Björn Säfsten
We’re all dancing to the tune of our own desires, wrapped in a pink string of digital obsession.
BJÖRN SÄFSTEN
HAUNTED DESIRES
Studio presentation within 36 hours of dance October 24th 10.00–14.00
We’re all dancing to the tune of our own desires, wrapped in a pink string of digital obsession.
In a raw exploration of digital algorithms, body ideals, and the invisible communication shaping our reality, three gay men dive into their feeds by looking at what we all look at too much. Through the reflections of our screens, the choreography digs into a mass production of the material that constantly overwhelms us. From this, a choreography is born, three beings baptized in their seemingly random scrolling, abandoned in a place where the only thing they can do is practice their own language. By wallowing in their desires and inhibitions, these images and feelings are explored in a series of scenes that are as fragile as they are intense.
In Haunted Desires, Björn Säfsten continues to delve into humanity’s constant failure in communication and what it does to the individual. In this piece, the gaze is specifically directed at iconography created by men who wish to be desired by other men, as the dancers arbitrarily transform select clips from the algorithms thrown at them in social media. On stage, the autobiographical merges with the fictional, the sought-after with the real, in a flicker of exposed haunted desire. The thing that you desire, perhaps you must become?
About Björn Säfsten
In the work and practice of choreographer Björn Säfsten, the body and the mind and its connected actions are scrutinized, dissected and exposed.The focus is often to research how different methods of thinking patterns can alter the way we move.The choreography at hand is seen as a result of a dialog between each performers movement heritage and the choreographic proposition. The physical practice exposes images that result from a certain physical action, often attempting to transform it´s possible representations.
The work takes visual twists and turns, often moulding itself while being performed, establishing itself anew each time for each audience encounter. He aims to expose physical dilemmas, deliberately creating situations where the performer’s thoughts are revealed, opened up to the viewer. The work fools around with the notion of language – striving to confuse and divert the viewer from the regularity of bodily reading. The body is seen as a multiplex of wills, desires and directions, moving away from the notion of a bodily and mental entity. The exact texture of the singular movement stands at the core of the work.
Credits Haunted Desires
Credits:
Choreography: Björn Säfsten, in close collaboration with Pär Andersson, Philip Berlin and Sam Huczkowski, Marcus Baldemar and Joaquín Collado
Script: Björn Säfsten and Pär Andersson
Dance: Pär Andersson, Marcus Baldemar and Joaquín Collado
Light design: Jonatan Winbo
Set design: Björn Säfsten and Jonatan Winbo
Costume: Björn Säfsten
Construction and manufacturing technician, Dansens Hus: Johannes Fäst
Dramaturgy: Kristina Hagström-Ståhl
Photography: Märta Thisner
Voice actors: Klas Lagerlund och Dan Mclellan
Audio editor: Joakim Lundgren
Intimacy coordinator: Sara Arrhusius
Production: Nordberg Movement
Co-production: Inkonst
Created in residence at: Inkonst and La Caldera Centre de Creació de Dansa Barcelona
With support from: The Swedish Arts Council, The Swedish Arts Grants Committee, The City of Stockholm and Region Stockholm
Special thanks to: Palmer Lydebrant