On possibilities and positionings

Back in 2012 in the very first issue of fromstagetopage, dramaturg and theorist Konstantina Georgelou was invited to write a reflection of what was there; aiming- in her words- to “elicit thoughts on the implications and possibilities of the project”. Ten years later, in 2022, we are here, three other dramaturgs/ theorists, invited anew to reflect and write about this project. Which possibilities of this project have been realised during these 10 years of its existence? 

We passed through 41 interviews and 35 updates. We came across well-known names, names we have never heard of, and names we know their existence but nothing about their practice. Being aware of the limitations that can arise from creating our collective footprint out of this project, this is an attempt to write our reflection, highlighting the points that make up a common ground for us.

Fromstagetopage has formulated a digital encounter of and for the dance scene in Greece,-inspired by similar initiatives in other European countries. It initiated the shift from the doing of choreographic practice to its articulation; it gave voice to the choreographers to develop a discursive mode; it revealed unknown choreographic practices and creative processes; it created a primary source of information; it sowed the seeds for bringing together theory and practice in a common ground; it highlighted the variety of the scene, and ultimately it composed a notable archive for tracing a dancing decade.

If “writing is an act of positioning in an ever-shifting context” as Betina Panagiotara and Stergiani Tsintziloni propose in their text in Vol.2 then let us think for a moment at what kind of positioning the writing of fromstagetopage aims. Positioning of the local choreographers to the local scene; positioning of the choreographers towards themselves; positioning of the local scene to the European scene; positioning of the choreographic practice to the writing practice; positioning of the stage to the page.

On traces and archives

Endeavours like fromstagetopage relying solely on personal effort without financial support, are usually doomed to fade out after some time exactly because of lack of time, consistency, influence. They tend to wear out themselves. In this case, the toll was great delays from interviewing to transcribing, translating and publishing. What was happening in the present time when choreographers were interviewed becomes archived in the published issue. What was current, no longer is. The project constantly moves between past and present. The interviews could be seen as traces or “incomplete records of events”[1] of the choreographers’ practices in the past that say something in the present. The traces of a choreographer’s practice can be read as signs of a choreographer’s universe that is still to be explored.

The structural logic of the interviews and the regular updates create a constant state of

archiving and unarchiving, a movement of back and forth. What was captured and archived as a choreographer’s approach could be countermanded some years later from the choreographer themselves. Dance theorist and philosopher Erin Manning discusses the notion of the anarchive as a ‘repertory of traces of events’ that are full of potential when reactivated. She emphasises how these traces are an invitation to re-iterate into the present fragments from the past in such a way that “the anarchive is not documentation of a past activity. Rather, it is a feed-forward mechanism for lines of creative process, under continuing variation.”[2]

Fromstagetostage engages in this process of archiving and unarchiving, considering the artistic identity and practice as something that is actively negotiated and includes dynamic, ongoing, fluid and continuously changing processes. In that way, it creates a reflective practice in the present as to who are the ‘Greek’ choreographers and how they work.

On greekness

There is an implicit question in the background of this project that informs our own reflection, as to who or what makes up the Greek dance scene that the project speaks of, who feels part of it, and if it even exists. It is a playful ground to think further on this project as it sets off from uncertainty, a question rather than an answer, an opening rather than closing. Is there a Greek dance scene and if so what are its characteristics seems to be the question that brings all these different choreographers together in an otherwise individual setting; an interview that focuses specifically on the working practices of each and every choreographer. It is this question that brings about a sense of lost community or even the question about what makes up this community where everyone works on their own. What then makes the local contemporary dance

scene a scene? It is this notion of locality defined by its modes of production, such as a scarcity of materials and funding, similar educational background and evolving choreographic practices. 

Moreover, the traits characterising this project -how it was set, how it operated, its aims, its temporality- are common traits with this local scene: lack of support, scarcity of material, personal effort, and individual structures rather than collective. In other words, this is a project that replicates in its working practices what is already occurring in the local scene aiming to overcome these difficulties and to become a carrier of possibility, alternatives, and change. But even in the midst of all this scarcity, what can we actually observe about the scene itself?

On the scene/on here and now

Scrolling through these interviews, we noted some common characteristics that perhaps make up the scene, as it is being outlined in these issues which include part of the choreographic scene. Let’s address some points:

1. The recurring need for a ‘return to the body’ after the pandemic is quite a statement considering that in contemporary dance in Greece the body and its materiality has always been at the forefront. What does it mean to return to the body? Is it a request from the dance scene for the dance per se, or is it perhaps an articulation from dance artists of a social need that after years of not touching, not coming together, we need to return to the body? And what kind of shifts in relation to the body has this pandemic generated?
2. Τhe modernist body. Already in her text in the first volume, Georgelou pinpoints some trends in dance in Greece that have to do with modernist approaches to body and dance: the body that speaks the truth, it is original in its expression compared to language; it provides an alternate to the other artistic fields. Overall, the body becomes a carrier of change through its originality. An over-psychological almost romantic approach of the body and the function of dance and choreography. It seems that these modernist views are still present at large in the way choreographers articulate their visions. Of course, there are some interviews that are indicative of alternative approaches to dance and the body taking into consideration more recent historical moves about dance and exploring its materiality in different terms, its interdependence to notions of labor and production, its philosophical extensions or even a partial attempt to integrate other mediums than the established. Nonetheless, the road is still long and the potential is vaster.
3. The difficult or even impossible task of imagining the future of the Greek dance scene. It makes sense: in a period of pessimism and no alternatives this is not an easy task. No one actually wants to envisage a worse future, but the present seems to produce an increasing fear that what is coming is worse than what we are already living. The present and its difficulties seem inescapable, not in dance terms but in socio-political ones given that all alternatives to current neoliberal and post-fordist modes of living seem doomed to fail. Thus, it is not surprising that in most interviews future projections are characterised by doubt as to their possible realization, whereas in other cases the proposition is that we should erase our past and start anew. In contrast, other choreographers suggest that we should reconsider the notion of working collectively as an empowering practice, without exploring the details and connotations of such a practice. Once more the ghosts of collective modes of working return to haunt us as if they were possible only in the past, while they are still being discussed as an alternative. How then can we imagine the future as a prosperous time for ourselves and our sector? Although idealistic, an optimistic position -both individually and collectively -could create the conditions to insist on the principles and methods we would like to modify. The transformative composition of the field, its dynamics, its identities have in any case displayed a remarkable turn in the decade that has been recorded and it seems that the space has been created to revisit the archive and expand it towards new demands.
4. The choreographic work as a process of collective labor is not presented as a central statement. Although the presence of dancers is slightly mentioned, there seems to be a limited reference to the other professionals involved in the process. Musicians/sound designers, visual artists, light designers and, more recently, dramaturgs, are among other contributors within a choreographic work. Τhus, thoughts emerge about the dynamics, the hierarchies and the singularity of the choreographer as the authoritative power. Does the lack of emphasis on collaborative work both inside and outside the studio underline a lack of recognition of different practices? How can we address the issue of invisible labor? Working collectively seems to be a hard process, but perhaps other forms may emerge that have not yet been extensively evolved in the local context.

On more possibilities and utopias

Going back to the operating modes of fromstagetopage and its initial aims, we recognised a somehow romantic vision. It started from a single choreographer aiming to contribute to her wider dance community without any support, having the long term vision of mapping the multiplicity of choreographic practices and the variety of a local dance scene, believing that there is something more to be communicated; a scene that needs to be made more visible in its disparity. We use the term romantic to highlight an underlying faith that there is a community of dance practitioners that can come together in difference and initiate a dialogue based on respect and exchange. Romantic in its idea that this project can put the spotlight on an understudied scene and create a hub of connections locally and internationally. Romantic in the structure and scale of the questions towards the emergence of individuality. Romantic as in most projects that invest in creating a collective imaginary out of fragments, bits and pieces scattered within a precarious and very antagonistic working context. 

However, the pitfall of romanticism is that it beautifies precarious working conditions for artists who rely on themselves, their sacrifices and their ‘love for their art’ to keep on going and to survive financially. A romantic approach may well hide the socio-economic inequalities and realities existing in the field, creating an illusion that we all struggle with the same conditions, whereas in reality, everyone is coming from a different background, and does not have the same conveniences to struggle and evolve in this field. Nevertheless, romanticism keeps alive the possible utopias. It can create small re-locations/transpositions/transformations consisting of tiny -sometimes even imperceptible- movements that contribute to bigger shifts in the long run. More and more possibilities could arise then. 

Without any doubt, all this collected written material in fromstagetopage is a notable source for mapping part of the so-called Greek dance scene. Taking that as granted, reaching the conclusion of this reflection, we are motivated to ask in what other ways could the historical line of the Greek dance scene be written and recorded? Who else is part of this scene and needs a voice too? How can the local scene gain further visibility? How can such an initiative be read and understood by a wider community?

These questions act for us as an invitation to keep on reflecting not necessarily on this project but primarily on the issues that it brings forth as to what and who makes this local scene and what are its -shifting- working practices and conditions. These questions are not meant to be stagnant, but rather to act as a trigger for moving back and forth into this archive leaving different traces each time. Repositioning -as activated by this project- is always part of a creative process. So, we wonder, what kind of repositioning acts will the researchers of the future spot when looking back at the next 10 years of fromstagetopage?

Elena Novakovits, Betina Panagiotara, Rodia Vomvolou

2022

[1] Garry Barker http://fineartdrawinglca.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-imprint-and-trace.html

[2] Erin Manning What things Do when They Shape Each Other

http://s3.amazonaws.com/arena-attachments/990937/bdabcf14b7f9b5ab91be88ac871d44aa.pdf?149305

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