Such Stuff As We Are Made Of
“The
body, every body, is poisoned with information ... Eight naked bodies move
forward in spasms across the stage floor and pile up against the wall: the
flesh that creates a meaning is displayed as pure flesh. The fragmentation of
the body, its ‘meat being’, binds Lia Rodrigues with the great human
catastrophes... The body itself in Lia Rodrigues’ art becomes a manifesto.” Roberto Pereira (Ballet
International)
To make known something
secret or unknown; to expose; to disclose; to reveal the identity of; to make
manifest; to disclose to view; to remove or lift a covering from; to uncover;
to obtain for the first time sight or knowledge of; to detect the presence of;
to make a discovery; to make admission; to confess. This dictionary-definition
of the word “discover” might well serve as an abstract, yet adequate synopsis
of the choreography of Such Stuff As We Are Made Of.
Upon entering the open
gallery space the audience discovers, one after another, figures unfolding in
intriguing solo- duo- and group-configurations. Each time, the dislocated
bodies emerge from another unexpected, forgotten, lost corner. Their bodies are
displayed as fascinating, moving human sculptures. Bundles of flesh, blood and
skin that are imprinted with collective meaning, dreams and imagination.
Vehicles of ideas and convictions. Sources of power and pleasure. Stuff that is
incessantly fragmented and transformed, advertised and sold, the site where
identity struggles and forms itself. Since for most of the duration of the
piece there is no clear demarcation between stage and audience, we become
increasingly aware of our own position, our own bodies, which have gradually,
unknowingly become part of the performance. “We are such stuff as dreams are
made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep.”
Although Such Stuff As
We Are Made Of (which Lia Rodrigues
developed in close collaboration with the eight members of her company) has
clear affinities with the sculptural choreographies of artists such as Meg
Stuart or Charlotte Vanden Eynde (whose work was presented in earlier City of
Women festivals), it speaks only in its own consistent language. But Rodrigues’
powerful vocabulary is just as highly reminiscent of, for instance, Barbara
Kruger’s striking iconic text-photo juxtapositions. With Such Stuff As We Are
Made Of Kruger’s “We have received orders not to move”, “Buy me, I’ll change
your life”, “You are not yourself”, or “Your Body is a battleground” receive
their third dimension.
conception, choreography, direction: Lia
Rodrigues; dancers: Marcela Levi, Micheline Torres, Marcele Sampaio, Rodrigo
Maia, Amália Lima, Jamil Cardoso, Ana Carolina Rodrigues, Renata Brandăo;
collaboration on the choreography: M. Levi, M. Torres, M. Sampaio, R. Maia, A.
Lima, Denise Stutz; original soundtrack: Zeca Assumpçăo; lighting design:
Milton Giglio; set & space: Keller Veiga; costumes: Cica Modesto;
choreography assistant: Denise Stutz.
production and organisation: Mesto žensk /
City of
in cooperation with: Moderna galerija
with the support of: AFAA, Ville de Lyon
sponsored by: Adria Airways
