The book Pornografia was completed by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz in Argentina in 1958. Despite its provocative title, the novel disappoints the voyeuristic reader as it does not offer what it indicates. Instead, the author exposes processes of language, power and manipulation which are entangled in, and eclipsed by, the very mechanisms of voyeurism in language.
For her new performance piece, choreographer Anne Juren explores how these processes are involved in the gesture of writing. Accordingly, the piece results from a direct confrontation with the term “choreography” which literally means “dance-writing”. To achieve that, Juren extracted descriptions and actions by lead characters from the first part of the two-part novel, which she then translated into a choreographic notation. The resulting sequences of movements constitute the raw material the piece builds on, juxtaposing the dance sequences with the meaning of the word “pornography”, generally defined as “a written description or illustration of prostitutes or prostitution”.
Whereas pornography conjures up the explicit, which does not leave space for interpretation, Juren and the US American dancer Elizabeth Ward strive to open up spaces which allow a multiplicity of interpretations of physical expressions. The process of developing this piece as choreographic research is presented in this first of a series of try-outs.
Dance & Choreography: Anne Juren , Elizabeth Ward
Sound: Christophe Demarthe
Stage, Fanzine & Photo: Roland Rauschmeier
Technic: Alexander Wanko
Foley Artist: Nils Kirchhoff
Production: WTKB
Supported by: the City of Vienna and ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival