In Focus:
Dance Theatre Heidelberg
Dancing In-between the Contact Zone
Looking into Transculturality through the metaphor of dance theatre. Reality and the Cosmos presented by Dance Theatre Heidelberg illustrates an instance of culture, constructed through dynamic processes as opposed to fixed ones.
A feature article by Co/LAB
It is a rainy Saturday night when we get the chance to enjoy the premiere of Reality and the Cosmos, a contemporary dance piece by Dance Theatre Heidelberg (DTH) at Theater Heidelberg. Situated in the old town of the city, the architecture of the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg underwent a series of renovations and extensions. The newly revealed structure makes it stand out amidst a street alongside facades that echo different eras of the past, yet the front of the building maintains thematic architectural coherence that places the city in a pre-war setting. This sense of dissonance, where the historical-seeming facade leads us into a modernized interior, becomes more apparent as we step through one of the entrance doors, as it outlines the space and our experience that will turn out to be a transcultural experience.
We nestle up in thickly upholstered armchairs, only short of a drink holder in becoming a cinema seat, as we slowly blend into the backdrop of the ever-filling theatre hall. The room framed with alternating wooden structures and warm light fills with the heavy air of anticipation emanating from the murmuring audience around us. The diversity of the audience - comprising of families, businessmen, and students - hints at a night that promises something beyond the conventional. DTH, under the direction of choreographer Iván Pérez, is about to transcend time, space, and cultural expectations.
“Human beings have always looked up at the sky, seeking something. The central goal has perhaps remained the same ever since: to contextualise human existence within the temporal and spatial expanses of the universe.”
— excerpt from the Reality and the Cosmos brochure
The performance of “Reality and the Cosmos” draws us into a discussion with our own humanity and connection to the universe: Are we mere clusters of atoms, or are we creations following a divine call as we gaze upon the thousand stars? Do distinct spatial and cultural experiences of the cosmos alter our realities? Do they overlap? Do they transform when put in contact with one another?
As we await the spotlight on the stage slowly to be turned on, the performers have already secretly positioned themselves onto the stage, arms stretched out, hanging in the air, as if they were the bodies of stars afloat in the sky. Suddenly, their graceful stillness gives way to a flurry of stomps and runs, mimicking the celestial chaos of colliding meteors. The auditorium falls into a hushed silence, interrupted only by the panting sounds of the performers’ breath as they sprints towards the crowd, barely stopping themselves from falling into the first row.
DTH-Ensemble. Photo Credit: Susanne Reichardt
The performance that unfolds before us is raw, individualistic, provoking to shatter the fourth wall that separates the audience from the performers. What DTH brings on this night is not just a performance; it’s an intimate exchange.
Cultures in the age of mobility…
Transculturality emphasizes the constant exchange of ideas, goods and people, and demonstrates the fluid and entangled nature of cultures. Humans live in different settings that influence their perception of the world and their cultural understanding. As they move around the globe, modifying their environment and exchanging objects and knowledge, their actions lead to the entanglement of cultures. The boundaries of what we deem “our culture” are fluid and ever-changing with each new interaction.
Culture is a condensation of people’s movement, and the items that have travelled along with them. The scales of these processes have been exacerbated in the age of globalization, with constant movement of people, capital and media. In other words, no man is an island. With each interaction with our surroundings, we exchange information and reshape it through our cultural lens. Culture, hence, at its core, is ‘transcultural’, defined not by purity or authenticity, but as a continuous process formed through interactions between humans and their environment.
DTH-Ensemble und Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg. Photo Credit: Susanne Reichardt
An embodiment of transculturality
Dance Theatre Heidelberg, undoubtedly, is a product of transcultural processes. The building alone dates back to the 19th century, opened with Friedrich Schiller's "The Bride of Messina". With the long history of cultural enrichment in classical music and operas performances, DTH is established as part of the Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, conjoining with four other divisions including music theatre, theatre, concerts as well as children and youth theatre.
DTH, with the aim of promoting contemporary aesthetics, has given us different dynamics under the hands of artistic directors.
Coming from all around the globe, each dance ensemble, with their diverse training and cultural upbringing, reimagines the dance theatre by combining dance, concerts and installations. DTH welcomed Iván Pérez as its new artistic director in 2018, along with a diverse ensemble, hailing from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Taiwan, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan. This coming-together forms an inclusive platform that nurtures dialogues among different artists, theatrical styles, and performance practices, fuelling the creation of collective dance pieces.
DTH as a transcultural contact zone
DTH serves as a transcultural space, not only due to the diverse backgrounds of its members but also because of its collaborative, and subsequently transformative approach. With members with different cultural identities, creating the pieces usually involves various negotiations and the transmutation of ideas.
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As for Julián Lazzaro, dancing is the journey of physical and mental self-exploration, a private and sometimes even lonely course. However, it also opens up a channel to bridge peoples’ subconscious experiences and emotions without necessarily using verbal language. Certain tropes might spark one’s emotions and memories and suddenly make sense to the performers and viewers.
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The term “contact zone” was raised by Pratt Mary Louise in 1991, initially used in literature studies. The concept has raised awareness of multivocality and tried to emancipate the idea of an imagined flattened and homogeneous society. The most important argument of the text is to explain how the concept of contact zone has helped us recognize cultures in the state of flux. Pratt used this term to refer to social spaces where cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism, slavery, or their aftermaths as they are lived out in many parts of the world today. (Pratt, Mary Louise. 1991. “Arts of the Contact Zone.” Profession 1991: 33-40.)
The Dance Theatre Heidelberg shows that dancing comprises different extrapolations from directors, dancers, and even audiences. It is a transcultural, collective process of meaning-making of ideas that transcends our cultural boundaries.
To facilitate the convergence of such diverse ideas within this zone, Iván Pérez creates an environment that encourages the co-production of dance sequences and movements. “I'm trying to listen to their individuality, their needs, their wishes…we are all participating and it's a collective effort,” says Iván. Dancers are given agency to choose what feels comfortable and uncomfortable, allowing them to be authentic on stage. “Iván lets us literally be ourselves on the stage. If you’re tired, don’t hide. Just pant or stretch out your body. It is also a way to involve the audience to feel how we actually feel,” says Yi-Wei Lo.
The diverse perspectives of the people within this contact zone often lead to intriguing debates about what dance and the choreography elements actually mean. For instance, when it comes to the role of a dancer, Thamiris Carvalho and Inés Belda Nácher offer entirely contrasting viewpoints. “I would regard myself as a performer, rather than the so-called ‘dancer’,” states Thamiris. To her, a “dancer” implies being situated at the back of the stage, lacking individuality and room for developing one’s own characteristics and sentiments. In contrast, Inés prefers to embrace the title of a “dancer”, influenced by her family’s rich history in the field.
We had the opportunity to talk to the dancers from DTH
(Left to Right): Julián, Inés, Thamiris, and Yi-Wei.
Photo Credit: Eilam Weinstock
Collaboration is key in the creative process at DTH. Every dancer introduces variations in their interpretations: there are delays, ascents, and even the degrees of how their arms swing up and down are based on their understanding of the sequence and their emotional state on the day of the show.
DTH as a site of transculturality
The pieces that DTH is performing are always in relation to the world beyond the DTH team. “Reality and the Cosmos is not a work of art that has been created to be; it is not about concrete and permanent materiality, but it is constantly moving and changing through our bodies’ motions,” explains Julián. The experience of each performance and each reaction by the audience is important in the process of creating the next performance. He visualises this as a bowl of ramen: The ingredients are the same, but the chef makes the broth by adding more ingredients rather than making a new pot every day. The umami taste, the perfect blend, comes from a long time of boiling, from daily practice together, and from self-reflection alone. It is always great, but never the same.
It is impossible to make this nice ramen soup, to add movements and emotions, and fine-tune the performances without the audiences’ feedback. An applause by the audience at the end of a performance, the words of a critic that become stuck in a dancer’s head, or the lack of money, if a performance is not connecting with enough people - the influences between the DTH and the audience flow both ways.
Nevertheless, Julián points out how rare it is for the dancers to engage with the audiences after a show in Germany. To eliminate this perceived boundary within their creation process, DTH members have advocated discussion with their audiences, “who feel like getting to know the work of DTH physically themselves,” as quoted from the official website of the DTH.
DTH is becoming active in creating even more contact zones to engage in transcultural interaction with their audience. “We are now only reaching people who know about the existence of the theatre,” explains Thamiris, “but we are actually hoping to become more accessible to the public.” The DTH is reaching out to the world beyond the space of a black box theatre, besides workshop, DTH is also offering off-stage discussions, open studios, hangouts and movement introductions to reduce the distance between the stage and audiences and break through cultural expectations of what a dance theatre can stand for.
Photo Credit: Eilam Weinstock
“Sometimes he [Iván] comes with a clear idea… but sometimes he just throws something and not knowing what will happen at the end…and sometimes we just come up with something.”
— Inés, one of the DTH dancers
Taking part in the transcultural process
The meaning of DTH dancing pieces is abundant and ever-evolving. The experience of creating, performing and viewing the pieces does not create a fixed discourse but provides a continuous exchange of multi-dimensional interaction among audiences, dancers, and the entire community. Ultimately, as you read this article, you, too, have become part of this transcultural interaction.
Photo: Mathias Theisen, Lucia Nieto Vera, Andrea Muelas Blanco, Julían Lazzaro. Photo Credit: Susanne Reichhardt
Back on the stage of Reality and the Cosmos, the dancers demonstrate a journey of exploring from outer space, the earthly society, to inner nature, and finally back again reflecting oneself solely on the outer environment. The dance revolves around the connection between humans and their surroundings in different dimensions; between the dancers and the stage, through their change of costumes, the dancers show their individualities yet in a harmonious way. As the dancers smile and look into each other's eyes on the stage, the audiences are attracted to join into their invisible bond, eager to unravel the reasons behind their smiles. All of a sudden, as they look in front of the stage, the audiences have become part of them.
This article has been written with research contribution by Lena Lanchen Liu and Matilda Chan.
Quick Explainer In Focus
As its name elucidates, In Focus is a place where we discover topics within the neighbourhood of Heidelberg that delves into the realm of transculturality (but to be fair, everything is transcultural!) We explore how transculturality manifests in our surroundings through interviews on interdisciplinary topics with people in Heidelberg, and will eventually reach out to other regions in the future.