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MONIKA BIELSKYTE / WHAT ARE THE PIECES — NOT ONLY AMONG PINA’S REPERTOIRE — IN THEATER/CHOREOGRAPHY THAT HAVE MOVED YOU MOST DEEPLY?

MVA / MY FAVORITE PIECES FROM PINA ARE PALERMO PALERMO, 1980, SACRE/ DAS FRÜHLINGSOPFER, CAFÉ MÜLLER, TWO CIGARETTES IN THE DARK, TRAUERSPIEL, VIKTOR & DAS STÜCK MIT DEM SHIFF. ABOVE ALL I LIKE THE WAY SHE WORKED AS AN ARTIST, HER LIFE & WORK WERE VERY ORGANICALLY CONNECTED & SHE MANAGED TO DEEPLY UNDERSTAND, RESPECT & WORK WITH LIFE & HUMAN BEINGS IN IT’S ESSENCE. FOR ME WORDS WERE DIFFICULT FOR A LONG TIME. SHE DIDN’T NEED MANY WORDS EITHER TO SAY SOMETHING.
APART FROM PINA ‘S REPERTOIRE THAT SHE CONSTRUCTED OVER THE YEARS I THINK IT IS QUITE DIFFICULT TO FIND THE SAME STRENGTH WITHIN MOST OF THE OTHER COMPANIES. HERE & THERE ARE SOME PIECES THAT STRIKE ME, BUT THERE ARE VERY FEW CHOREOGRAPHERS/THEATER DIRECTORS THAT ACHIEVE TO CREATE SUCH A REPERTOIRE LIKE SHE DID. MOSTLY I LIKE THE PEOPLE I WORK WITH. DA UN ALTRA FACCIA DEL TEMPO FROM JAN FABRE, THE SNAKESONG TRILOGY FROM JAN LAUWERS & GOLLYGOSH NO! FOR A SECOND THERE I THOUGHT I WAS INVOLVED FROM EISBÄR ARE THE PIECES THAT HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT FOR ME.
WHEN I WAS IN KAZUO OHNO’S STUDIO IN TOKYO IN 1999 HE WAS DANCING A DUO WITH HIS SON YOSHITO OHNO TO THE SONG FROM ELVIS PRESLEY ‘I CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE’. THIS WAS FOR ME DEFINITELY A REVELATION. WE (MEMBERS FROM THE TANZTHEATER) COULDN’T HELP IT & WERE JUST WEEPING. HE WAS FOR ME THE TOP PERFORMER &, ACCORDING TO WHAT I SAID ABOUT ASIAN PHILOSOPHY, THE EXAMPLE OF A TREE STANDING IN THE SO FAST CHANGING WORLD.

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MB / DO YOU FEEL THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY TO DISCOVER SOMETHING NEW SEEING PINA’S PIECES MORE THAN ONCE?

MVA / A STAGE PRODUCTION HAS BORDERS & IS FRAMED. MADE TO REPEAT ITSELF AS OFTEN AS IT HAS AN AUDIENCE. REPETITION CAN REDUCE THE RISKS OF THE UNKNOWN, BUT CAN ALSO CHANGE OUR PERCEPTION. THINGS THAT ARE REPEATED FIVE TIMES FOR EXAMPLE ONE CAN REACT, AT FIRST, ASTONISHED, THE SECOND TIME IRRITATED, A THIRD TIME BORED, A FOURTH TIME WONDERING WHY & THE FIFTH TIME WE REOPEN OUR MIND & THINK & MAYBE ACCEPT.

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MB / I CANNOT HELP FINDING MOST OF THE DANCE & THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY SOMEWHAT ONE-DIMENSIONAL, REDUCTORY & OFTEN MERELY ILLUSTRATIVE AS COMPARED WITH THE REAL WORK ON THE STAGE. HOWEVER, WHEN I FIRST DISCOVERED YOUR WORKS I HAD A VERY STRONG IMPRESSION YOU WERE TRYING TO FIND SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN CONVENTIONAL DANCE PHOTOGRAPHY, AS THERE WAS NOT ONLY THE CAPTURED MOVEMENT OF A DANCE BUT ALSO RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE CHARACTERS & THEIR STORIES, THE EMPTY STAGE & THE SCRATCHES ON THE FLOOR, DUST, SMOKE…

MVA / WHILE PHOTOGRAPHING PINA’S OEUVRE THERE IS NOT ONLY MOVEMENT ON STAGE LIKE IN, LET’S SAY, SWAN LAKE. IT WAS A WHOLE NEW UNIVERSE OF FANTASY OPENING FOR ME. I FELT LIKE I WANTED TO LIVE IN THAT FANTASY WORLD (WHEN I TOLD PINA THIS AT THE TIME YEARS AGO, SHE TOLD ME THAT I SHOULD NEVER FORGET THAT IT’S ‘WORK’ & PROTECTED ME IN THIS WAY FROM LOSING CONTACT WITH REALITY OFF STAGE). THE REPERTOIRE OF HER & THE TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL IS A VERY RICH – IN A CREATIVE SENSE – WORLD. FOR HER, DANCE COULD BE SO MANY THINGS. SHE LIKED THE THEATER SO MUCH BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN DO THINGS ON STAGE THAT SIMPLY ARE NOT DOABLE IN NORMAL LIFE. PHOTOGRAPHING HER WORK WAS AT THE SAME TIME DISCOVERING PLENTY OF DIFFERENT THINGS & NOT ONLY MOVEMENT OR NON-MOVEMENT

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(EXTRACT OF INTERVIEW BETWEEN MAARTEN VANDEN ABEELE & MONIKA BIELSKYTE)




















THE ENTIRE 26 PAGES ARTICLE ON PINA BAUSCH, TANZTHEATER WUPPERTAL & MAARTEN VANDEN ABEELE ONLY IN THE PRINTED EDITION OF SOME/THINGS MAGAZINE ISSUE002 / THE BLACK BOOK

THE LATEST RELEASE BY ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS HAS BEEN DEDICATED FOR KAZUO OHNO; ANTONY HEGARTY HAS ALSO CHOSEN THE PHOTOGRAPH OF THIS LEGENDARY BUTOH DANCER FOR THE CRYING LIGHT CD COVER ART
ANTONY IS NOT ONLY AN ACCOMPLISHED SINGER/SONGWRITER BUT ALSO VISUAL ARTIST, & THIS MAYBE EXPLAINS HIS BEAUTIFUL & UNCONVENTIONAL CHOICES FOR THE AESTHETICS OF ALL OF HIS RELEASES



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& HERE SOME IMAGES OF ONE OF THE JAPANESE PHOTOGRAPHY BOOKS IN MY LIBRARY, ITS BUTTERFLY DREAM (WITH PHOTOGRAPHS BY EIKOH HOSOE & DESIGN BY TANADOORI YOKOO) PUBLISHED IN 2006 BY SEIGENSHA
HOSOE HAS PICTURED KAZUO OHNO SINCE HIS BUTOH BEGINNINGS IN 1960S




ONE OF THE FIRST PERFORMANCES BY KAZUO OHNO







WITH HIS BUTOH PARTNER TATSUMI HIJIKATA







WITH HIS WIFE







NEAR HOME







IN COMA





KAZUO OHNO WAS BORN IN HOKKAIDO IN 1906 & HE DANCED UNTIL 2000

‘AFTER HIS 90TH BIRTHDAY, HE WAS STILL ACTIVE AS A BUTOH DANCER. THE LAST OVERSEAS PERFORMANCE WAS REQUIEM FOR THE 20TH CENTURY. WHICH WAS HELD IN NEW YORK IN DECEMBER 1999. BUT IN THE SAME YEAR HE HAD EYE TROUBLE & HIS PHYSICAL STRENGTH GRADUALLY STARTED WANING. YET KAZUO OHNO CONTINUED DANCING AS IF HE WAS NOURISHED BY HIS AGE. WHEN HE COULD NOT WALK BY HIMSELF, HE DANCED WITH THE SUPPORTS BY OTHERS. WHEN HE COULD NOT STAND EVEN WITH THE SUPPORTS, HE DANCES AS HE SEATED HIMSELF. WHEN HIS LEGS DIDNT MOVE AS HE WANTED, HE DANCED WITH HIS HANDS. WHEN HE LOST HIMSELF, HE CRAWLED ON HIS KNEES & AUDIENCE WERE MOVED BY WATCHING HIS BACK’

THE BUTOH DANCE TRADITION IS CONTINUED BY KAZUO OHNO SON YOSHITO OHNO