Ne faites pas la moue
A Comical Duo: Dance and Philosophy
This first episode, highly subjective, serves as an opening. It draws on the “guiding” philosophers in the journey of artist and researcher Geisha Fontaine. Thus emerge Parmenides, Heraclitus, Democritus, Lucian of Samosata, Giordano Bruno, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Levinas, Deleuze, Rosset… They set ideas in motion to be danced. This creates connections — sometimes amusing — between philosophical propositions and choreographic appropriations. Cheerfully sketched out are correspondences and divergences between what words suggest and what dance makes of them.
For example: abandoning the straight line, advocated by Democritus, invites an exploration of space — yet avoiding the straight line on a stage is not so simple. Or again: “the sun is the size of a human foot,” according to Heraclitus — bringing this idea to life on stage opens strange resonances with every step. Or take the pack, described in complex ways by Deleuze and Guattari. In fact, it is so complex that this pack will return regularly throughout the series.
Also addressed — importantly, for an opening episode — are censored philosophy and censored dance. Yes, philosophizing and dancing can sometimes be risky…
In summary, it speaks of the Presocratics, eternal recurrence, the pirouette, the book A Thousand Plateaus, how to play the fool, illusion, dance as an excellent vehicle for the “Know thyself” principle, censored thinkers, censored dancers, and the Greek Skeptics. Also the face. And the speed of thought.
And of eternal recurrence — a major question that animates both dance and philosophy:
“If, in everything you wish to do, you begin by asking yourself: am I certain that I want to do this an infinite number of times? — this will become for you the most solid center of gravity.” (Nietzsche)
In short: to dance, and dance again, and dance again, and dance again. And keep returning to dance once more. Great philosophy. Beautiful dance.
Performance: Geisha Fontaine
Music: Farnaz Modarresifar (santour)