Snakes examines the power of touch and the politics of being together, as collaborators and between the performers and audiences. In this project, Jia-Yu and Owen reimagine the Chinese legend, The White Snake and Green Snake, a story that insinuates the fear of female power and subsequent oppression of the feminine. Sourcing from their own history and identity, they reinterpret the well-known image of the snake, a symbol of power, erotica and transformation, to generate meaning through a continuous and mutually creative dialogue.
Credits:
Creation and performance: Jia-Yu Corti, Owen Ridley-DeMonick
Sound: Sam Bentley-Toon (Song: BBC Archive, Chance encounter sung by Tsai Quing from poem by Xu-Zhimo; Song: Fragrance of the long hair, Hangse Lim, Fatima Al Quadiri, Gerhard Becker and Michel Michelet)
Dramaturgy/project advisor: Eliel Jones
Production: Yarli Allison
Costume: Jo Miller (Caps)
Technical director: Michael Picknett
Sources:
The legend of the White Snake, Green Snake (film 1993), Debra Paget dance in The Indian Tomb (film 1955 ), Chinese granny dancing in the park - unknown dancer .
Supported by:Arts Council England, Tanzhaus Zurich
With thanks to: Beatrice Corti, Chinese Arts Now, Chisenhale Dance, Nikki Tomlinson, Ruth Holdsworth, Tanzhaus Zurich
Photos: Kathrine Collings, Eliel Jones, Andy Keate, Désirée Myriam Gnaba
Credits:
Creation and performance: Jia-Yu Corti, Owen Ridley-DeMonick
Sound: Sam Bentley-Toon (Song: BBC Archive, Chance encounter sung by Tsai Quing from poem by Xu-Zhimo; Song: Fragrance of the long hair, Hangse Lim, Fatima Al Quadiri, Gerhard Becker and Michel Michelet)
Dramaturgy/project advisor: Eliel Jones
Production: Yarli Allison
Costume: Jo Miller (Caps)
Technical director: Michael Picknett
Sources:
The legend of the White Snake, Green Snake (film 1993), Debra Paget dance in The Indian Tomb (film 1955 ), Chinese granny dancing in the park - unknown dancer .
Supported by:Arts Council England, Tanzhaus Zurich
With thanks to: Beatrice Corti, Chinese Arts Now, Chisenhale Dance, Nikki Tomlinson, Ruth Holdsworth, Tanzhaus Zurich
Photos: Kathrine Collings, Eliel Jones, Andy Keate, Désirée Myriam Gnaba
Residency at Tanzhaus, ZurichResidency at Tanzhaus Zurich 18th - 28th February 2019 In this residency, we launched our collaboration as co-choreographers. The two week intensive studio time was intended as testing period to develop our working method, without the end goal of a polished performance. Owen and I met through performing together in other people’s work in 2017 at Trajal Harrell's Barbican exhibition. Since then we have worked together as performers and collaborators with Alexandra Bachzetsis, Alex Baczynski-Jenkins and Trajal Harrell. In this research and development project, we seek to develop a language that draws on our cultural, personal and artistic histories. We began the residency with an exploration of the image of the snake and the method of Butoh. Taking the stylistically macabre and carefully considered mindset of Butoh dance and referencing our own history and identity, we reinterpreted the well-known image of the snake, a symbol of power, erotica and transformation, to generate meaning through a continuous and mutually creative dialogue. Rather than illustrating the narrative of the Snake story, we have focused on the themes of seduction, submission and power. From our ostensibly defined perspectives we have introduced nuanced interpretations of the story and attempted to find our individual voices through the collaboration. How we present ourselves to the outside world and what gets to be represented - the hunk, sex symbols, bitch, tiger mom, ruthless operators, voiceless victims, manual labourers. We have delivered two showings (22nd Feb for the public and 28th Feb. for invited guests). For these showings, we have devised two different scores. |
Rehearsals and performance in LondonAfter two months of performing and touring in other artists' works, Owen and I regrouped in London to work on Snakes on 30th April and 4th May, and the final week from the 13th to the performance at Chisenhale Dance Space on the 17th May. Our first task was to reconnect with the materials we've gathered in Zurich back in February. The performance context and it’s influence on the perception of the body has been a key point of investigation. I was inspired by the fashion designer Hussein Chalayan, who said, 'I think having a sense of otherness is a gift. Being from a different place, or having foreign parents, or coming from a different religion, exposes you to different cuisines, different ways of thinking and allows you to open your mind in a very unique way.' His notion of the body has also been a reference point in our sourcing of costume ideas. 'I am very excited about the body. In all aspects of culture, the body is the central theme, everything we do will finally affect the body, everything we build and design in a way reflects the body. For me things are never as exciting if they don’t connect with experience or physicality or thought.' Our attention also shifted to how the Western views of the minority bodies has played on the minority subject traditionally. We began to look into the themes of snakes portrayed in the Western films, particularly in the Disney films. Alongside that, we focused on the contemporary Chinese pop cultures and social dance. From our ostensibly defined perspectives we have intended to introduce nuanced interpretations of the story in this presentation. |
Looking forwardOur R&D has concluded in the sold out performance at Chisenhale Dance Space's Future Friday programme on the 17th May. The work has resulted in bringing non-European aesthetics, sensibility and methods and introducing source materials from Chinese folktale, film and pop culture, Japanese Butoh dance, Indian Bollywood films and the Disney version of the snake stories. We have tested our habits and tendencies to project ourselves to the outside world by tapping into our histories both as performers in and out of the rehearsal/performance environment and as people living in the Western world. We have delved into the question of how our race, gender, age have been framed in the art and the wider world. By subverting the gender and age roles from the narrative, we have examined the fetishised ‘ethnic body’ through our lens as female, queer and minority performers. This project has allowed Owen and I to investigate our relationship between creating and performing. While deeply immersed in the visceral world of Butoh, we have become accustomed to analysing the sensation from physicality during and after a set task. At the same time, we would welcome intuition to guide us to seemingly unrelated imagery and tasks. Our very first inspiration came from me singing an old Taiwanese song to Owen. As an accomplished pianist, he began playing to my singing. In our first Zurich showing, I sang the song and made gentle physical contact with the audiences who stood around me. The scene has left an unexpected impression to us and the audiences - both sides were surprised by and welcome the connection. We took a step forward to shape the ways of touching such as stroking, pressing, leaning and holding. This action has given rise to various emotional responses and we were able to investigate the politics of touch. This way of working has also helped us find strategies and generated fresh ideas for the work. Our incorporation of Chinese pop and social dance culture came through from this open exploration. This collaboration has sharpened my awareness and sensitivity toward choreography and performance. The continuous exploration into and questioning about the 'whats,' 'whys,' 'hows' and 'ifs' with the work has given me a rewarding experience of practising, creating and performing. |