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SIXTY-SEVEN GRANDPARENTS
By Agnieszka Ryszkiewicz
Olga, Gina, Gilad, Cecylia, Waltraud, Ran,
Dragana, Mia, François, Yun-Ju, Izabela, Montzerrat, Aitana, Ana Lucia,
Madalina, Milka, Andreas, Christopher, Yuki, Marlene, Cristina, Julia,
Florentina, Alexander, Brendan, Joseph, Lenio, Ivana, Julia, Idil, Emma,
Gillie, Kylie, Katalin, Asgeir, Aloun, Mayra, Stephen, Christina, Ofir, Janet,
Mamela, Edna, Seeta, Montserrat, Sarah, Aparna, Otto, Will, Maria Jose,
Agnieszka, Felipe, Sifiso, Corinne, Ligia, Venke, Sarah, Ionut, Gilda, Yeong-Ran,
Simone, Niklas, Alexis, Elsa, Yandan and Branka, DD and Trajal lie, sit, kneel
and bend on every free centimeter of the common salon at the Studienhaus,
situated in Neustiftgasse no. 83. They are impatient to learn what DD in DD
Dorvillier's name stands for. Once the co-coach of this year's DanceWeb edition
reveals her name, the 67 so-called DanceWebbers accept the prior condition – the mentor is to be their common grand-child.
The
question about the role of the mentor turns into a more subversive one, that of
the role of the grandchild which directly redirects the focus to the issue of
"what does it mean to be somebody's grandparent?"
A
grandparent is responsible for him/herself and should not seek validation,
confirmation or negation of his/her decisions, nor should he seek applause or
job offers from his/her descendents. Grandmothers and grandfathers should not
wait to be guided, but go wherever they decide to go, a helpful hand is within
reach, a person to accompany them, sharp eyes that offer different perspectives
and propose adequate paths and finally an emergency telephone is at their
disposal. The grandchildren offer their subtle, noninvasive and
non-objectifying presence.
Although
they are in need of support, the ancestors are self-sufficient and independent
beings.
What does
it mean to be independent when one becomes a DanceWebber and decides to dance
in the Viennese web for exactly 34 days? What does it mean when from every
corner of the streets advertising posters shout out loud "get ready for the
time of your life"?
67 participants of the scholarship program
DanceWeb sponsored by the EU, Austria, and hopefully their native countries are
encouraged to profit, use and abuse this time
of their life. They are offered around 40 different workshops per day.
Those provide an opportunity to develop various dance techniques, to acquire
new skills, or to discover a body practice or body discourse the participants
have maybe never come across before. In parallel, at least four specific
projects are running: coaching projects and pro series – these intense meetings
with different choreographers allow the DanceWebbers an exclusive look into the
artists' work, and permit encounters with some "big names" of the dance world
that can obviously result in some working proposals if not collaborations.
Talking
about work possibilities, the DanceWebbers are aware of the great chance they
have to get to know the Viennese programmers. They could present their work and
interests in-between the workshops or while wandering around in the Arsenal during
lunch or dinner time. Rather at lunch break, because every night, at least one
performance awaits them. These are 30 unique opportunities to see things that
are not present in the Arsenal's dance mediateque yet, where the grandparents
try to hang out in their free (?) time enriching their knowledge. This very
knowledge they are encouraged to share during their special weekly meetings – salons – that replace the quotidian Burg Theatre Lounge Party. But in the
Lounge – no time to dance. 67 of the Dancewebbers are busy exchanging
experiences and building new contact networks in order to promote their work,
to invite some to some others' venues, or just to find those with whom they can
share a common language and discuss trends and tastes and personal interests in
dance.
The initial
warnings, and "keep it cool" advices of the DanceWeb organizers seem to be
forgotten: How can one not be overwhelmed when he or she is constantly
struggling with the question of efficacy and being efficient? "Am I properly using this once in a lifetime
time of my life? Could somebody tell me how to do it?" During his
second opening speech, Ismael Ivo stated positively: "It is a
place to experiment and enjoy. (…) It is to be enjoyed by professional dancers
and all the dance lovers." Is
ImPulsTanz 2008 a place where the professional grandparents cannot be dance
lovers but are only supposed to have the time of their lives?
(July 20, 2008)
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