«Canyone, anyone can dance! When you’re a kid, it comes naturally to you. As you get older, you fall out of the habit (and become less creative in general). Society dictates what is valuable and what is not, politicians tell us that art is a humanistic subject and not as important as math or science… It’s so frustrating, why among the qualities of dance is that of developing innovative thinkingwhich can then be applied to other fields. Not only that: do you know the difference between a video call meeting and one in person? We transmit a lot of information through the body. And dancing together amplifies the interrelationship. Change our disposition, our way of being». Word of Wayne McGregor.
“Chemical Reactions in Spectators”
Not by chance the award-winning English choreographer and director of Dance Biennial (and Commander of the Order of the British Empire), called Altered States the latest edition of the festival Venetian.
And for those who don’t feel like accepting the invitation and throwing themselves into the dance, they have good news: «All it takes is attending a performance to unleash chemical reactions within us and cause excitement, euphoria or maybe fury, tears. The power of dance is such that, while you watch, your mirror neurons fire, learn by empathy and improve your body intelligence».
Wayne McGregor (photo Andrew Nuding).
From Dante to Harry Potter
The creations of this first (and only) “Resident Choreographer” of the Royal Ballet of London who comes from the Contemporary? The title of the 2022 edition of the Biennale defines them well: Boundary-Less. The common thread passes from Dante (The Dante Project) to Virginia Woolf (Woolf Workswith the muse Alessandra Ferri) and the climate crisisUniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey), but he also worked for prose, opera, cinema (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, single, Mary Queen of Scots), music videos (Radiohead, The Chemical Brothers), fashion.
He recently signed Abba Voyagethe Abba avatar concert, and a Pokémon project. «Now I’m applying myself a lot to AR and VR, augmented reality and virtual reality. Soon with my company (born 31 years ago, ed) I will introduce Deepstaria, a look at the depths of space and the sea through the filter of artificial intelligence, will be launched simultaneously live in theaters and in the metaverse. I’ve always loved technology and science: yesterday I watched a documentary on cloning camels on Netflix (King of Clones, ed) and I found it super interesting! I’m looking for inspiration everywhere, not just in a piece of music I’ve never heard before».
“It takes more courage”
Alessandra Ferri in Wayne McGregor’s “Woolf Works” with the Scala Ballet (photo Brescia and Amisano).
In this historical moment, where are the significant innovations for dance?
Our vision is based on what is happening in the West, while interesting examples are arriving from all over the world. Or rather: it’s not that they arrive, they were already there, but now we have eyes to see them. At the last Biennale I was very impressed by the Chinese Tao Dance. Today dance merges with other arts, some rules of the ballet syntax are destabilized, and we should dare even more, we should be more courageous.
Are we not enough?
In the repertoires of the major companies, 80 percent is tradition, only 20 percent innovation: if we manage to reach 50/50, we would trigger a powerful change. For me the best dance maker they are the ones concerned about what is happening on the planet, the ones who want to connect more closely with themselves through their art, but are also genuinely interested in the big issues of the time, such as migration. I admire those who try to use the body and physical intelligence as a means to make the interior and the exterior dialogue, for a non-self-referential dance, aimed at one’s navel, but expanded to 360 degrees.
“Physical Intelligence”
“The Dante Project” by Wayne McGregor (photo Andrej Uspenski).
What do you mean by “physical intelligence”?
I’ve just written a book on the subject for the Bloomsbury publishing house… The body “knows” (if I throw an object at it, it automatically grabs it, right? You don’t have to think about it), but there are techniques that anyone, not just a dancer , can use to communicate better. And, if you practice them, you become more present. And being more present means being more relaxed.
A bit like with meditation. Do you practice it?
To stay well anchored at the moment my two dogs are enough, two whippets aged 10 and 12. When the morning Mies he jumps on the bed because he wants to go out, I can only dedicate myself to him, without having ten other things in mind.
Mies?
Yes, like Mies van der Rohe: I love architecture! The other is called Freud. Like Lucien Freud, the painter.
The noun with which they most often describe it is trailblazers: pioneer, forerunner.
It’s not something I look for. The only question I ask myself is: what really interests me, what do I want to do? And at that point a kind of mantra takes place: “Find a way, find a way!”. I feel a need, a compulsion. And, in any case, the beauty of our work is its collective being, not like that of a painter closed up in his studio. If we have achieved something of trail blazingwe did it as a team.
“Raves lit me up”
Leo Dixon and Joseph Sissens in “Untitled 2023” by Wayne McGregor (photo Alice Pennefather).
When was the interest in this discipline born?
At five I discovered English folk dances, including the maypole, the one with the ribbons around the maypole… Great! It amused me, I loved the mental challenge. They used to teach it to us in school, sadly they don’t anymore.
Eh, if an hour of dance and an hour of meditation were included in the classes, we would raise children who are more at peace with themselves…
I agree. I think the next step for me was watching movies like Saturday night fever And Grease, with John Travolta I started ballroom and Latin dancing at eight, tap dancing at 11, and musical theater soon after. It was the “social dance” that ignited my passion: dancing to pop music with friends, with others. Dancing as an expression of joy.
And the choreography?
At university I discovered contemporary art (American post-modern, the work of Lloyd Newson in Great Britain)… It was a flash of lightning: so dancing could also be this! From there it all started. In the 90s raves were an enriching experience for me.
The raves?
(laughs) Yes! I had never seen him move in such an absolutely free, bizarre way. But there’s a virtuosity to that, right? It’s a true form of virtuosity to be your truest self! There can be no other equal.
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