{"id":12708,"date":"2018-08-28T19:44:27","date_gmt":"2018-08-28T19:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.foofwa.com\/en\/?page_id=12708"},"modified":"2022-01-27T16:42:46","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T16:42:46","slug":"dancewalk","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.foofwa.com\/en\/dancewalk\/","title":{"rendered":"Dancewalk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Soweto.Dancewalk<\/a>

Soweto.Dancewalk<\/em> (2017) – Celebrating Soweto, South Africa<\/p><\/div>

Dancewalk is dance as voyage, everywhere in the world.<\/b><\/h2>\n

If dancing, even on the greatest stages, is basically stationary,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Conversely, the Dancewalk is dance that travels.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dancewalking is a continuous displacement of oneself<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

That asserts its unicity and strives for freedom.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It\u00a0 is an artistic, kilometric, urbanistic, social, landscaping,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Collaborative, celebratory,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Political and humanist act.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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The Dancewalk in a few words<\/h2>\n


\n<\/span>Designed as a geographic inscription of body and dance, the Dancewalk is an activity where walking becomes dancing, where dance keeps moving over several kilometres and for several hours through a city or the countryside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Swiss dancer-choreographer Foofwa d\u2019Imobilit\u00e9 is the inventor of this concept and activity. Since 2015, he has dancewalked over more than 900 kilometres in 34 regions and 11 countries over 50 Dancewalks organised in collaboration with local teams, including an increasing number of local dancers, workshop participants, musicians and partners.<\/b><\/p>\n

On every occasion, his company Neopost Foofwa has adapted the Dancewalk to the place, the moment and the context in which it took place, in collaboration with local organisations whether the performance happened in Switzerland, France, Italy, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, Iran, Mali, Burkina Faso, South Africa, India or China.<\/b><\/p>\n

The Dancewalk is a human adventure and an artistic act in the way it adapts to, shares and collaborates with others, as well as the way it expresses itself through the act of being-together in the public space. It is a celebration of life, an ode to freedom, an emancipation of oneself within the group and a declaration of cohesion that includes everyone\u2019s differences and particularities.<\/p>\n

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\"\u0421\u0430\u043d\u043a\u0442-\u041f\u0435\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0431\u0443\u0440\u0433.Dancewalk<\/a>

\u0421\u0430\u043d\u043a\u0442-\u041f\u0435\u0442\u0435\u0440\u0431\u0443\u0440\u0433.Dancewalk<\/em> (2017) – Group madness in Saint-Petersburg, Russia<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Dancewalk<\/a>

Dancewalk – Moribayassa<\/em> (2019) – Tradition and modernity in Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso<\/p><\/div>\n

\"<\/a>

Dancewalk – Matripoine<\/em> – (2019) – In the snow between La Chaux-de-Fonds and Neuch\u00e2tel, Switzerland<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Water.Dancewalk<\/a>

Water.Dancewalk<\/em> (2016) – Dancing in, half-way or near Lake Zug, Switzerland<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

Conceptual approach and artistic particularities<\/h2>\n

Might the Dancewalk be a new dance form?<\/p>\n

Might it be a new artform of our bipedalism?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

For Foofwa, dancewalking defies the normative aesthetic of dance in its kinaesthetic, choreographic and conceptual dimensions.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Circumvolution.Dancewalk<\/a>

Circumvolution.Dancewalk<\/em> (2016) – 62 kilometers of dance around the Op\u00e9ra Garnier de Paris, France<\/p><\/div>

In terms of movement<\/b>, the Dancewalk creates a new kinaesthetic coordination that combines dance with walking and remixes the top and bottom parts of our body\u2019s connexions. It considers dance both qualitatively and quantitatively. It opens up on all sorts of movements that are both dynamic and powerful, and vulnerable and wearying. It originates from very specific, at times extreme training and preparation sessions, dancing over dozens or hundreds of kilometres. At the same time, it is not elitist in the least: anyone can dancewalk, whether trained or not, at their own level and in their own way. At the time of the performance, it is actuated by listening sensitively to the energy and desires of our bodies and spirits interacting with the intention, the context, the other people and the environment. A dancewalker is both focused on the performance and open to discussion in interaction with others and the environment, which makes for this blend of application and casualness.<\/span><\/p>

The Dancewalk is the hybrid child of dancing and walking.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is a dancing monster that devours hours and kilometres.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is a demiurge that writes choreography in space and time.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is a geographic dancer with endurance as a muse.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dancewalk!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Artistic grenade thrower!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Emancipation from the theatrical frame!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dynamite!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Emancipation from the choreographic stranglehold!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Openness to the unpredictable!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Emancipation of the role of audience!<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Explosions!<\/span><\/i><\/p>

\"Bamako<\/a>

Bamako – Dancewalk<\/em> (2019) – Going across the Niger river, Mali<\/p><\/div>

In choreographic terms<\/b> the Dancewalk should be considered as a real performance both artistically- and\u00a0 athletically-speaking. Foofwa also views it as a metaphor of the way we write our destiny (\u201cThe course of our lives, the path of our own stories\u201d), where everyone can finally publicly assert their personal way of moving, declaiming their body and its unique, specific and idiosyncratic qualities to the world. In that sense, it moves away from formalist and aesthetic dances to become an act of inclusion and acceptance of all differences. Sometimes sections are practiced ahead in a specific way or according to a theme, but the Dancewalk never forces or compels participants to be anything other than themselves and what they seek to express. The duration of the performance and the repetitive rhythm of the steps often puts performers in an altered state close to trance. Certain moments resemble what we know of the manic dances like the Middle-Age \u2018danses de Saint Guy\u2019.<\/span><\/p>

In conceptual terms, <\/b>the Dancewalk creates a new choreographic relationship between dance, duration and space, by stretching them to the extreme because it considers time in terms of several hours, and views space in terms of multiple kilometres. Furthermore, it gives dance a geographic dimension, e.g. one can follow the choreographic movements thanks to a GPS recording on a map. In that sense, Foofwa considers that it originates in the field of choreographic art while flirting with other activities and disciplines, as in actual fact, an unknown, yet oddly familiar hybrid emerges from two known activities: dancing and walking. It is reminiscent of Monty Pythons\u2019 \u201csilly walks\u201d, although the range of movements in a Dancewalk spreads far beyond humour and caricature. It is also reminiscent of conceptual performances that revolve around walking or Land Art. It is reminiscent of flash mobs, although much more thought-out and practiced while being more spontaneous and anarchic too. Finally, it is reminiscent of a postmodern approach to walking as a dance element in the choreographic field but once again, the Dancewalk does not rely on walking, it feeds off the human condition of having to walk on two legs in order to invent a new dance gait. Dancewalk can also be considered as the opposite of walking, like a dance form that seeks to never \u201cjust\u201d walk.<\/span><\/p>

Dancewalking is like spreading the cabriole,<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is replacing gloominess with dynamic cheeriness.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Dancewalking is a cadence that moves forward happily.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It is joyful starting cells as medicine.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

And therapy through uncynical kinetics.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

When dance becomes geographic<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Happiness lies on the horizon!<\/span><\/i><\/p>

\"\u041a\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043c\u0430.Dancewalk<\/a>

\u041a\u043e\u0441\u0442\u0440\u043e\u043c\u0430.Dancewalk<\/em> (2017) – Mocking propaganda in Kostroma, Russia<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\u041c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0432\u0430.Dancewalk<\/a>

\u041c\u043e\u0441\u043a\u0432\u0430.Dancewalk<\/em> (2017) – Defying police in the Red Square, Moscow, Russia<\/p><\/div>

In terms of the environment<\/b> the Dancewalk interacts with the world and reality with such permeability as is rarely achievable in dance or on stage. These dialogues between things, people and the Dancewalk presuppose much porosity with reality and an intrinsic relationship with the unpredictability of the environment. Here, the work of art is in conversation with reality. First of all there is the space, constantly changing with \u2018luxury scenery\u2019 passing by \u2013 how many millions to erect this mountain or this building with so many extras? Then there are also the other sounds, the other movements of the world that become so many encounters and exchanges with the Dancewalk. Finally, there are the hundreds, sometimes thousands of onlookers, either informed or accidental who interact with the Dancewalk and its actors. The boundaries between art and reality are blurred. The roles of performer and spectator are upturned.<\/span><\/p>

\"TimesMuseum.Dancewalk<\/a>

TimesMuseum.Dancewalk<\/em> (2017) – In and outdoors in Guangzhou, China<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

How to organise a Dancewalk<\/h2>\n

In line with the commitment of Cie Neopost Foofwa\u2019s Glocal project, our way of touring choreographic productions since 2018 has focused on notions of openness, awareness and ethics in a globalised world. By seeking to avoid colonialist, patriarchal and neoliberal influences, we aim to create and share our works in a more conscious, responsible and humble way, by developing production relationships and touring strategies oriented towards encounters, dialogue, sharing and collaboration.<\/p>\n

In that sense, a \u201cglocal\u201d work of art like a Dancewalk is no longer designed like a post-industrial object to be reproduced and distributed left, right and centre. Its production becomes a living work that requires the inclusion of local characteristics to be complete, and the collaboration of others on site to be carried out in a fair and unique way. The Dancewalk projects have served as models since the dialogue with venues has been strongly developed since 2017.<\/p>\n

Concretely, the organisation of an outdoor Dancewalk is light in terms of technical requirements, since it does not take place inside a theatre. However, it does require significant investment in terms of time, logistics and human resources.<\/p>\n

First of all there is a creative dialogue between Neopost Foofwa and the organisers in order to adapt the Dancewalk concept to the specificities of the place. This dialogue begins several months before the event and continues until the last hours before the performance. Then, there are certain specific logistical details, which is why we do not have a technical specifications sheet but rather a logistics and technical rider, which we call our \u201cDancewalk Logistech\u201d, to prepare and manage the Dancewalk as best as possible.<\/p>\n

This is why we ask the organisers to read this Logistech rider attentively and well in advance.<\/b><\/p>

\"Mostar.Dancewalk<\/a>

Mostar.Dancewalk<\/em> (2017) – Dancing with the war\u2019s vestiges in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina<\/p><\/div>