BRUSSELS.- Danser brut sheds light on the connections between dance and involuntary or repetitive movements. The exhibition examines different forms of expression in the body, face and hands. What does all this unrestrained movement tell us about our mental well-being? How have pathologies like hysteria and tourette’s turned the worlds of art, film and dance on their heads?
To find poetic answers to these questions,
BOZAR and the Dr. Guislain Museum have joined forces for the first time. The two houses explore the same five chapters but with different emphases, according to their individual characters and contexts. A considerable portion of the outsider art has come from the remarkable collection of the LaM in Villeneuve d’Ascq. They are an important exhibition partner and developed the original exhibition concept in 2018.
The first theme, ‘Spinning Around’ welcomes the visitor with round dances and carousels: symbols of carefree fun and childhood.
This never-ending movement brings us to ‘Trance and Possession’, about ritual dances and dance epidemics: bizarre phenomena which spread through Europe from the 14th century. Traces still exist today in such dance processions as Luxemburg’s Echternach. These hypnotic dances captured people’s imaginations. The attentive visitor will discover how Michael Jackson’s zombie dance in Thriller was influenced by the macabre, expressionist dance of death in the film Paracelsus by the Third Reich director G.W. Pabst (1943).
Movement can also be significant in psychiatry, as shown in ‘From Charcot to Chaplin’. The impact of photos and archive material on 19th-century studies of hysteria on art and film is great: from Henri de Toulouse Lautrec to Charlie Chaplin, as well as the work of contemporary artists like Louise Bourgeois. The shocking movements witnessed by Jane Avril during her stay at the Salpêtrière hospital in Paris inspired her and made her the star of the can-can.
‘Dancing’ can also consist of small daily gestures, everyday movements that can be very meaningful. Not only do hands support what is being said, they also tell a story. ‘A Forest of Gestures’ takes a closer look at this.
Finally, even drawing can be a form of dance. We see ‘Dance of the Pencil’ in the rarely-displayed drawings of the legendary ballet dancer Vaslav Nijinski. He created them over a brief two-year period when he was forced to cease his dance career due to a psychiatric condition. The intricately detailed compositions of the renowned outsider artist Adolf Wölfli or the therapeutic drawings of Guo Fengyi also demonstrate the use of the pencil as a tool to channel mental and physical energy.
Danser brut consciously aims to avoid any categorisation and does not use labels or value judgements. This idiosyncratic blend of art, objects and archive material draws unexpected connections and creates new meanings. These unpredictable associations around dance and movement also shed light on the implicit question: who decides what is ‘normal’?
The theme of BOZAR’s 2020-2021 season is Art & Well-Being. The varied programme of exhibitions, installations, performances, concerts, workshops and discussions take a deeper look into the impact of experiencing and creating art on our physical, mental and social well-being. Danser brut is presented as the centrepiece of this season. Furthermore, the exhibition will be augmented with performances and literature.
