Modul-dance experience. By Emma-Cecilia Ajanki from The Mob

Modul-dance offers selected dance artists the time, space and economic structure to develop their work. Modul-dance has decided that the creative processes they encourage artists to embark on consists of four chapters; research, residency, production and last presentation. Each chapter with it’s own structure and economics surrounding them.

I didn’t get to do all modules within modul-dance, but none the less, I kept the form that was suggested to me to create within. The piece The Mob developed through modul-dance is called BABY IT’S YOU NOT ME. Having only premiered the piece less than a month ago, I will try to sit here and contemplate my experiences.

Trailer for Baby it’s you not me from The Mob on Vimeo.

Modul-dance experience. By Perrine Valli

My experience with modul-dance began in 2010 at the first meeting held at the Maison de la Danse in Lyon. A group of about forty dance artists and professionals gathered there to get acquainted with each other. As opposed to what often happens, modul-dance endowed itself with the means to create a “true network” by inviting all these people to meet. Occasions rarely arise to create strong ties between structures and artists, and modul-dance came to allow just that.

What immediately struck my interest was the European dimension of this project. My company is based in two countries: Switzerland and France, and my work is deeply marked by this artistic “double life”. In each project I ask myself how these two countries, these two cultures, these two artistic worlds will influence my work. Even if they are neighbours, the politics, codes and ways of thinking of these countries differ, and this has enriched my artistic research. For example, Je pense comme une fille enlève sa robe is a piece that reflects on prostitution since this activity is legal in Switzerland and forbidden in France. In my research, I have met prostituted persons and worked in associations in both countries to understand how their practice is influenced by the political and cultural context of the countries where they live. Consequently, far from being provocative, this piece simply poses some questions and shows how the body and ways of thinking are highly subjective.

“Developing a living-room within the modul-dance frame”. By Tina Tarpgaard

In May 2011, Tina Tarpgaard published this article in one of the modul-dance newsletters. How does she work as an independent artist in Denmark?

In the fall 2011 I will start the first residency as part of the modul-dance project. Together with my group of dancers and software artists (recoil performance group) I am invited to spend two weeks in the excellent facilities at the Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf. Later we will travel to Ljubljana to spend a week researching in collaboration with the innovative dance house Kino Siska. Both giving us a great opportunity to work focused with the concept we have developed as a base for our new production Living-Room. The performance will be produced at Dansehallerne in Copenhagen with the premiere on March 10th 2012.