Marseille, 26/3/06

Janice Parker

IS THERE A CONNECTION BETWEEN WHAT YOU SEE AND YOUR OWN WORK? HOW DOES IT CORRESPOND TO OR RELATE

TO YOUR OWN WORK? IF THERE IS A CONNECTION COULD YOU TALK/WRITE ABOUT WHAT THAT IS?

WHY DOES THE MOVEMENT YOU SEE IN THE FILM MATTER TO YOU?

Martine Pisani

The relation that I can see with my own work is related to the presence of body.

Through my pieces, I can ask me a few questions as:

What can do a body? What is it able to produce?

What are we able to see of an ordinary body? Which statute can we give it?

What is the human presence, which are the fundamental ones?

Your images could be the answers to these questions.

Singular bodies

The body is not a perfect mechanics, we do what we can.

Dance starts with what we are. Starting with what we are not can cause a great separation

with what we are.

I like to observe the small errors of the body, the small chance mishaps, the involuntary

demonstrations, the awkwardness.

I like to see that something prevents the body, makes it unstable, not completely as it should be.

As you do it in a way, I work both with dancers and people without dance formation. They grow rich reciprocally.

It is a constant data since my beginnings. Myself, having started to dance at 22 years, didn't pass by a school. I have only frequented

one company as an interpreter. I trained myself on the job and I learned how to manage with a body not shaped.

This explains why what I see in the films matters to me.

In my preceding letter, I tried to describe more particularly

the movements which struck me and why.

Birth of movement

I'm less interested in awkwardness than in freshness and pleasure, which have non-dancers to move because they are in the discovery,

in something of native.

There's always a small additional time after a successful turn which gives it a certain savour. A small time when they must be stabilized

to set out again. They succeeded in and something that was not gained in advance creates the unexpected one.

There is no anticipation on what they carry out. They don't project their image in advance because they don't control it completely.

They do what they have to do. They are constantly in the present. They are in the effort of the present because they don't have a

reference or technique to do. Or rather, they have other points of support from experiments of daily life. They are not in a "savoir faire".

For instance, when they look at somebody, they don't have the eyes lost in one elsewhere. I find this beautiful, childish.

I already spoke you about the mysterious elsewhere of glances in your images but these glances aren't codified as they can be with

dancers.

We often laugh with this topic of glance because a dancer can see without looking. I prefer when people really look at themselves, look at

the direction they go, while being aware that the public looks at them. That creates a kind of disorder...

In your images the disorder or trouble comes differently.

The recurrent question is: how to remain in this childhood of the movement without not appearing artificial or fabricated?

It is perhaps what makes a difference with the people you accompany because they probably can't do differently.


These non-dancers whom I'm working with are more and more clever in the wire of time.

Then the work consists in seeking the accurateness of the movement and of the play.

The play

I try to find situations, which allow this freshness.

I rather cultivate a "ludique" state of mind and a vital distance.

I often say that we are in a space of play. Even if we have very serious instructions and rules because the play is serious...

It is the play, which enables us to hold together. These rules enable us to be together.

I believed to see that the play was also important for you.

Even if the way you use it seems to be different in your work.

For us the distance is necessary. Find the good distance between the others and oneself.

Janice Parker

WHAT THE MOVEMENT AND THE PERFORMANCE AND THE CHOREOGRAPHY FROM THE FILMS ‘GIVES’ YOU AS A

CHOREOGRAPHER AND ARTIST. DOES IT CONTRIBUTE ANYTHING TO YOUR CREATIVE VISION OR CREATIVE PROCESS?

Martine Pisani

I think that nowadays any person who pays the lightest attention to its experiment realizes that it is the experiment of somebody who

does not know, who cannot. The other type of artist, Apollonian, is for me absolutely unknown.

Samuel Beckett

In my work, one often returns me to fragility.

I think that this fragility comes from a presence, which doesn't want to be authoritarian.

And I try not to close the direction of the situations, not to be in a demonstrative way.

I have the desire to let the imaginary of the spectator do the work.

In your images, there is a state of outline, of draft, which opens the imaginary one.

Your images show fragility to be it, fragility and humanity of a body non-specialist. A singular body.

I am interested in vulnerable bodies, which can fail in their attempts.

To expose the ability of a body denying vulnerability, ephemeral, death does not interest me.

I envy you the state of innocence that emerges from what you show with these people.

When I look at the films I have the feeling that it is not possible differently. It is like this, such obvious.

I'm attracted by simple gestures as to rise, to bend down, to carry, to look, to smile...

I believe that the body says much more about its story through elementary gestures than through sophisticated or codified gestures.

Gestures that "everyone could make".

Janice Parker

IF THERE WAS FUNDING (WHICH THERE IS NOT AT THE MOMENT!) FOR YOU TO DEVELOP WORK BASED ON WHAT YOU SEE

IN THE FILMS – WHAT MIGHT THAT BE? HOW WOULD YOU PROCEED FROM HERE? WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO IF GIVEN

THE OPPORTUNITY? WHAT WOULD YOU DO NEXT?

Martine Pisani

I can't answer this question without knowing how you work with these people.

There's also the fact that I only saw them through images.

I would certainly try to do basic, elementary movements. Testing simple situations in the space. Trying to establish relationship between

people.

Perhaps I would work without music.

I also would like to hear their voices. To see them speaking, singing?

I don't know yet. I first would meet them, look at them and try to understand how they are, how they manage to move and communicate.