On Cultural
Exchange
D.
Patton White, CORE Company Manager
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| CPC in America! question |
Exactly
10 years ago, I was one of 6 CORE Performance Company dancers working in Berlin
with Tanztheater Rubato, a duo company made up of husband/wife
dancer/choreographers Dieter Baumann and Utta Hell. We were there for 6 weeks of work which concluded
with the premiere performance of the new dance, America! question. As a
dancer, it was a very exciting time for me.
I was getting the opportunity to do what I am passionate about
doing—dance—and getting to do that in a very different place than I was
familiar with. Imagine, instead of
driving to work I walked down the 6 flights of stairs to the street (where
Christopher Isherwood had once lived) and headed to the U-bahn—the Berlin subway/elevated train—and took it to
the studio called Halle.
 |
| Experiencing Toulouse |
Jump
10 years later and I was again experiencing the good fortune to be
participating in another cultural exchange.
Once again CORE was collaborating with a duo company made up of
partners-in-life dancer/choreographers, this time Association Manifeste’s
Isabelle Saulle and Adolfo Vargas in Toulouse, France. And this time I was part of the creative
leadership team—one of four ‘directors’ of the new work, Je Suis/I am (Saulle, Vargas, myself and CORE Artistic Director Sue
Schroeder). Again I am getting to do
another thing I am passionate about—to choreograph/design, and in another very
different place than I am familiar with.
I have been given the opportunity to forcibly improve my understanding
of and ability to speak French. I have
the pleasure of experiencing life in a smaller and much older urban area than
where I currently live. And once again I
was able to enjoy life without a car.
Beyond
these every-day things, I am struck by the other incredible gifts that
international and inter-cultural exchange/collaborations provide the
players. In both of these instances, our
exchange has been with western/European cultures. Within the realm of contemporary or modern
dance, this means that we get to dialogue with the descendants of the European
‘line’ of modern/contemporary dance which had a very different focus on
theatricality. Influences from Mary
Wigman, to Bejart, to Maguy Marin were present, as well as an entirely ‘new’
way of approaching performance—informed by a heightened sense of
real-ness. As someone who finds
inspiration in all aspects of culture, the opportunities for architecture,
visual art, sounds/music, religious history, as well as geographical and
climactic realities to filter into the creative process are all exciting. Isabelle and Adolfo bring vast experience as
both performers and creators to the studio, and it is present throughout the
process. The subtle but powerful
presence they exude in the simplest exercise reminds us that technique is not
simply pyrotechnics, but a deep connection to the internal self. An attention to authentic relationships,
with no room for imitation emotions, brings a richness to the creative process.
I
don’t believe that just any American company would have benefitted from either
cultural exchange in the way that CORE has.
I believe that in both instances we were ideally suited to undertake the
challenging work that is cross-cultural collaboration. Each relationship had its own unique
parameters but the culture of CORE, with an appreciation of transparency,
individual expression and non-violent communication proved to be a healthy
incubator in which new work could be nurtured and developed.
The
collaboration with Manifeste is in its infancy, at this point, so I look
forward to being a part of the adolescence and the full maturity in the coming
months and years – look for the premiere performances in Atlanta and Houston in
the Fall of 2014. I look forward to
learning and sharing, and to dipping my toe back in to the performance
pool. All that, and the opportunity to
improve my abilities in the French language, too—even if it is to simply know
that the Toulousienne response to ‘Thank you’, is ‘With pleasure’—just as I
feel about this experience.
