the machinations of memories suppressed
one-dancer play
This piece (in creation) is a reflective interpretation of a poem I have written: Una Máquina de Olvido (in English: An Oblivion Machine). The poem explores how someone may be able to forget the past, by choice, as a coping mechanism for heartbreak, and the consequences that this may bring to their life. Through the words, several questions are intertwined with the dance, toying with the fallibility of our own memories. How do our memories shape us into who we are? How does remembering something, a movement, a sound, an object, can inform our present experiences? And how we remember our emotional response to an event or experience, while we may not have a perfect recollection of it.
In this solo piece, the dance is fragmented and brought together through sound loops recorded live, which replay different percussive elements from earlier points of the performance. Through the combination of past and present steps, a new narrative is created, reshaped, and ultimately relived.
Developed during the creative residency with Good Women Dance Collective in Sep/Oct 2020.
Credits:
Original idea and interpretation by Anastassiia Alexander with artistic direction by Cristina Hall.
Poetry by Anastassiia Alexander.
Premier Performance:
Vancouver International Flamenco Festival 2022
September 22, 2022 | 8:00pm
Waterfront Theatre
Vancouver, BC, Canada
Work-in-progress showings:
Good Women Dance Collective
October 9, 2020
Shumka Dance Centre
Edmonton, AB, Canada
Photo: Tyler Baker Photography
Una Maquina de Olvido Anastassiia Alexander
… Y seguí sentada, mientras la magia se nos moría, en su silencio, en su olvido. Y en otra vida yo descubriría que el corazón me latía al tiempo de Siguiriya. …
… And I remained sitted, watching our magic die into his silence, into his oblivion. In another life and another time, I would come to find it was Siguiriya rhythm that has pierced my heart. …
Read full poem ▸ALL PROJECTS
Credits
Photography: Tyler Baker
Graphic design: Anastassiia Alexander