In this new ArtsTalk Magazine column an artist writes about the process of creating their art from inception to execution. This month Scapino Ballet Rotterdam dancer ASHTON BENN describes the process of recreating Marcos Morau’s Cathedral which opens on the 28th November
Embodying a New World: The Art and Challenge of Scapino Ballet’s CATHEDRAL
Why do you dance? It’s a simple question with anything but a simple answer. As a professional dancer, I’ve been asked countless times, and my response has always varied. When I was young, dance gave me purpose. It served as an outlet for the boundless energy pent up inside my little limbs until it could be channelled into movement. In my teens, dance allowed me to take up space in every sense. Physically, yes, but it also gave me a voice when I was too shy to speak.
And now, as an intern at Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, I’m discovering new layers to what makes this art form so captivating. On 28th November we will premiere Marcos Morau’s Cathedral. The process of restaging this production, while challenging, has inadvertently shown me yet another reason why I dance. And ironically, dancing itself is but a small part of my “why.”
With Cathedral, Morau created more than a production – he conjured a futuristic world, then made it our reality. Since we began the meticulous, sometimes painstaking process of rebuilding the show, I have become a resident of this dystopian landscape. Here, technology reigns supreme, and I am its robotic servant, bound to a life of isolation and disconnection.
I have fallen in love with the demanding precision – both mental and physical – that this new environment requires. Pressed for time, the Scapino team has united in pursuit of Morau’s vision, encapsulating us in a humming bubble of productivity, not unlike the world we’ll soon bring to the stage.
To communicate with the audience, as well as each other, we twelve dancers use Morau’s movement language, Kova. This technique, which was used to develop the choreography for Cathedral in 2019, is characterized by isolated, unnatural movements executed at a very fast tempo. However, the mental process is even more complex. In Morau’s choreography, the body is in a constant fight with imagined shapes around it. The goal is to avoid, surround or describe these shapes, all while keeping track of which body part is in motion and which is frozen. Each movement, therefore, becomes a conscious decision, engaging in a dialogue with negative space transformed by imagination.
With just over a month to piece together the entire 70-minute production, we face a test of mental resilience as we learn and apply the Kova structure to each movement. Alongside the choreography, there are quite a few props that help tell the story of detached beings longing to be human. From baby dolls to teacups, telephone booths, purses, meteorites, typewriters and more, I am learning how to handle each prop as an extension of my character.
It’s emblematic that the restaging method of Cathedral relies heavily on technology. For each new section, we huddle around the laptop or TV, studying the steps in slow motion. Seven of the 12 dancers are from the original cast, while those of us new to the piece often refer to the videos, working to match the exact qualities of our “video doubles.” Together, and with guidance from our rehearsal directors, we magically establish a structure count by count, often pausing for “video checks” to refine spacing, timing, and minute movements.
It is slow, steady work, but that is precisely why it is so gratifying. I am a small but nevertheless integral cog in the Cathedral machine that we are all fighting so hard to build. Right now, I’m reminded that my love for dance is rooted in the discoveries that come from stepping into worlds that challenge and develop my artistry. As I explore what it means to embody a being devoid of humanity, I find myself grasping its essence more deeply and appreciating it in every moment. Ashton BENN 3rd October 2024
Ashton Benn was born in Dallas, Texas in 2002 and graduated from the University of Southern California’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in Los Angeles in May 2024. She gained a BFA in Dance and an MA in Specialized Journalism (Arts and Culture), both from USC. She was awarded the USC Presidential Merit Scholarship and now lives in Rotterdam where she is a participant in Scapino’s Young Talent Programme.
