#3 december 2021
The spring 2022 blogpost comes from our member Denise Lim, who presented her work Barely There at this years The Urge to ... land Extended Festival. The following text is the Notes from her ARTEFACT creation residency at Dance Nucleus Singapore.
10.02.22 First day
11:00 – 12:00 Warm up
12:00 – 13:00 Talk
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:30 – 16:00 Aura score, break down/mapping out
16:00 – 17:00 Duet research
11.02.22 Writing task: What can 2 people do?
They can do the same thing together at the same time
They can do it one the other
One does, the other watches; one person active, the other passive
They can do different things at the same time
One person on stage at any one moment
They can do the same thing in different ways
They can see the same thing from different angles
They can always do different things
They can be friends. They can be enemies. They can be family. They can be strangers. They can be lovers. They can be a team. They can lift something heavy
Working together but doing different things
No one has an overview, each person on their own journey
But come together in moments into recognisable relations
One supporting the other, one witnessing the other, one onstage other offstage
Matter of composition; moments of transition between different constellations
Finding synchronicity in different relations/actions/states of inaction
Independence/dependence
Carry a table
Argue
Make love
Ignore each other
Sync
Share a secret
Let down
Tango
High five
One carry the other
One hide the other
One cover the other
Hug
Hold hands
Chase
Lead and follow
Help out
Look into each other's eyes
Throw something on the other
Compete
14.02.22 Working method
We’d been in the studio for a week and it became apparent that our method for working with the material was systematic. On a piece of paper we mapped out the different practices: Aura, Dance phrases, Hide/reveal. Then we noted how they could be done differently. Within the aura practice: caress or attack, zoom in or zoom out, gaze and body in sync or out of sync. We work through these different practices by performing for each other, then talking about what worked or didn’t work, and what would be interesting to focus on. After that, we performed for each other again…
18.02.22 The boxes
There’s been a growing frustration with the objects we were using as part of the scenography. We arrived at the idea of using cardboard boxes with illustrations on them. They are illustrated with images of everyday objects (e.g: printer, ball, scissors) and are of different sizes such that they act like Russian dolls that can be hidden within one another. And in turn, one box appearing out of another out of another out of another. There were two main reasons for this choice. First, the question ‘what is revealed when we reveal the things in the room?’. And second, a general wish to work away from or work differently with the aesthetic of “found” objects – how can these familiar objects behave differently on stage? When our dances interact with the objects, we push them to display their abilities. Under normal circumstances, a ball can roll, a curtain can flow in the wind, pointing towards a certain aspect of their materiality. But what if these objects only existed as drawings on boxes?
02.03.22 Dreaming session+thunderstorm
A skilful space, an elastic space, an animated space. Minecraft? Sims?
Screenshots vs role player mode
First person vs third person
Birds eye view
Many dramaturgies vs single dramaturgy. How to work with multiplicity, plurality?
The remixes
Virtual vs actual
Top layer, texture of space, terrain. Desert? Forest? Urban?
World-building games that don't have an end-point. No next level. No win or lose.
How to reach intensities? Which combinations lead to which intensities?
Identifying specific worlds created by specific combinations of practices – to visit from time to time?
04.03.22 Informal studio visit
D: Hi
S: Hi I’m S
MW: Hi I’m MW
D: Where’s J?
MW: I call him.
J: Shit I forgot it’s happening today, I take a cab and see you in 30 min.
30 min later
S: We’re gonna show you some things we’ve been working on the past three weeks.
09.03.22 First day in the studio with Oda
-talk about boxes+symbols
-try out duets
-what are you busy with?
-material without moving boxes?
-panel game from everybody’s toolbox
-magic but no trick
18.03.22 SCOPE presentation
Keywords by Oda:
Affect
Randomness
Ease
Slippery meaning
Several layers
Different materials shine on one another
Parameters for structure
Collage
Builds up but never climaxes
Folding on itself
Coherence is not planned but might appear
Illustration as frozen thing
Exterior brings body into movement
1.5h long
Trusting the materials in themselves
25.03.22 Last day, a manifesto
Yes to the many, the multiple
Yes to style
Yes to clarity and sleekness
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
You can take it for what is it, or you can dive deep
Both are equally valid and inform each other.
Feedback loops are important
Sometimes it goes ahead of you, challenging you to keep up
No nihilism
No holiness
Nothing too small, too quiet
We reveal to hide to reveal to hide to reveal to hide to reveal to…
Collaging; parameters stay intact, magic happens in the collision
Yes to crash landings on distance
Welcoming the worlds of domestic, children's play and horror
Bringing attention to potentials for;
Value
Affect
Danger
Yes to gone but not forgotten
Yes to reappearing and still being the same
Yes to more or less
Yes to dance with the Devil (electrical socket+fork) (car+blood stains)
Frozen time
Old time
Summer time
Time before
What’s the time
Placing in time
Once upon a time
Circular time
Yes to referencing other artworks
Artist bios
Denise Lim (b. 1998, Malaysia) is a Singaporean freelance dance artist, currently based in Berlin. She situates her practice between movement and language – how ideas can inform the dancing and how the dancing can, in turn, transform these ideas. Using methods of scoring and improvising, she often works collaboratively towards intensities that enchant and invite experimental modes of witnessing. Denise holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen. She was also a recipient of the ImPulsTanz danceWEB scholarship in 2019. Since January 2022, she is a member of Altes Finanzamt e.V., a queer feminist collective in Berlin Neukölln.
Stina Ehn (b. 1996, Sweden) works with dance and choreography, and is currently based in Stockholm. Often in collaboration with others, her work addresses the close proximity of everyday observations and art. As a dancer, she has performed in works by choreographers such as Malin Elgán, Stina Nyberg, Alix Eynaudi and Ellen Söderhult. She holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Danish National School of Performing Arts.
Credits
Dancers and choreographers: Denise Lim and Stina Ehn
Dramaturgy: Oda Brekke
Image: Megan Lim
This ARTEFACT residency is supported by Dance Nucleus, The Danish Arts Foundation, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee, Goethe Institut Singapore and The Nordic Culture Fund.
#3 december 2021
The spring 2022 blogpost comes from our member Denise Lim, who presented her work Barely There at this years The Urge to ... land Extended Festival. The following text is the Notes from her ARTEFACT creation residency at Dance Nucleus Singapore.
10.02.22 First day
11:00 – 12:00 Warm up
12:00 – 13:00 Talk
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:30 – 16:00 Aura score, break down/mapping out
16:00 – 17:00 Duet research
11.02.22 Writing task: What can 2 people do?
They can do the same thing together at the same time
They can do it one the other
One does, the other watches; one person active, the other passive
They can do different things at the same time
One person on stage at any one moment
They can do the same thing in different ways
They can see the same thing from different angles
They can always do different things
They can be friends. They can be enemies. They can be family. They can be strangers. They can be lovers. They can be a team. They can lift something heavy
Working together but doing different things
No one has an overview, each person on their own journey
But come together in moments into recognisable relations
One supporting the other, one witnessing the other, one onstage other offstage
Matter of composition; moments of transition between different constellations
Finding synchronicity in different relations/actions/states of inaction
Independence/dependence
Carry a table
Argue
Make love
Ignore each other
Sync
Share a secret
Let down
Tango
High five
One carry the other
One hide the other
One cover the other
Hug
Hold hands
Chase
Lead and follow
Help out
Look into each other's eyes
Throw something on the other
Compete
14.02.22 Working method
We’d been in the studio for a week and it became apparent that our method for working with the material was systematic. On a piece of paper we mapped out the different practices: Aura, Dance phrases, Hide/reveal. Then we noted how they could be done differently. Within the aura practice: caress or attack, zoom in or zoom out, gaze and body in sync or out of sync. We work through these different practices by performing for each other, then talking about what worked or didn’t work, and what would be interesting to focus on. After that, we performed for each other again…
18.02.22 The boxes
There’s been a growing frustration with the objects we were using as part of the scenography. We arrived at the idea of using cardboard boxes with illustrations on them. They are illustrated with images of everyday objects (e.g: printer, ball, scissors) and are of different sizes such that they act like Russian dolls that can be hidden within one another. And in turn, one box appearing out of another out of another out of another. There were two main reasons for this choice. First, the question ‘what is revealed when we reveal the things in the room?’. And second, a general wish to work away from or work differently with the aesthetic of “found” objects – how can these familiar objects behave differently on stage? When our dances interact with the objects, we push them to display their abilities. Under normal circumstances, a ball can roll, a curtain can flow in the wind, pointing towards a certain aspect of their materiality. But what if these objects only existed as drawings on boxes?
02.03.22 Dreaming session+thunderstorm
A skilful space, an elastic space, an animated space. Minecraft? Sims?
Screenshots vs role player mode
First person vs third person
Birds eye view
Many dramaturgies vs single dramaturgy. How to work with multiplicity, plurality?
The remixes
Virtual vs actual
Top layer, texture of space, terrain. Desert? Forest? Urban?
World-building games that don't have an end-point. No next level. No win or lose.
How to reach intensities? Which combinations lead to which intensities?
Identifying specific worlds created by specific combinations of practices – to visit from time to time?
04.03.22 Informal studio visit
D: Hi
S: Hi I’m S
MW: Hi I’m MW
D: Where’s J?
MW: I call him.
J: Shit I forgot it’s happening today, I take a cab and see you in 30 min.
30 min later
S: We’re gonna show you some things we’ve been working on the past three weeks.
09.03.22 First day in the studio with Oda
-talk about boxes+symbols
-try out duets
-what are you busy with?
-material without moving boxes?
-panel game from everybody’s toolbox
-magic but no trick
18.03.22 SCOPE presentation
Keywords by Oda:
Affect
Randomness
Ease
Slippery meaning
Several layers
Different materials shine on one another
Parameters for structure
Collage
Builds up but never climaxes
Folding on itself
Coherence is not planned but might appear
Illustration as frozen thing
Exterior brings body into movement
1.5h long
Trusting the materials in themselves
25.03.22 Last day, a manifesto
Yes to the many, the multiple
Yes to style
Yes to clarity and sleekness
Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
You can take it for what is it, or you can dive deep
Both are equally valid and inform each other.
Feedback loops are important
Sometimes it goes ahead of you, challenging you to keep up
No nihilism
No holiness
Nothing too small, too quiet
We reveal to hide to reveal to hide to reveal to hide to reveal to…
Collaging; parameters stay intact, magic happens in the collision
Yes to crash landings on distance
Welcoming the worlds of domestic, children's play and horror
Bringing attention to potentials for;
Value
Affect
Danger
Yes to gone but not forgotten
Yes to reappearing and still being the same
Yes to more or less
Yes to dance with the Devil (electrical socket+fork) (car+blood stains)
Frozen time
Old time
Summer time
Time before
What’s the time
Placing in time
Once upon a time
Circular time
Yes to referencing other artworks
Artist bios
Denise Lim (b. 1998, Malaysia) is a Singaporean freelance dance artist, currently based in Berlin. She situates her practice between movement and language – how ideas can inform the dancing and how the dancing can, in turn, transform these ideas. Using methods of scoring and improvising, she often works collaboratively towards intensities that enchant and invite experimental modes of witnessing. Denise holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from the Danish National School of Performing Arts in Copenhagen. She was also a recipient of the ImPulsTanz danceWEB scholarship in 2019. Since January 2022, she is a member of Altes Finanzamt e.V., a queer feminist collective in Berlin Neukölln.
Stina Ehn (b. 1996, Sweden) works with dance and choreography, and is currently based in Stockholm. Often in collaboration with others, her work addresses the close proximity of everyday observations and art. As a dancer, she has performed in works by choreographers such as Malin Elgán, Stina Nyberg, Alix Eynaudi and Ellen Söderhult. She holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Danish National School of Performing Arts.
Credits
Dancers and choreographers: Denise Lim and Stina Ehn
Dramaturgy: Oda Brekke
Image: Megan Lim
This ARTEFACT residency is supported by Dance Nucleus, The Danish Arts Foundation, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee, Goethe Institut Singapore and The Nordic Culture Fund.