Contemporary Dance of Cuba takes the stage in the Avellaneda room of the National Theater of Cuba this February 15, at 5:00 pm, with a program that includes two pieces of special relevance. One is already a known work in the repertoire: Consecrationby Christophe Béranger and Jonathan Pranlas-Descours. The other, Waves & Edgeswill be a world premiere signed by the Belarusian choreographer Olga Labovkina, and represents the opportunity for the Cuban public to discover a creator of wide artistic versatility.
Labovkina arrives for the first time in Havana invited by the company to work with her dancers in a production that represents, according to herself, “a fresh wind” in the midst of the complex reality that Cuban society is going through today.
With more than two decades of professional experience, the creator has moved between contemporary dance, visual arts, physical theater and performance in different cities in Eastern Europe. She had never worked with Cuban dancers, so she took this experience as an adventure that led her to a prior research process on the technical and aesthetic vocabulary of the company.
Upon coming into contact with several works from the Cuban Contemporary Dance repertoire, he confesses that he felt a deep inspiration to create, together with his assistant Daniil Kirilko, a project that lived up to “the genius of these dancers.” Among the pieces that marked this process, he mentions Sulkaryby Eduardo Rivero, a reference work in the repertoire: “It is an authentic creation, which reflects essential features of Cuban identity.”
Accustomed to working with a large scenographic load, Labovkina opted this time for a minimalist approach. “That, of course, gave another twist and another perspective to our work,” he points out.
The central concept of Waves & Edges dialogues with the global present. “It does not focus on any person or on a specific circumstance. Our conception has to do with a broader idea that summarizes the tensions of today’s society and the multiple conceptions of the world,” he explains.
A very genuine closeness
The choreographer has been working with the company’s dancers in Havana for about a month. She remembers that on the first day she was invited to participate impromptu in the class: “We very quickly felt a very genuine closeness, typical of Cuba, and that makes me feel very good.”
For Kirilko, the exchange has been shocking: “Every time we travel to another country we encounter a different culture. But here we discover a very flexible mentality and a very open way of relating. In Moscow, where we work, people tend to be more closed and formal, and that sometimes makes creation difficult. Here everything flows more naturally.”
“For us this is a great opportunity, full of curiosities and mixed emotions,” adds Labovkina, who talks to OnCuba about his creative process, his independent career and the keys to Waves & Edges.
That closeness that you celebrate influences your vision of dance. How does the Cuban way of living creation transform your artistic vision?
Of course. We come to another country, another culture, another world. Here we find new people, ideas and ways of thinking that can only enrich my way of seeing dance and my future projects. I hope it is a mutual knowledge: not only do I learn from them, but they also learn something from what I try to convey to them.
Waves & Edges raises the notion of limits at a historical moment in which there seem to be none.
We use the term “boundaries” from a psychological energy perspective. I am interested in showing the conflicts that people go through in society. The world is experiencing great tensions today, and this work reflects on the extreme limits to which human beings can reach, for better or worse.
We live in an age saturated with information. It is read less and in a different way. There is a lot of unnecessary information. We want to reflect how today’s world has changed and how, despite instability, we can aspire to a certain harmony.
Do you see dance as a refuge or as a response to these social problems?
For me dance is both things. There are those who dance just to move or for pleasure. But on stage, dance transmits information and message. As a choreographer I use different methods: sometimes I start from improvisation to get to know the dancers, so that they express what they feel. I gave the dancers of Contemporary Dance of Cuba that freedom.
Where did they place emphasis on working with the company?
In the whole process (smiles). We work from the general to the particular, from the complex to the simple. First in blocks, then in small groups and finally individually. My initial idea was transformed when they showed me another way of seeing the world. From that confluence the work emerged.
You and Daniil Kirilko have been working together for several years.
About three. He started out as my assistant at school and then became my professional collaborator. Now we think about our projects together.
How would you describe the contemporary dance scene in Russia?
There are several small and large companies, but there are very few with state support. Classical dance remains dominant. For a country as large as Russia, the contemporary movement is still small.
What is your methodological axis as a creator?
I don’t rely on just one method. They all complement each other. Creation happens when you don’t know what the end result will be. The best method is to find possible solutions and consensus to develop the work.
Is that process an adventure?
If it stops being an adventure, the dance is over.
Why did you choose choreography?
I did not choose to be a choreographer: choreography chose me. Since I was a child I wanted to “do the dance”, not just dance. Then I studied, founded an independent company in Belarus that lasted ten years. It was a great adventure without state support. I closed it when I felt I needed to grow and open up to new projects.
What do you expect from the Cuban public before this premiere?
It is difficult to know what the impact will be. But I think there are elements that the public can identify with. For us it is not so important that they understand the work, but rather that they feel it as part of their own lives.
