Frédéric Gies ^(SWE) Terpsichore in Scorpio - Deposition 17-19 March 2022

Programme

With this dance work, Frédéric Gies celebrates his 30th anniversary as a dancer by using the sediments left over from dances he has danced or watched. The preserved and decaying dance materials preserved in his body become a nutritious soil for new dances.

In Frédéric's horoscope, the asteroid Terpsichore is in Scorpio. Scorpio symbolises death, rebirth and transformation and Terpsichore is linked to deep emotional experiences. Their celebration of 30 years of work in the dance field will coincide with Terpsichore's return to the place in the sky where it was when Frédéric was born.

I started to work in the dance field thirty years ago, in the fall 1991. In Terpsichore in Scorpio - Deposition, I offer my body as a living, somatic archive of thirty years of dance - thirty years of dance that occurred not only on stage or in the studio, but also on the dance floors where I danced for countless hours. The dances that constitute this piece originate in my deepest kinesthetic memories, in the sediments left by movements I have danced or seen. The sometimes intact, sometimes putrefying dance materials contained in my body constitute the fertile soil for new dances. In the title, deposition refers to the legal term for a written document consisting of the testimony of a witness.

Scorpio, in astrology, represents death, rebirth, transformation and regeneration. It is associated with deep emotional experiences. Terpsichorerefers to the Greek muse of dance and to the asteroid Terpsichore. In the fall 2021, this asteroid returns to its placement in the sky when I was born. - Frédéric Gies