Lab : danse-vidéo
Heidi Strauss
APPROACH
Dance allows me to constantly explore - ways of thinking, moving and interacting. In making work, I question what is real, and why. I’m coaxed on by the constantly evolving relationship between body and mind, the accumulation factor in understanding, the pull of memory, the desire for the impossible, the remarkable tendency towards empathy, the sudden virtuosity out of what, at first, appears ordinary. I see these things as part of the gift of being human and am conscious of them in my practice as a dance artist. Though each process is particular to the content and drive of the work, a set of values inform decisions. These largely involve working with what exists - the raw material being the space and the people.
Dance allows me to constantly explore - ways of thinking, moving and interacting. In making work, I question what is real, and why. I’m coaxed on by the constantly evolving relationship between body and mind, the accumulation factor in understanding, the pull of memory, the desire for the impossible, the remarkable tendency towards empathy, the sudden virtuosity out of what, at first, appears ordinary. I see these things as part of the gift of being human and am conscious of them in my practice as a dance artist. Though each process is particular to the content and drive of the work, a set of values inform decisions. These largely involve working with what exists - the raw material being the space and the people.
WITH LE BROKE LAB
At the time when we worked together, I was thinking a lot about cycles (natural and mechanical) as well as the fact that the female body through the act of childbearing transforms into an object of utility. This practical reality has an impact on self-perception – for me, at least. Since dance is inherently about body and it’s many partners (including sexual and gender readings) I started to consider if and how neutrality - or the body’s utility - could be extracted. Can changing visual perspective allow abstraction to have us read things differently? Or at least provide a multitude of ways to see. I got excited about the idea of the functionality of a cycle of movement in the form of a body kaleiscope. We headed into our 10 hours intending to get footage we could use towards a short film that addressed these ideas. In the first 6 hours we created an interdependent looping cycle of floor movement, and in the remaining time filmed the material aerially, and from low perspectives on the floor with the dancers both clothed and unclothed. The editing is still in progress…
Photos are screen captures from an-in-progress edit of the film.
À propos de Heidi
Heidi Strauss is a dancer and choreographer. In 2008 she founded adelheid dance projects. She was dance artist-in-residence at the Factory Theatre (2008-2012) where she created 3 works including the multi Dora Award winning this time. Her work has toured across the country. Strauss has choreographed for Toronto Dance Theatre, The Frankfurt Opera, The Canadian Opera Company, and worked as a movement collaborator for theatre. She has given workshops across Canada, and in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Singapore. Strauss received the KM Hunter Award for Dance (2012), and is currently a resident artist at the Theatre Centre.
Portrait de Heidi par Jeremy Mimnagh