Get geared up for an abstract dance show — QUANTUM— which will be staged on November 27. Choreographed by the Swiss Academy Award winning choreographer, Gilles Jobin, this performance is “inspired by science”. Gilles explains that it was his three-month residency programme at CERN that triggered off ideas for QUANTUM.
“Initially I wanted to be an actor. My parents suggested that I learn dance and other disciplines as that would help me as an actor. I started with contemporary dance and realised that acting was not for me. As a dancer I am just me and not depicting a character or pretending to be someone as in acting. I could express myself the way I wanted in dance.” So Gilles became a professional dancer and travelled the world with various dance companies.
Soon, he was bitten by the choreography bug. “They are both different. As a dancer you just work on a concept and follow instructions. But as a choreographer you are responsible, you have to create a concept. I love dancing but choreography is more challenging. Dance is physically demanding.”
Then it was “curiosity” that got him to apply for a residency programme at CERN. “I had no clue what was going on there. They created an art programme inside their labs and I was chosen. This was the first time I was relating with some kind of fundamental research. It was difficult as my level of physics was low. Slowly I started to understand their work and began performing inside some labs. The knowledge changed me. QUANTUM was made after my work at CERN with all those experiments as ideas.”
He adds that there is a relation between science and dance. “Any human activity is related to science. We use the body for everything – to get into a trance or walk. Movement has always been there. I believe science and art were one, only later we separated them. The connections we (dancers and scientists) made are inspiring. They are inspired about art and want to study about our strategy when we create a movement.
CERN changed the way he viewed dance. Gilles observes, “I changed and so did the way I speak about my work. I became skilled at making presentations. I try and think about my body in space now. To know that we are moving amidst particles has changed my perception about dance. As a dancer I always fought against gravity, but now I am glad that we have it as it keep us literally grounded.”
Even though it is an abstract piece, Gilles opines that, “It can be understood by all. This dance is more like a journey. It’s like abstract art or like watching a sunset.
The sun is not even setting. It is the earth that is moving. But you weave in romantic emotions around it. That is how you should see QUANTUM. The movement comes from us but the emotions and the connection must come from you.
Dr. Micheal Doser, Senior Research Physicist, Physic Department, CERN, says: “It is interesting to see how thing developed with creativity when we scientists and artists came together.
You are grabbing images, concepts. We were feeding them with scientific concepts, which were jumbled. Next came the projector phase where you illuminate the critical fragile plans, of which most ideas will wither and die. Only the strong ones last and become a reality.
Critical appraisal is important for both dance and science and both are creative. It was interesting to see how they digested our ideas and brought them out. The mark of a good artist and scientist is when we are able to throw away certain ideas or concepts when they do not blend with the creative plan.
QUANTUM is organised by Embassy of Switzerland in India, as part of the Year of Swiss Innovation in India. It will be staged on November 27 at 7 p.m. at Chowdiah Memorial Hall. Free passes are available at Swissnex India, Consulate General of Switzerland, Rest House. Call 49412000 to confirm availability.
