The concept
DAWN/S is a 15 minute dance performance set in a public space.
DAWN/S is a title with two meanings: Dawn is the moment of the day when everything starts and comes to life, reborn. But also, Dawns means dance in Welsh, because with this performance we are aiming to bring dance closer to Welsh people, by performing in their everyday familiar environment, transforming it.A structure made from old chairs is attached to a vertical element and wrapped with plastic film. It reminds us of a nest or a spider web embracing reality. There is something breathing inside. Get closer to the structure and see how this being starts to move and breaks the shell. Stay there, and be witness of its rebirth.
Intrigued by the idea of metamorphosis, DAWN/S aims to be a metaphor of the transformations all living beings experience in a lifetime. Our bodies change, our cells renew and we are fundamentally a new being, that keeps, nevertheless, the essence of what is left behind.
Inspired by some animal's metamorphosis, like caterpillars becoming butterflies, Francesc Serra Vila proposes a structure that is kind of a chrysalis, a protective nest where someone, or something, can come back to when there is a need to transform into a new being and leave something behind, after a process of self-determination and a search for a new identity.
But has this new being still something left from who or what it was before? What makes the difference between one and the other, the being before and after the metamorphosis? Do we keep the memory of all our life changes/ stages? What's new and what will always be permanent in a being?
DAWN/S is a title with two meanings: Dawn is the moment of the day when everything starts and comes to life, reborn. But also, Dawns means dance in Welsh, because with this performance we are aiming to bring dance closer to Welsh people, by performing in their everyday familiar environment, transforming it.A structure made from old chairs is attached to a vertical element and wrapped with plastic film. It reminds us of a nest or a spider web embracing reality. There is something breathing inside. Get closer to the structure and see how this being starts to move and breaks the shell. Stay there, and be witness of its rebirth.
Intrigued by the idea of metamorphosis, DAWN/S aims to be a metaphor of the transformations all living beings experience in a lifetime. Our bodies change, our cells renew and we are fundamentally a new being, that keeps, nevertheless, the essence of what is left behind.
Inspired by some animal's metamorphosis, like caterpillars becoming butterflies, Francesc Serra Vila proposes a structure that is kind of a chrysalis, a protective nest where someone, or something, can come back to when there is a need to transform into a new being and leave something behind, after a process of self-determination and a search for a new identity.
But has this new being still something left from who or what it was before? What makes the difference between one and the other, the being before and after the metamorphosis? Do we keep the memory of all our life changes/ stages? What's new and what will always be permanent in a being?
The space
Our purpose is to observe how the context (space, time of the day) changes the audience's perception of the same dance piece, allowing it to disclose different layers of meaning. But also how the space affects both the performer and the structure and transforms them as well.
DAWN/S proposes a metaphor that aims to be the beginning of a thought process. Its aim is to evoke rather than to impose a meaning.
The public space can be a space for art - dance doesn't always need to be isolated in theatres. By happening in a public space it can reach broader audiences. We believe in enriching the citizen's perspective of a place and in a more intimate relation between performer and observer.
DAWN/S proposes a metaphor that aims to be the beginning of a thought process. Its aim is to evoke rather than to impose a meaning.
The public space can be a space for art - dance doesn't always need to be isolated in theatres. By happening in a public space it can reach broader audiences. We believe in enriching the citizen's perspective of a place and in a more intimate relation between performer and observer.
The origin
DAWN/S started as a two-day research project under the umbrella of National Dance Company Wales’ Departure Terminal. Neus and Francesc developed and presented the draft of this performance on February 2013 in the foyer of the Wales Millennium Centre. On that occasion, the interaction with the building was essential and it set the basis for a further development.