Lepecki to Orlin
Posted by Maia Jordaan
Photo by Jean Pierre Maurin
One day not too long ago I decided to do a web search on Andre Lepecki. I had done this search many times before as I am researching the relevance of Lepecki’s proposals to South African contemporary dance. I am not quite sure what prompted me to do this search yet again. The click of the search button marks the beginning of a whole new journey … something I had longed for … to give voice to my opinions on dance performance. Specifically on South African dance performance as so little is written about it (both locally and internationally). The entry that would bring me into contact with The Winger was a link to a post by Tonya on her blog. She and Tony were discussing starting a reading group on Lepecki’s book Concept & Presence.
I was intrigued by this lovely lady … she is both intelligent & witty & writes fantastically about a whole range of dance. As many of you know by now Tonya put me in contact with Tony & the rest is history … my passionate interest in dance & Lepecki’s writing prompted Tony & Kristin to invite me to become a contributor.
I will be using these posts to tell you more about dance performance in South Africa. I have a keen interest in what is happening on the fringes – what Susan Broadhurst calls liminal spaces & according to Johannes Birringer, border performances. I belief it is within these borders – or gaps as I like to call it – that exciting and fresh ideas are being proposed by both established and up-and-coming choreographers.
These gaps are marked by a questioning of established dance/performance aesthetics which is an important and necessary aspect of breaking boundaries and rupturing the conventional to cultivate growth in choreographic innovation.
In South Africa, this lineage of questioning (characterized by performativity, presence and conceptual dance) can be traced to Robyn Orlin’s work. Today, Robyn lives and works in Europe. It is telling that one of Orlin’s latest works was a collaboration with Vera Mantero, whom Lepecki aligns with the characteristics of contemporary European choreography he highlights in Concept and Presence (2004) & Exhausting Dance (2006). South African dance researcher, Jill Waterman points out “challenging the notion of comfortable genres of dance and theatre categories is, on many occasions, the central thrust of Robyn Orlin’s performance pieces”.
http://www.robynorlin.com
The Paris Voice has this to say about her work:
“With enigmatic and provocative titles like daddy, I’ve seen this piece six times and I still don’t know why they’re hurting each other, South African choreographer Robyn Orlin has sparked more curiosity worldwide than anybody in the dance scene since Trisha Brown during the 1960s.”
Carol Pratl
At the moment she is working on a new work for South Africa’s annual Dance Umbrella in March next year. “I always go back to South Africa - because my dancers are there, and my family - for one project a year…”
I’m very excited about this new work and encourage you to go and see her work if you ever have the chance. Have a look at her great website to get an idea of her quirky humour and fantastic use of imagery.
