It was the images in a Brussels newspaper of female fighters dressed for combat with Kalashnikov’s in hand, setting off to fight Isis in Syria that struck Thierry Smits.
Choreographer and founder of Compagnie Thor, a Brussels-based dance company, Smits has spent the better part of 25 years exploring the human relationship to the body through his often controversial work.
With a focus on what he refers to as the “necessity of resistance” in relation to the oppression of women, Smits designed a solo work for Australian dancer Nicola Leahey and together they bring ReVoLt to The Dance Centre as part of Global Dance Connections.
“The idea was to make a piece that would be a metaphor for all the combat women experience,” Smits says on the line from Brussels.
“We all see in these quite dark times, our spaces of freedom are limited. I’m politically aware of what is going on around me. We are in a period of reaction and Conservatism where we have to take care of this space of freedom.”
ReVoLt is a non-stop, intensely physical piece that Smits describes as movement in a cyclical sense, as opposed to a traditional theatrical experience. Aspects were built upon a theoretical foundation, but the performance relies on the imagination for explanation, he says.
For Leahey, the challenge of managing her energy throughout the duration of her first solo work, while working within such strong themes addressing political space, feminism and freedom appealed to her.
“It’s not the point to exhaust myself from the beginning and there are quite clear restrictions staging-wise with space, and absence of objects to relate to,” she explains. “It’s difficult to keep chewing on the one bone and as ReVoLt is basically one scene that keeps evolving, I have to keep searching for the specificity and subtlety of the moment to make it live.”
Smits credits his feminist mother for inspiring him to maintain the theme in much of his work. Leahey says the way he considered how the movement material, structure and stage setting could set a certain scene allowed room to follow one thought on the subject, eliminating the pressure to tackle various themes at once.
“Being female already gives reference to female oppression, so it didn’t feel necessary to highlight this aspect further,” she elaborates.
“Yes, they are strong themes and important ones that I think people can relate to, but I didn’t feel I had to make an epic reference to them but rather relate to these themes as a physical exploration which I find a much more honest route.”
ReVoLt runs May 5-7 at Scotiabank Dance Centre (677 Davie). Tickets available at TheDanceCentre.ca
