theaterforum Kreuzberg, Berlin Germany
20.6.2024 | Festival Danza Estate, Bergamo Italy
