Langage as the signpost to nothingness, Lena Schneider, Potsdamer 2007.03.09
It seemed impossible to lose our way that evening. Parisian choreographer Martine Pisani had imbued her movement-etudes with signposts, or rather gestures spelling out the theme of each scene. Take the first scene: three men bumping into each other across the stage, their hands groping into space as if blind. Suddenly one of the men faces us – he is our signpost – and elucidates: “the fog”. He then turns back and resumes his position onstage. Chuckles in the audience. Is the laughter caused by the serious delivery with no hint of irony? By the lack of transition between showing and telling? By the nonchalant explication that is thrown out while we’re in the midst of trying to decipher the scene? We’re overwhelmed by these questions right from the start
Martine Pisani’s new show is brimming with laughter that is triggered by fake obviousness. Comical situations that are badly performed and enigmas with overly simple solutions. Intuition tells us there is something unsaid lurking in the banal scene, and this is what makes Martine Pisani’s work so gripping. She pitches the first interpretation that comes to mind, and as a result the audience looks for the cryptic meaning: what’s underneath it all?
The language used in Pisani’s shows does not shed any light on this. Quite the opposite, it is set up like a trap: it pretends to explain, and thereby masks. The first scene has much less to do with fog than with stumble-encounters, figurative myopia, and the eager pursuit of “clairvoyance”. And it obviously plays with the notion of performativity: what matters is simply the moment of play, "le bel ici" in the title.The traditional relationship between dance and musical rhythms is of no interest to Pisani. And that’s a good thing. The passionate quest for the here and now is tangible in every single scene, even without music, and perhaps all the more so. We can therefore focus on listening to the music of language: bits of French, Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese. And silence plays a special role. For some of the spectators, there is nothing unusual in such a layout. But when total immobility goes on for a whole minute, the audience’s impatience is palpable. Here as well, the signpost is well-aimed: "Time is passing by", comments one of the dancers, stating out loud what we in the audience are thinking. The tension dissipates and there are giggles of relief. The choreographer and the dancers are amazingly in tune with the audience’s expectations and desires – especially so when refusing to fulfill them.
Translated by Natalie Lithwick