Welcome, Guest

Want to take part in these discussions? Sign in if you have an account, or apply for one below

Vanilla 1.1.10 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

supported by

Many Bodies of Contemporary Dance: Raimund Hoghe - tell me more!

1 to 24 of 24

- CommentAuthorMarie
- CommentTimeApr 26th 2010
What a thrill to see that Raimund Hoghe is coming back to Dublin! And how great to have a forum to talk about him and learn more about how and why that is!

I was lucky enough to see his Swan Lake here 2 years ago, and I think I fell a little bit in love with him.

Isn't that what a great artist does... make you feel something intensely? And if you can feel something that hasn't come from your own personal story or experience, couldn't that empathy be called a kind of love?

To me, love puts self second. When a person or an artist inspires you to do that, even for just a few minutes, you become bigger than yourself somehow. Hard to put into words, isn't it?

Words whittle down human experience to small dot-dash-dot signals. Contemporary dance, particularly of the Pina Bausch tradition (I only ever saw one of her shows in Toronto in 1983, and then Raimund in Dublin in 2008) seems to be able to make you understand something profound and important at fibre-optic speed (to persue the telecoms analagy)!

Personally, because I tend to be critical/analytical about language, I often find it difficult to be moved to inspiration/love/admiration/empathy just by words, and yet I crave the experience. It is tremendously important for individuals and for society to be able to understand, accept and admire other people and other points of view.

I am not a dancer or a connaisseur in any way. I sort of fluked my way into a few audiences, and have found it to be an incomparable experience. I can't wait to see Raimund on stage again next month and I want to know so much more about him. I have been reading his website ( www.raimundhoghe.com ), but I would love to know what other people have to say about him and his shows.

And tell us please how you found him and persuaded him to come here? Good on ya, DDF!
- CommentAuthorEllie
- CommentTimeApr 27th 2010
Glad to see you're so excited about Raimund Hoghe's forthcoming performances, Marie - we're excited to be presenting his work in Dublin again. I like your fibre-optic speed analogy - how apt it is to describe that visceral connection that can catch you off guard, particularly when watching dance work.

It was Laurie Uprichard, DDF's Director, who started talking to Hoghe in the summer of 2008 about coming back to Dublin (Swan Lake was on in 2006 - how time does fly!). They've known each other for a good while, and Laurie felt that this year was a good time to invite him back to DDF.

She's travelling at the moment, so I'm going to channel her thoughts a wee bit....it was the title of Young People, Old Voices that really resonated and raised lots of intriguing questions about youth, age and how people are represented on stage and in dance studios. Questions like 'who and what defines age?', 'how much of someone's age is numerical, how much attitudinal?' arose and inspired much of how the rest of this year's Festival was programmed. In Young People, Old Voices, what is espcially powerful is the contrast between Hoghe's performance quality - subtle, sober and rather intense - with the energy and vigour of the twelve young people who join him on stage. One of my favourites quotes about Hoghe's work comes from Gia Kourlas, who wrote the following in Time Out New York:
"Hoghe is a rare sort of dancer,...his presence – indelibly gentle and profoundly graceful – casts a strange spell. He changes the way a room breathes.”

By the sounds of it you've experienced that feeling already....I wonder how many more people out there have been similarly captivated by Hoghe?
- CommentAuthormary kate
- CommentTimeApr 29th 2010 edited
Its interesting isn’t it to consider how in fact contemporary dance can succeed in communicating something profound and important both as Marie puts it, at fibre-optic speed, and through a codified language.

I think in terms of how Raimund Hoghe’s work might communicate, two key facets have been touched upon – that of his ability to inspire an empathy or indeed a kind of love in the viewer, and the juxtaposition of his body and performance alongside others. Of course so many more elements are at play too, but I thought I might chip in with a few thoughts around how I feel the viewer is seduced into a state of empathy in his work.

Rippling through much of Hoghe’s work is the evocation of shared cultural history and memory. Hoghe often stresses that audience members are not blank canvases. Each one of us brings to the theatre our own experience and memories, which subtly influence how we ‘see’ performance. Some of these will be private, and some collective; shards of cultural memory lodged inert within us which highlight our commonality when they float to the surface. Something remarkable about Hoghe’s work is I think, his ability to draw on these shared and private memories to create something new, and provide a differing lens through which to view them.

Vital in bringing about this shift in perception are among others, his selective use of well-known and iconic music such as the Swan Lake score, and a carefully layered use of imagery, reduced to stark minimalistic form. And so for example, we hear the sweeping strains of Tchaikovsky in Swan Lake 4 Acts, but witness only a faint swan-like arc in the flick of a wrist or a turn of the head. We come with our preconceived notions of Swan Lake and are confronted with something new.

Amid this exchange, there is a sense of highlighting both what is shared, but perhaps more remarkably, what is different. What can Swan Lake viewed thus for example, offer in terms of challenging our expectations of what constitutes a dancing body, or referencing the catalogue of histories held in a score which has been played for well over a century? There is a quiet challenge to the viewer implicit in this mechanism: to inhabit something new, to rupture a norm. But this is done through the gentlest of means as it is done by first kindling a sort of empathy in the onlooker; by finding common evocative ground, before shattering expectation.

Young People, Old Voices is no exception in its ability to disrupt preconceptions in terms of as Ellie mentioned, age and representation. In this work however, I think this is achieved through the viewer experiencing the interplay between Hoghe and his younger performers. There is a stark physical difference in physicality and presence, not just between Hoghe and the other dancers, but indeed, fostered between each of the performers – individuality is celebrated in this work. In highlighting these differences, what is magnified is not division, but a sense of exchange and sharing, on a level other than superficial. I saw Young People, Old Voices some time ago in Paris; I’m so looking forward to seeing the work performed by an Irish cast!

Hoghe’s website is a good resource to find out more about his work and the differing elements at play within his performances. Under the ‘English’ page: http://www.raimundhoghe.com/english.php
you can find texts from different writers on his work which draw out a range of facets.
- CommentAuthorMarie
- CommentTimeMay 5th 2010
Just reading Deirdre Mulrooney's blog (deirdremulrooney.blogspot.com) where she includes a quote from Pina Bausch herself - “There is no such thing as communal response. Each person in the public is part of a piece, and has their own relationship to it”. Bausch, whose oeuvre provided her audience with space for self-exploration, and the opportunity to initiate awareness of many ways of seeing, compared experiencing her work to the sensation of being the first to open the door on a fresh snowfall: “You feel it. It cannot be shared. And this is very important”.

Wow. I like that notion!

But I am not sure I agree that we don't share some of the same things in a synchronised way... I think we empathise and we exchange. We don't all feel the same thing at the same time, but performance like this a feast. If you offered all of that sensory delight to an individual it would be sort of decadent, or not have any moral value... but when it's shared among many it becomes a celebration!

What do you think?
- CommentAuthorjeffg
- CommentTimeMay 5th 2010
It struck me as a blinding insight but it’s actually blindingly obvious: many of the ‘many bodies of contemporary dance’ are the ones in the darkness watching. In fact, I love to see other members of the audience. I am fascinated by how they react. I think of the Globe of Shakespeare’s time, how there were many perspectives possible on the action; from near or far, from above or below. Each point of view has its own flavour, and the presence in my experience of a show of other possible ways of seeing it, enriches my experience. I am aware simultaneously of my own reactions and associations, and those of others, which of course I can only guess at.
As something of a philosopher, and a lover of the theatre experience, I wonder about the ‘machine’ of a good play or piece. I think of the stage as a kind of lens. The performer uses the stage to concentrate the attention of an audience. With this concentrated attention, a clever or experienced performer can make magic. But the attention is the stuff, the magic mirror, that a show works with.
There is a great desire within theatre and dance to give the audience an opportunity to take part. It’s a natural impulse from someone who loves their work to want to share the experience, and for me watching a show rarely matches the experience of taking part: putting it on. But more and more I realise how essential this task of the audience’s is: they concentrate, they lend their attention to the piece, and only in this shared attention can certain truths become known, can certain realities be opened and explored. The audience, in a choreography of the imagination, actually produces and holds the container for the experience of the piece. Without the audience, in all its multiplicity and variety, with all the different responses that they offer, can the shared experience of ‘being moved’ take place.
- CommentAuthorDMulroon
- CommentTimeMay 6th 2010
Very interesting! Yes indeed - the "many bodies" - of the spectator is right. Don't you feel that watching contemporary dance, even if you are just sitting in your seat not moving, is a very visceral, somatic, bodily experience? Communicating, or maybe even communing, in a non-verbal language. That's why it can be so difficult to capture in words afterwards?
- CommentAuthorjeffg
- CommentTimeMay 6th 2010
yes i agree. but even the attempt to 'capture' the experience is perhaps wrongly put. i have an intuition that dance is like energy: there is a law of conservation of dance that states that it can never be used up or disappear: it just turns into some other form of dance. dance is energy in motion, maybe, and it provokes movement in mind, thought, word, emotion... I've looked at this a lot lately, both through my occasionally 'streaming' series http://choreograph.net/raw?thread=streaming and through my work on Sediments of an Ordinary Mind and Framemakers books: as a writer, my aim is to create the conditions in the reader that causes them to dance in some way, again, in thought or emotion...
- CommentAuthorMarie
- CommentTimeMay 6th 2010
Yes -- the many bodies include those of us watching. That's very insightful and well-said! And yes, although it is difficult to use a different medium such as this, I think it's still worthwhile. We are, through this dialogue, shaping the audience (without whom there would be no performance)!

This leads me to consider the legacy of the performer, and I am curious about how age will factor into Raimund's new show. I haven't read about it so I can enjoy the delight of watching it unfold, but my disappointment at being too old to volunteer for the casting still lingers...!

Seriously though, as far as dance is concerned, age must be the ultimate taboo. It is hard enough to get an audience out to see beautiful bodies. What does it mean to a dancer to be "chronologically challenged"?
- CommentAuthorjeffg
- CommentTimeMay 10th 2010
certainly for me its sometimes a breath of fresh air to not be confronted with the pneumatic shapes of young dancers. a performer's presence is itself so important, and there is a special quality about the presence of a body that has prevailed for so many more years than mine.. whether that is a matter of grace or experience or a certain kind of slowness or perhaps a different awareness of time passing
- CommentAuthorDMulroon
- CommentTimeMay 11th 2010
Actually I thought septuagenarian Mary O'Connor, who featured in "Five Ways to Drown", was a wonderful, and compelling dancer. It's all the rage now in Contemporary Dance to be "chronologically challenged" (that's subjective, anyway). Look at Pina Bausch's Kontakthof with over 65's. And that's just one example. What does that say about Contemporary Dance, I wonder? The amazing Joanna Banks is such an amazing presence on John Scott's tableaux. Or Esther O'Brolchain, who was fantastic in CoisCeim's "Chamber Made" a few years ago. There are plenty examples, no?
- CommentAuthorDMulroon
- CommentTimeMay 11th 2010
Here is a link to a great article on "the silver haired revolution" in contemporary dance - read this oh you of little chronological faith!:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article7021962.ece
- CommentAuthorMarie
- CommentTimeMay 16th 2010
Thanks, Deirdre and Jeff! Looking forward to Raimund's show. :-)
- CommentAuthorjohns
- CommentTimeMay 18th 2010
i saw Raimund Hoghe first in Montpellier Danse in 1999 and have been following his work I saw his Swan Lake in Montpellier in 2005 and were transported. I was told Catherine Nunes and Marina Rafter about him and they brought Swan Lake to Dublin. Laurie Uprichard has been following him for years too and has made YOUNG PEOPLE, OLD VOICES the centre piece of this years festival. There are some local young people performing with Raimund in this beautiful work - what an incredible opportunity for them to work directly with such a great artist. What a great thing Laurie is doing bringing this to Ireland
- CommentAuthorMarie
- CommentTimeMay 18th 2010
Just got back from seeing this show and thought it was really beautiful!

It was graceful and gentle, imaginative and brimming with wit, ideas and sensitive imagery. I thought it was full of sweetness, and great tenderness among the cast members. The commitment of the performers was phenomenal as itself!

To really appreciate this show, I think you have to relax and just let your senses enjoy. The human mass on stage just soaks you up and spits you out, like a breathing, drinking thing.
- CommentAuthorTALLEYViolet
- CommentTimeSep 20th 2010
Houses are expensive and not everyone is able to buy it. Nevertheless, <a href="http://bestfinance-blog.com/topics/mortgage-loans">mortgage loans</a> are created to support people in such kind of hard situations.
- CommentAuthorEvansAdriana29
- CommentTimeJul 28th 2011
freelance writer
- CommentAuthorngoaiko
- CommentTimeDec 16th 2011
<a href="http://www.gobuywatch.com/">Replica Audemars Piguet Wacthes</a> <a href="http://www.gobuywatch.com/">Replica Wacthes</a> <a href="http://www.gobuywatch.com/">Replica Gucci Wacthes</a> <a href="http://www.gobuywatch.com/replica-rolex-wacthes-c-275.html">Replica Rolex Wacthes</a> <a href="http://www.gobuywatch.com/replica-rolex-wacthes-c-275.html">fake Rolex Wacthes</a> .Generally presenting most companies contend with the same prices; they need to do this kind of if selecting to just be competitive.But this doesn't mean which they all have got identical expenditures.You should check around until you stumble upon the company containing the smallest prices to go along with the preferred reputation. 3.Consider how a good deal experience a watch wholesaler features.Have they experienced business for several years? Or would they just begin? You would want to partner along with a company which includes experience around.This way you are aware of that you're getting the most effective of the most useful. four.Selection is definitely important.If you need your business to cultivate you will need to undertake a large choices
- CommentAuthorwertnereric
- CommentTimeDec 17th 2011
<a href="http://www.kissthenorthface.org/">Discount North Face Jackets</a> <a href="http://www.kissthenorthface.org/">North Face Coats</a> <a href="http://www.kissthenorthface.org/north-face-mens-c-1.html">North Face Mens</a> <a href="http://www.kissthenorthface.org/north-face-mens-c-1.html">Northface Mens Coats</a> <a href="http://www.kissthenorthface.org/north-face-mens-c-1.html">The North Face Men's Clothing</a> .You are able to do either one of these brilliant activities some people choose to wait for one's kids to build their pockets and sneakers on before out the threshold.The floor might be a little more difficult, though.As opposed to doing the complete floor at one time, if there is a big floorboards, just do one half.Pick that dirtiest 1 / 2, and secure that cleansed.Then afterwards, when you have got another little bit, you will tackle one other half on the floor.This makes the duty seem a lesser amount of daunting. It is possible to speed up your bathrooms cleaning by just putting the bathroom .cleaner inside bowl.Although that soaks that bowl, it is possible to clean that sink along with countertop.Next, the stuff in the bowl can be loosened away and demand little lots of easy swipes on the brush
- CommentAuthorterrasibern
- CommentTimeDec 18th 2011
<a href="http://www.selltiffanyjewelry.org/tiffany-bracelets-c-1.html">tiffany bracelets</a> <a href="http://www.selltiffanyjewelry.org/tiffany-bracelets-c-1.html">cheap tiffany bracelet</a> <a href="http://www.selltiffanyjewelry.org/tiffany-bracelets-c-1.html">tiffany bracelet heart</a> <a href="http://www.selltiffanyjewelry.org/tiffany-bracelets-c-1.html">tiffany and co bracelets</a> <a href="http://www.selltiffanyjewelry.org/tiffany-rings-c-16.html">tiffany rings</a>
- CommentAuthorwertnereric
- CommentTimeDec 24th 2011
<ul><li><a href="http://www.iceason.com/">
- CommentAuthornelutkevale
- CommentTimeJan 23rd 2012
<a href="http://www.newwatchesoutlet.com/audemars-piguet-watches-c-1.html">fake Audemars Piguet watches</a> <a href="http://www.newwatchesoutlet.com/audemars-piguet-watches-c-1.html">Audemars Piguet Replica watches</a> <a href="http://www.newwatchesoutlet.com/audemars-piguet-watches-c-1.html">Replica Audemars Piguet Watches for Sale</a> <a href="http://www.newwatchesoutlet.com/audemars-piguet-watches-c-1.html">discount Audemars Piguet watches</a> <a href="http://www.newwatchesoutlet.com/audemars-piguet-watches-c-1.html">Audemars Piguet watches</a> . Not alone does the corporate offer ladies' collections, furthermore they cater towards men as well as babies at the same time.But used just for fun, lets consider the clutches available from Coach. Unsecured personal Stripe Style The Reversible Vacation Tote features an inside pocket, make for suitcases, leather eliminate, and jacquard clothes.It enters in brass in addition to khaki styles, and as well deep reddish colored or deep blue colors.This move sells intended for $400. Soho Style The Material Hobo shows a cell phone pocket, dusted suede through leather reduce, and a lot more.This hobo enters in brass in addition to gold hues, and retails for the purpose of $500. Hampton Day Style That Scarf Art print Demi attributes an exterior pocket, get top fastener, signature headscarf fabric having suede not to mention leather cut
- CommentAuthordobowlenrenal
- CommentTimeJan 25th 2012
<a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">2011 New Dr Dre Studio For Christmas Gifts</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Cheap Dr Dre Studio</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Monster Studio Diamond Beats</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Dr Dre Diamond Sale</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Dr Dre Studio For Christmas</a>
- CommentAuthorngoaiko
- CommentTimeJan 27th 2012
<a href="http://www.kissdrdrebeats.com/">beats by dr dre studio mods</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/">Beats by Dre</a> <a href="http://www.idrdreheadphones.com/">dre beats</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/">beats by dre studio</a> <a href="http://www.bigbeatsbydre.com/">Cheap Beats by Dre</a> <a href="http://www.kissdrdrebeats.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">2011 New Dr Dre Studio For Christmas Gifts</a> <a href="http://www.kissdrdrebeats.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Cheap Dr Dre Studio</a> <a href="http://www.kissdrdrebeats.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Monster Studio Diamond Beats</a> <a href="http://www.kissdrdrebeats.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Dr Dre Diamond Sale</a> <a href="http://www.kissdrdrebeats.com/2011-new-dr-dre-studio-for-christmas-gifts-c-4.html">Dr Dre Studio For Christmas</a>
- CommentAuthorterrasibern
- CommentTime2 days ago
<a href="http://www.storeengagementrings.com/pandora-jewelry-c-77.html">Pandora</a> <a href="http://www.storeengagementrings.com/pandora-jewelry-c-77.html">Pandora Jewelry</a> <a href="http://www.storeengagementrings.com/pandora-jewelry-c-77.html">cheap Pandora Jewelry</a> <a href="http://www.storeengagementrings.com/pandora-jewelry-c-77.html">buy Pandora Jewelry</a> <a href="http://www.storeengagementrings.com/pandora-jewelry-c-77.html">discount Pandora Jewelry</a>

1 to 24 of 24

Discussions | Categories | Search | Contact Us

© Creative Dialogue Irl. Dislaimer: The information contained in these web pages is solely for informational purposes. CDI accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever arising as a result of use or reliance on this information, we endevour to moderate these discussions, however are not responsible for the public opnion expressed within them. Posts maybe used for future publication. Privacy is paramount to us, we will never release your contact informatioon. If you require further information or clarification please feel free to contact us.

Web Solution by Optimize Arts

About Creative Dialogue

We are committed to building creative communities, believing that these dialogues are fundamental to artistic progress and development, we invite you to participate in these discussions on Creative Arts in Ireland and look forward to hearing of your opinions and experiences.