conversations in ten questions 63: Antonella Albanese & Cassandra Bianco (ESENCO DANCE MOVEMENT)

© Gianluca Laneve

What is the essence of performance in your opinion?

In our opinion the true essence of performance lies in its immediacy, creating an intense and profound experience. Performance is often ephemeral, existing only in the moment of its execution, and this transience adds value to the art by making it unique and unrepeatable. Performance aims to evoke emotions in the audience through the sincerity of expression, encouraging reflection, understanding, and change for both the artist and the audience. All of this, we think, is undoubtedly the beating heart of a performance.

Do you believe in the transformative power of art? How?

We believe that art can have a profound impact on people's lives, providing comfort, inspiration, and a sense of purpose for those who create or artistic experience. Personal and collective transformation can indeed occur through this process, helping individuals overcome traumas and discover new perspectives on life. Art can foster intercultural dialogue and drive creative innovation across various fields, playing a fundamental role in preserving culture and history. In summary, art consistently demonstrates its transformative power through its ability to inspire, raise awareness, stimulate reflection, and promote change on both an individual and collective level. However, the effectiveness of transformation depends on the nature of art, its context, and the receptivity of the audience to receive its message.

When you are working on a piece, what sources inspire you? Do dreams play a role in your works?

Usually, anything that is simple, an everyday gesture, natural elements, tends to inspire us during the creative process. Many other times, inspiration comes from music before any other element, while at other times, an image or a text, or more commonly a personal experience, can ignite a spark to begin. It also depends a lot on what the job requires and the starting idea. It all starts from a dream, an idea, a small input, and from there, the journey begins and continues. So, a fundamental part of the project is to dream out loud.

When do you decide to give a title to a work you are working on if it already does not have one?Often, the title comes at the end of the work, when everything is taking shape, and we focus on finding the name to give to the new creation. This is essential to truly identify the work or to provide a suggestion to the audience. Although we must admit that sometimes we have chosen to start with the title itself to see where the idea would lead us and what it would suggest.

Are there any artist or person whom you think influenced your art most? And if there is such an artist or person, who?

Certainly, every artist, choreographer, and teacher we have encountered during our artistic journey has been essential in gradually shaping our current artistic identity. More specifically, we have different personal influences that we find interesting to merge in the outcome of our work. If we were to think of two strong identities that we consider influential and intriguing, they would undoubtedly be Crystal Pite and Ohad Naharin. Although they are stylistically distant, we believe they are united by elements and characteristics closely related to our interest in expressive communication and choreographic composition. It is certainly a subtle influence that, in a way, guides our vision.

When you consider the current state of the world in every sense, what is the most important and urgent issue for you as an artist?

There is an important and very urgent aspect that we continue to underestimate, which is the environment in which we live and the intention to "live with respect" that we have forgotten over the past years. Respect for places, but above all for people. We should return to a humanity that is being lost, and for this reason, we believe that art is a fundamental tool to bring us closer, to feel, reflect, and raise awareness. A community open to the beauty of art can certainly be a community open to life and the respect for it as an invaluable gift. From here, everything else is a consequence

How did Esenco Dance Movement come about; what were your intentions, how did it develop? Esenco Dance Movement was born from an unexpected reconnection that life gave us. After several years in different places for our individual careers as dancers, the Covid-19 pandemic brought us back to our homeland, Italy, specifically Puglia. We started by putting together some ideas, and from there, a shared urgency emerged that we felt both in terms of performance and authorship. It became a collaborative act of research and experimentation that step by step led us to discover and engage with other artistic communities and artists who continue to inspire and enrich our journey.

If you had to translate Lay Bare into a single sentence, what would that sentence be?

Lay Bare in one sentence: We perform a journey through different emotional stages in connection with a constantly evolving soundscape that emphasizes movement.

What does ‘Fringe’ signify for you?

The "Fringe" for us represents a recognition of the value of the work we strive to carry forward, an opportunity to showcase our work through a sharing that will undoubtedly be rewarding and meaningful. Every opportunity like this is a cause for deep gratitude for us because meeting the audience and trying to rebuild that humanity we spoke of earlier is fundamental to us.

What would you like to say to the Istanbul fringe audience?

We invite the audience to be there, to support art, to always be willing and open to receive the beauty that art provides. Each performance is a shared experience, and we can't wait to take the stage, to give and receive, because that's what it's all about.

[The Turkish version of this interview was published in unlimited.]