DM-I-PR(02)-2 | 2004

"Just as in the first part of the project, dm-I-pr(02) (NADINE, September 2002), a laboratory was created allowing musicians, dancers and a set designer to collaborate in such a way that all individual elements (sound, movement, light) were treated on the same structural/conceptual level. The material stemmed from improvisation sessions where the starting point was the same for each of the artists. For their second meeting the focus was on the creation and spatialization of layers of sound, light and movement, as well as the overlapping and exchange of the performers’ functions (musicians to dancers and vice versa)."

In September 2004 Koen Nutters, Mette Ingvartsen, Ula Sickle and Robert Van Heumen worked together for a second time at Nadine. Joined by drummer Morten J. Olsen and light designer Bart Phillips, the starting points for their two week residency was 'layers', a term borrowed from music composition. Combined with this was an interest to use found materials as a source for producing movement and sound. Just as in the previous work session, both these elements were to be treated equally, along with the light/scenography, however as opposed to the previous work session, where the focus was on improvisation and where the space remained relatively bare, this work period resulted in a more composed and elaborated presentation.

Working with Cardboard, paper and the surfaces of their musical instruments, the musicians manipulated the materials to create layered sound scapes, with shifting densities and intensities. The dancers also worked on creating sound by moving on different surfaces or by interacting with different materials (cardboard boxes, glue-coated shirts, etc.) The movement was generated almost entirely by manipulating the materials, while the choreographic strategies were appropriated from the musicians themselves and their use of repetition and layered actions. During the presentation, the audience, was allowed to wander around the stage and could observe the performers from close-up.

Though the ambition of the project was that the musicians and dancers overlap and exchange functions, this exchange remained limited. The dancers took on the role of sound producers, however it was more difficult for the musicians to project themselves into the role of the dancers.

There were also disagreements as to the extent to which the work should become set: While part of the group wanted to work more on composition and construction, the other half preferred to stay in an improvised mode. The final result was a balance between the two approaches.

conception/performance :
Mette Ingvartsen, Koen Nutters, Ula Sickle, Morten J. Olsen, Robert van Heumen, Bart Phillips
initiation :
Mette Ingvartsen, Koen Nutters
support :
Nadine, frogs OS, Kunst/Werk