Aerocene meets contemporary dance again
For some time now we have been following with great admiration some experiments carried out by Carlos Almeida and an interdisciplinary team of artists composed by Sebastián Pascual, Alejandra D’agostino and Camila Almeida. Carlos served as Dean of the Mauricio Kagel Institute of Arts at the National University of San Martin in the province of Buenos Aires. Today, at the same Institute of Arts, he is dedicated to teaching and to the realization of stage productions based on the theatre of objects. Interested in the Aerocene project, Carlos and his UNSAM research group created a transparent aerocene that was successfully flown at the university.
Carlos invited us to attend a Momentum rehearsal at the UNSAM Dance Space building.
He told us a little about his inspiration by Phillipe Genty, a French puppeteer and theatre director who works from memories and dreams. The label UNSAM Edita has published an interesting book with texts and images, from which you can see an extract below.
We were received by Carlos and Camila, her daughter and professional contemporary dancer. After a little chat the rehearsal began, with the inflation of the white tetrahedron balloon, made with an opaque and very resistant synthetic fabric, relatively light.
Aerocene is an open and multidisciplinary project that promotes the artistic and scientific exploration of environmental issues. Aerocene seeks to develop new solutions and technologies for sustainable travel and living, with the support of numerous collaborators and partners around the world.
By floating without using fossil fuels, Aerocene sculptures carry a message of simplicity, creativity and cooperation in a world of tumultuous geopolitical relations and remind us of our symbolic relationship with the Earth and all its species. Aerocene transcends the boundaries between art and science and has become an open participation platform for the production and distribution of knowledge.
Aerocene once again meets with contemporary dance taking into account the history of flight and performance of the group Susurrus in Dresden, Germany.
Susurrus meets Aerocene in Dresden
During the performance, the tetrahedron balloon was a participant in the story, giving a temporary home and narrative context to the dance, which in turn gave life and movement to the balloon.
Momentum
by Camila Almeida
It’s that instant when time seems to stop but everything is still there. It’s the deep breath and the moment when the air is suspended in space. It is the movement of the instant that is eternal. The infinite inhalation of the key moment. The fragility and softness of the memories. Momentum is the uncertainty of inhabiting a space that is completely unknown but at the same time a longed-for home. It is the house that receives us, protects us and opens the doors to go out to a new space. The movement of the object that becomes body and the body that is born from the object materializing an emotion. It is the impulse that allows the instant to last.
Momentum is the hybridization between the Aerocene Project and different scenic languages, contemporary dance, raw material theatre and shadow theatre. This crossing proposes an exploration of the body and movement in relation to the object, questioning what is the link that can be built between both materials and how together they compose a poetic dialogue. A body and a choreographic language that is born from inhabiting the materiality of the object.
On July 27, 2019, we were invited by Carlos and Camila Almeida to attend a rehearsal at the UNSAM theater. This dark atmosphere combined with the vivid colors of the tetrahedron sculpture and the movements of Camila, the performer.
