In this new ArtsTalk Magazine column an artist writes about the process of creating their art from inception to execution. For the first one Scapino Ballet Rotterdam dancer Ashton Benn describes the process of creating So Schlafe with Scapino’s new director Nanine Linning
Two dancers, connected by an invisible strand of tension, stand in a darkened studio, their faces gently lit by the glow of flashlights. As they begin to move, their limbs stretch and pull to impossible heights while music, laced with harrowing screams, plays through the speakers. Adding to the surreal atmosphere, beams of light seem to move autonomously, catching the contours of the dancers’ bodies in grotesquely beautiful shapes. On the edge of the light, choreographer Nanine Linning sits vigilantly in the corner, taking notes.
At the end of the ten minute duet, the music fades and the magic dissipates as the overhead lights in the studio of Scapino Ballet Rotterdam flicker on, revealing four dancers—two dressed in white and two in black, the latter clutching flashlights. As one of the dancers in black, I click off my flashlight and pull the mesh veil down from over my face.
We are in our third and final week of rehearsals for So Schlafe, a work that Linning created as part of her ongoing artistic research with Scapino. It was made for the award presentation of the 2024 Sikkens Prize at Kunsthal Rotterdam on 7th October. As the new artistic director of Scapino, this piece reflects her multidisciplinary approach, blending dance with other art forms.
While choreographers can sometimes seem like magicians, pulling works of art from thin air, the reality involves many hours of mental and physical effort to carefully develop fully realized pieces. Linning began her creation process by reading Paul Celan’s poem So Schlafe aloud. Though it was written in German, she translated it into English so the four of us could understand the words that would soon manifest into movement.
The physical work soon followed as Linning quickly generated phrases of choreography. Armed with material, we collaboratively morphed and transcribed the movement into partnering. Slowly, the structure of the duet took form as she cut, pasted, and refined choreography to highlight the changing power dynamics between two people. By the second week, Linning had set the duet to the musical composition by Teodor Currentzis and introduced the lighting and costume concepts.
The music uses Celan’s So Schlafe as lyrics, but the words are often distorted and interrupted by guttural screams. Although there are clear moments of connection between the music and the choreography, both stand as independent works of art. The dancing doesn’t rely on the music but rather moves in parallel, ebbing and flowing alongside the sound.
Because the Sikkens Prize will be awarded to leading artist Pipilotti Rist for her use of color, Linning also imaginatively incorporates color into the work. Instead of using the dancers’ bodies as a canvas, Linning found a way for shades of vibrant blue to leak from the costumes throughout the piece. By the end, the once pure white fabric is stained by oozing blue dye.
The different threads of Linning’s inspirations—poetry, music, dynamics, costume design, lighting, color and the movement itself—are all woven together into one coherent quartet masquerading as a duet.
Experiencing this piece from the inside is both visceral and ethereal. I am simultaneously an observer and participant in this exploratory journey. I witness the subtle – and not-so-subtle – power shifts, the gradual transformation of the costumes and the chemistry between light and darkness that creates an abstract narrative. So Schlafe has not only challenged me as a dancer but also opened my eyes to the limitless ways dance can intersect with other art forms. Ashton Benn 5th 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.
