Collect - if

10.09.2006 |

Collect-if is conceived to initiate and set up an artistic platform for reflection of various dimensions of collectivity in contemporary performing arts and society. The starting-point for this initiative and project springs from the question about the status of collectivity today in political, social and artworld functions. If measured by ideological stake, collectivity in the age of liberal capitalism is devalued, depreciated, abolished in denying possibility for ideological unity under a common interest or perspective. There is however a silent consensus around it: if collectivity in strong terms seems so frightening, it does symptomatically return in the forms of unstructured, declaratively non-ideologized forms, which might be called happy tribalism (supporters, ravers, even antiglobalist rallies). The position of the subject constituting this type of collective is especially reflected in the performing arts – how to negotiate with collectivity an individualism which requires detachment and singularization of every member for the purpose of self-realization. In the performing arts context we recognize it as an affirmed trend of personalization and intimization of the performative approaches (»I am my own story«, »My experience is what matters«).

Seven performers from seven dance and theatre companies come together:
I am an ex-Damaged Goods dancer
I am an ex-Damaged Goods dancer
I am an ex-Rosas dancer.
I am a Rebecca Murgi dancer.
I am a Beton-Tanc actor.
I am a Jan-Ritsema performer.
I am writer of the Jan Fabre book...
From this collection, will they enter a collaboration?
Will they assume singular posititions of authors which at the same time need to be established collectively?

QUOTES

“Simply, the truth is, we are co-authors, we are not a collective”.
Arndt Wesemann, Ballet-Tanz International

“I'm thinking here along the lines of 'event structures' - the possibilities of 'no performance'; or 'authorship' given over entirely to the audience/ other?”
Ric Allsop, The Performance Research

“They should try to reflect non-individual aspects of their individual work before they start working together”
Ana Vujanović, Walking Theory Center

“Looking at their past as dancer in a company, the collaborators can certainly find loads of material that can simply be used, but still call for analysis”.
Jeroen Peeters, De Morgen

“Maybe it is an invitation to think about collectivity in performance as a (non)event, as a nothing-but-event, that always will have missed making itself real, staging misunderstanding as a realm of possibilities, staging communication as a missing one.”
Krassimira Kruschkova, Tanzquartier Wien

“I got through the material but have to admit that the topic is far out from my actual interests.”
Christine Peters, Mousonturm Kuenstlerhaus Frankfurt

CAST & CREW

Collect-if by Collect-if: Borut Cajnko,Varinia Canto Vila, Bojana Cvejiç, Els Degryse, Ugo Dehaes, Alix Eynaudi, Emil Hrvatin, Igor Delorenzo Omahen, Rebecca Murgi, Nejc Saje, Katarina Stegnar, Miran Šušteršič, Nataša Zavolovšek
Produced by Maska Productions Ljubljana
In Co-production with Troubleyn (Antwerp), Vooruit (Gent), Zoe ( Antwerp), The Four days Association Theatre Institute (Prague)
Partners: MedanaArt, Inteatro-produzioni, Villa Nappi (Polverigi).
Premiere: 19.11.2003, Minardschowburg, Gent, Belgium.