This month at P.A.R.T.S.

During 4 weeks, the students from our Bachelor program Training had a choice to work in smaller groups on repertoire, creation or personal work. All of this was presented mid June during an internal presentation.

In the spotlight this week: a new creation guided by Moya Michael and Judith Sanchez Ruiz.

PARTS invited choreographer Moya Michael to create a new work on a group of students. She invited Judith Sanchez Ruiz to take over from her during one week in the middle of the process, using the notion of Cadavre Exquis where the one choreographer works further on the material created with the other.
It was inevitable that making a new work in these times would bear the traces of the covid-19 pandemic, which has been challenging to navigate generally, specifically within the arts, where in-person contact is necessary for creation and presentation of work. Living and trying to move through this time has impacted all of us in devastating ways on personal levels. For the students in particular, trying to advance their studies in a country away from home, having suffered loss, feeling displaced, dealing with the sensitivities of the times, and questioning their position and agency within this context. The choreographers' approach was to create a space where the collaborators (the students) felt safe, comfortable, and heard in a time of great difficulty and uncertainty. This became more about the process, creating an environment where everyone involved could really meet, engage and become collaborators. Working in this way, collaborating outside of standard educational approaches of hierarchy, led to a meaningful process and production.

The final presentation of the work was a stark and emotional choreography blending individual viewpoints and collective action.

21/06/2021
All pictures by Tine Declerck