Arkadi Zaides, theater and the fall of Prometheus
by Francesco Brusa — 12/23, (IT), about works: NECROPOLIS TALOS THE CLOUD
Un teatro che si occupa del presente può essere ancora “teatro” in senso stretto, vale a dire una pratica scenica che in una certa misura ha a che fare con corpi, rappresentazioni e drammaturgie? Nella loro algida semplicità, i lavori dell’artista bielorusso Arkadi Zaides conducono al centro di questo interrogativo: performance – o per meglio descrivere, momenti di frontalità dialogica – che ricercano un quid teatrale nella materia più inerte che forse si possa immaginare, archivi, dati, statistiche, referti, processi informatici, testimonianze svuotate della loro origine umana. La stagione di danza “Orbita” diretta dalla compagnia romana Spellbound gli ha recentemente dedicato una tre giorni, fra il Teatro Biblioteca Quarticciolo, Teatro Palladium e Spazio Rossellini, in cui si è potuto assistere alla prova aperta dello spettacolo di prossimo debutto Cloud, alla conferenza recitata Talos e al rituale digitale Necropolis.
Estrangements: Traveling Theories
by Sergia Adamo, Niccolo Scaffai in Between, an international, peer-reviewed and open access Journal of the Italian Association for the Theory and Comparative History of Literature - Compalit. — 05/22, (IT), about work: TALOS
In this issue of “Between” we propose to bring into play the possibility of estrangement, or rather of estrangements – in the plural. Evoking estrangement means confronting otherness understood as that which destabilises us, sometimes radically, that which puts us in danger and prevents us from stopping in a space of reassuring mastery of the objects of our discourses.
What we wanted to do here, however, is to try to project the critical potential of estrangement over a long range, identifying its ramifications,
intersections and convergences with other proposals, similar but not necessarily coincidental, and with objects of study with which it is not commonly made to react.
Performing the End. Coreography and Politics in Arkadi Zaides Work
by Giada Cipollone — 09/21, (IT), about works: ARCHIVE NECROPOLIS TALOS
Nato in Bielorussia, cresciuto in Israele, attualmente residente in Francia, Arkadi Zaides un artista performativo e coreografo indipendente che da anni, combinando ricerca teorica, pratiche e attivismo, esamina i modi in cui i contesti politici e sociali disciplinano e in generale influenzano il corpo. Tra coreografia e politica, Zaides sviluppa piattaforme performative complesse che, facendo interagire corpi, schermi, dispositivi e tecnologie, affrontano il discorso contemporaneo sull’esperienza dei confini, dei conflitti, dei regimi di visibilit e delle politiche del movimento.
Myths Machine
by Merav Dagan — 10/19, (HE), about work: TALOS
זיידס הוא יוצר ישראלי שחי ופועל בשנים האחרונות באירופה והעיסוק הבולט שלו בפוליטיות של התנועה הן במרחב של הגוף הפרטי והן במרחב הציבורי בא לידי ביטוי גם ביצירה זו. טאלוס הוא מופע ופרוייקט אמנותי שיתופי שיזם וייצר זיידס בשיתוף עם קבוצת אמנים וחוקרים. המופע מציג פרוייקט מחקר של האיחוד האירופי שהתקיים בין השנים 2002-2008, הנושא אף הוא את השם טאלוס, ושבמרכזו עמדה השאיפה לבחון ולפתח מערכת רובוטית אוטונומית לניטור והגנת גבולותיה של אירופה. טאלוס פרוייקט המחקר האירופי מתייחס בשמו לטאלוס הדמות המיתולוגית, על כן הן היצירה של זיידס והן המחקר שלי מתעסקים באופן ניכר במימד המיתי של השיח המדעי/טכנולוגי וכפועל יוצא גם במיתולוגיות הנוכחות בשיח הניאו-ליברלי.
אבקש לבחון כיצד באים לידי ביטוי המיתוסים של המכונה/השיח הטכנולוגי והמיתוס הניאו-ליברלי ביצירה, ואיזו עמדה ביקורתית אם בכלל מבנה השימוש בהם. אעשה זאת ע"י סקירה של המיתוס על המכונה בחלק הראשון, בחלק השני אבחן את המיתוס הניאו-ליברלי דרך הזיהוי שהוא מקיים בין חופש לתנועה ובחלק השלישי והאחרון אדון ביצירתו של זיידס דרך ההתגלמויות המיתיות והממשיות הקיימות ביצירה.
המיתוס של המכונה הוא מיתוס מודרני בן לא יותר ממאתיים שנה. הוא מגלם בתוכו את הערכים, האמונות והפחדים שמגדירים את המצב האנושי בעידן בו המדע מחליף במידה מסויימת את הדת, וההתפתחויות הטכנולוגיות משתנות ומשנות במהירות את אופני החיים והיחסים בין אדם לאדם ובין האדם לעולם/טבע. בחלק הנוכחי אדון בביטויים ומאפיינים שונים של מיתוס זה ובקופסא השחורה שנוצרת
מטבעון מושג המכונה והערכים הטכנולוגיים הנלווים לו.
Repeat, Extract, Simulate, Extrapolate, with Arkadi Zaides’ TALOS
by Frédéric Pouillaude — 03/19, (FR), about work: TALOS
1. Soit un projet de recherche financé par l’Union européenne : TALOS (2008-2012). T.A.L.O.S. : Transportable Autonomous patrol for Land bOrder Surveillance. L’acronyme est bancal. Les majuscules ne tombent pas là où il faudrait. L’inquiétant « patrol » s’affaisse au milieu, minuscule et sans gras. Voudrait-il se faire oublier qu’il ne le pourrait point : substantif amputé de sa majuscule, on ne voit que lui. Quant à ce nécessaire objet de surveillance – la frontière –, il s’emphatise tant et si bien qu’il explose en l’O de bOrder :
Thoughts about/following TALOS
by Rona Cohen and Yael Venezia, The 6th Annual Conference of the Israeli Dance Research Association — 01/19, (HE), about work: TALOS
רקדן עולה לבמה בפסטיבל מחול ופוצח בהרצאה. הוא כמעט שאינו זז ממקומו. דיבורו אוטומטי, טכני, בירוקרטי, אטום, חסר אפקט. תנועתו דלה, כמעט שאינה מורגשת. הוא עומד ומספר לנו בלשון רהוטה ועובדתית על פרוייקט “טאלוס”. טאלוס היה ענק מברונזה שהעניק זאוס במתנה לנימפה אירופה על מנת שגבולותיה הטריטוריאליים יהיו מוגנים. כל סכנה לריבונותה של אירופה נתקלה במגע הברזל של טאלוס והוכחדה. הדובר פונה לספר לנו על ענק ברונזה היפר-מודרני. פרוייקט חדשני שפותח על ידי קונסורציום שהוקם על ידי האיחוד האירופאי ומאגד חברות מיותר מ 10- מדינות. שמו של הפרוייקט טאלוס. מטרתו - לממש את רעיון הגנת הגבולות של אירופה באמצעים טכנולוגיים. הלכה למעשה: פריסת רובוטים עם יכולות קינטיות מרשימות לאורך חופי וגבולות היבשת כדי לאתר פולשים, מסתננים, וכיום במצב הנוכחי, פליטים ומבקשי מקלט, ולחסום את תנועתם.
ההרצאה של הדובר שמזכירה יותר מכל פרזנטציה עסקית מלווה לכל אורכה בסימולציות גרפים ותרשימים במהלכה הוא יצביע על היתרונות והיעילות של פרוייקט טאלוס ביחס לפתרונות בקרת הגבולות הנוכחיים. הדובר, ארקדי זיידס, אינו רוקד כפי שאולי רבים בקהל שבאו לראות את המופע קיוו במקום זאת תנועתו מינימלית, מוכתבת כולה על ידי הסצינה הכוריאוגרפית שהוא מתאר הדובר מבצע בפועל, מגלם בגופו, את נושא העבודה: עצירת תנועה. ואין מקום בו העצירה הזו עצמתית יותר מאשר על במה של מופע מחול.
Towards the ‘ironic spectator’
by Anastasio Koukoutas — 10/18, (EN), about work: TALOS
TALOS is a performance-lecture on the biopolitics and necropolitics applied in austere border controls. It examines how human lives are managed and which of these lives are worth saving, taking an EU-funded initiative as its starting point: the robot system TALOS, designed to detect and prevent illegal border crossings. Zaides is centre stage and in his placid manner attempts a choreographic analysis of crowd handling. His body language and his tone of voice are contained, avoiding an emotional interpretation of the array of facts he is giving us; he adopts such a polished, neutral stage presence, reminding us of a CEO presenting the new generation of tech devices. However, for the Greek audience, these are more than mere facts. As Greece is among the countries that have suffered an ‘invasion’ of refugees, facts are not only envisioned in a remote, dystopian future as the performance suggests, but are also deeply felt, reminding us of the collective trauma caused by the loss of hundreds of people trying to cross the borders. This form of witnessing the political failure of EU to overcome the prejudice towards the Other is creating a huge contrast with Zaide’s analysis. The irony doesn’t lie in the interpretation attempted by the artist himself, but in the way we participate in the sharing of these facts.
TALOS/Talos. What sort of future do we want to see performed?
by Jonas Rutgeerts & Nienke Scholts, FORUM+ online journal — 06/18, (EN), about work: TALOS
The performance Talos by Arkadi Zaides took its cue from TALOS, or Transportable Autonomous Patrol for Land bOrder Surveillance, a European sponsored research and development project for which an international consortium of organisations joined forces. TALOS aspired to develop and test a mobile robotic system for border control. Originally the aim of the artistic research was to re-enact this project, taking as a starting point the actual development of a ground-drone that could detect people and prevent them from crossing a predefined border. However, the research on the European project brought to light that TALOS’s goal was not confined to the construction of a robotic surveillance vehicle. The project also tried to shape our vision on the future of Europe’s protection by aligning this future with Europe’s mythical past. Confronted with this complexity, what was originally set up as a re-construction of a robotic vehicle soon transformed into a performance that explores the manifold temporalities that are folded into the discourse of Talos. Rather than referring to, or re-examining TALOS, the project here focused on Talos as an idea and on the future that this idea seems to hold. In this article we aim to elaborate on the complexities and questions that arose during the artistic process of creating Talos. In doing so we do not only want to come to a better understanding of the actual performance, but also outline an approach to the documentary that focuses on the creative potential of documents and shifts the perspective from re-enacting the past to pre-enacting the future. We situate this approach within a broader discourse on speculation and of a movement of activating alternative futures.
Talos – Arkadi Zaides
by Sébastien Hendrickx, Etcetera — 03/18, (NL), about work: TALOS
Een project als Talos suggereert dat de blindheid zich al in een vroeger stadium manifesteert, een blindheid die zelfs constitutief lijkt voor een dergelijk initiatief: al van bij het begin moeten migranten ideologisch zijn geframed en ontdaan van hun menselijkheid. Idem dito trouwens voor een ander grimmig onderdeel van wat we vandaag smart migratiemanagement zouden kunnen noemen (eindeloos veel complexer dan slogans als ‘Build that wall!’ doen vermoeden), een onderdeel dat wél werd en wordt gerealiseerd, in een schimmig juridisch gebied en grotendeels uit het zicht van het brede publiek: de akkoorden die de EU sluit met bedenkelijke regimes net buiten haar grenzen, om migranten tegen te houden nog voor ze de oversteek kunnen wagen.
TALOS, Arkadi Zaides
by Leslie Cassagne, Ma Culture — 03/18, (FR), about work: TALOS
En 2014, le chorégraphe Arkadi Zaides créait la pièce Archive, dans laquelle il utilisait des images issues du « Camera project » de l’ONG israélienne B’Tselem : des vidéos réalisées par des Palestiniens en Cisjordanie, rendant visibles des situations de violations des droits de l’homme dans les territoires occupés par Israel. Sur scène, Arkadi Zaides adoptait les postures et les gestes des hommes à l’écran, réactivant au présent le rapport des corps à des situations de violence. Dans Archive, le danseur se plongeait dans les corps de ceux qui exercent la contrainte ; dans Talos, il se plonge dans la mécanique de leur discours. La pièce, créée en août 2017 au festival Tanz im August à Berlin, prend la forme d’un solo pour un performer et un écran. Dans sa version française, c’est la danseuse et chorégraphe Lara Barsaq qui est sur scène, dans le rôle d’une conférencière porte-parole d’un « consortium » soutenant le projet Talos : remplacer les garde-frontières humains par des robots afin de parvenir à une couverture optimale des frontières de l’espace Schengen.
Body, Material, Border
by Idit Suslik — 09/17, (HE), about work: TALOS
מימדים אחרים בדינאמיקה שבין גוף לחומר עולים בעבודתו של ארקדי זיידס, "טאלוס", שנוצרה בהשראת פרויקט טכנולוגי של האיחוד האירופי הנושא את אותו - מערכת רובוטית שמתוכנתת לאתר ולמנוע חציית גבולות בלתי חוקית. העבודה בנויה כ-"lecture-performance" שבמסגרתה מתפקד זיידס כמנחה המציג בפני הקהל את המאפיינים הטכניים והמוטיבציות של מערכת "טאלוס", תוך שהוא מלווה בהמחשה גרפית/דיגיטלית של סיטואציות שונות של חדירת גבול. למרות שעל פניו נדמה כי העבודה היא אנטי-מחולית במובן זה שהיא מהווה הדגמה שיווקית ותדמיתית של מוצר - מערכת "טאלוס" - בפועל מתברר כי זיידס מציף סוגיות קריטיות הקשורות לתנועה ולכוריאוגרפיה, בהקשר הספציפי של חברה גלובלית, פיתוחים טכנולוגיים עכשוויים וגם תופעות חברתיות בנות-זמננו כמו הגירה.
אחד המאפיינים הבולטים ב-"טאלוס" הוא המתח בין גוף אנושי למכונה, ובין תנועה לנייחות. בחלקה הראשון של העבודה, למשל, עומדים מאפייני הגוף הפרטיקולרי של זיידס - שהוא תלת-ממדי, קונקרטי וחומרי - בניגוד לצורתם הגנרית והשטוחה של העיגולים חסרי הפנים שממלאים את ההדמיה המוקרנת על המסך. אך דווקא העיגולים מתגלים כ-"ישויות נעות" שמתפרסות על פני המרחב, בעוד זיידס עצמו מצמצם את תנועת גופו למחוות מינימאליות שמתקיימות בחלל מצומצם יחסית. בדרך זו נוצרת הפקעה של תנועה שנתפסת כ-"אנושית" מהגוף שלרוב מזוהה איתה, תהליך שמועצם עוד יותר לאור קטעי הקרנה אשר מתעדים את תהליכי הפיתוח של רובוטים דמויי אדם שמתוכנתים כך שיחקו תנועה אנושית ואפילו ישכללו אותה מעבר ליכולותיהם הפיזיות (ובמידה רבה גם המנטאליות והקוגניטיביות) של בני אדם.
ThrumMming with Knowledge
by Irit Rogoff, Keir Foundation — 08/24, (EN), about works: ARCHIVE NECROPOLIS THE CLOUD
My subject is the conjunction of ‘research’, ‘knowledge production’ and ‘creative practice’ as we are seeing it unfold today across so many art forms. To try and capture the synchronicity of embodied processes of knowledge production, of how research is lived out rather than utilised, I address the work of dancer and choreographer, Arkadi Zaides. In a series of recent works emerging from collaborations with NGOs, Zaides simultaneously focuses on urgencies afflicting our world as well as recognises NGOs as important knowledge producers. The notion of thrumming I am in search of is both epistemic and embodied. It’s a form of ‘Being with Knowledge’ that does not reach conclusions or seal it off temporally.
Back to The Cloud
by Marie Reverdy, SpinticA — 07/24, (FR), about work: THE CLOUD
Dans cette dernière création, intitulée The Cloud, Arkadi Zaides poursuit sa réflexion sur les liens qui unissent performance et document. Il est question, ici, de la mémoire de Tchernobyl au moment où la fusion du cœur du réacteur 4 provoqué l’incident nucléaire le plus grave de l’histoire, entre souvenirs d’enfance, catastrophe planétaire et signe d’un effondrement politique. Nous avons fait mention de The Cloud lors du premier article concernant la 44ème édition du Festival Montpellier Danse, et proposons de revenir sur la pièce – un retour en forme de Je – afin de mesurer la façon dont l’état gazeux du nuage s’est déposé, comme une grêle, dans les sentiers de ma sensibilité spectatorielle. Densité d’une pluie qui vient frapper ma mémoire… Il me reste, de cette création, une voix, un texte, un dispositif scénographique, une combinaison recouvrant le corps…
The Cloud
by Jocelyne Vaysse, Chroniques de Danse — 06/24, (FR), about work: THE CLOUD
Face au public disposé en angle, deux écrans géants reçoivent une multitude de données numériques simultanées grâce à l’intelligence Artificielle, le staff technologique étant sur le plateau.
Assis sur un haut tabouret au centre de la scène, Arkadi Zaides entreprend en anglais la longue lecture d’un document. Le texte s’inscrit sur les écrans en lignes blanches très serrées accompagnées d’un bandeau succinct de traduction en français. Les écrits défilent, évoquant un projet de film, une population locale avertie 20 secondes avant l’effondrement d’un immeuble à Gaza photo à l’appui, et encore des immigrés, un jour d’école avec des enfants souriants, un couple heureux, des parents en âge… En fait, la densité du récit nous convie à s’intéresser à une famille vivant près de la frontière biélorusse. Sa famille.
"The Cloud" enriches Arkadi Zaides' Chernobyl AI
by Véronique Giraud, NAJA21 — 06/24, (FR), about work: THE CLOUD
Pour tout décor, deux grands écrans blancs et un micro posté au centre de la scène. C’est qu’Arkadi Zaides a beaucoup à dire, à dévoiler. Lui qui est né à Gomel, en Biélorussie, et dont la famille a quitté l’Union Soviétique lorsqu’il avait douze ans, a été marqué par la catastrophe de Tchernobyl. La station nucléaire était située à deux heures de son école.
En 2016, il est revenu pour la première fois avec sa mère en Biélorussie. Il y a revu une partie de sa famille et son ami d’enfance qui li confie ressentir comme lui la fêlure de l’avant et de l’après Tchernobyl. Le nuage radioactif a fait couler beaucoup d’encre, dissipé les rumeurs les plus contradictoires, rallié les complotistes, mais, des 600 000 nettoyeurs enrôlés pour nettoyer les matières radioactives au péril de leur santé et de leur vie, on sait peu de choses. La parole ne leur a pas été donnée.
Ému par ce silence, et l’oubli, Arkadi Zaides a d’abord voulu leur rendre hommage, recenser la parole de témoins encore vivants et en faire un film. Mais la pandémie de Covid en 2020, puis l’invasion de l’Ukraine en 2022 ont rendu le voyage et le projet impossibles. Alors qu’un autre nuage, celui gonflé de ce qui est appelé l’intelligence artificielle, progressait avec des possibilités inédites, l’artiste a décidé de fusionner les deux nuages pour en faire une performance. Elle a été présentée trois soirs au festival Montpellier Danse.
Opening of Montpellier Danse 2024
by Marie Reverdy, SpinticA — 06/24, (FR), about work: THE CLOUD
Le mot est particulièrement polysémique depuis peu. Nuage du ciel, nuage de mots, cloud des mémoires dématérialisées, archivées on ne sait où… Impossible, dès lors, d’avoir une vue globale : nous semblons baigner dedans sans trop de repères – une petite data par-ci et une autre par-là, un nuage de données et un nuage radioactif. L’architecture du nuage ne se laisse pas deviner par ses contours…
Arkadi Zaides se tient toujours, sur la pointe des pieds, au bord du précipice des catastrophes : famille juive biélorusse et ukrainienne, guerres incendiaires, guerre froide, formidable XXème siècle, enfant des parages de Tchernobyl, nuageant sa mémoire familiale sensible, dilatée dans le cloud de l’hyper-objet. Mémoire de famille et de l’Histoire, celle des Liquidateurs des déchets radioactifs après l’explosion, ouvriers surnommés Robots-Humains. Archives orales, récits, photos, vidéos, répartis nulle part, dans l’immatérialité du cloud. Où partiront les mémoires de ceux qui ont nettoyé le toit du réacteur 4 ? Où partiront les mémoires de la sœur aînée ? De l’ami d’enfance ? De cette voix qui nous parle et qui vient de se transformer, sous nos yeux, en témoignage écrit ? Le réel se déréalise, le temps se cristallise, l’espace se perd, les images bavent, les visages s’effacent, les corps se difforment, la matière se dissout et la mémoire se dilate. Et dans cette chute et son nuage de poussière aveuglante, la brutalité du réel revient comme une peau qui s’hérisse, par l’intermédiaire d’un objet : celui de cette acquisition faite en ligne, évoquée au début de la pièce, cette combinaison censée protéger les liquidateurs des radiations. L’arrivée de cet objet réinvite le réel au plateau : la matérialité de la combinaison pèse de tout son poids sur l’espace-temps de la scène.
"The Cloud" by Arkadi Zaides
by Agnès Izrine, Danser Canal Historique — 06/24, (FR), about work: THE CLOUD
C’est l’une des meilleures créations mondiales du 44e festival Montpellier Danse, fruit d‘une fidélité de Jean-Paul Montanari à Arkadi Zaides qu’il invite régulièrement et qui est sûrement l’un des artistes majeurs du monde chorégraphique d’aujourd’hui. Comme un roman. Si, dans les précédentes pièces d’Arkadi Zaides, comme Necropolis vu en 2021 à Montpellier Danse, était affichée une forme de danse documentaire, The Cloud, avec son écriture complexe qui mêle l’Histoire à la biographie et l’intelligence humaine à l’artificielle, nous met face à un roman, une autofiction qui finit par contaminer le monde qui l’entoure. Et cette contamination est exactement le sujet de The Cloud qui tire deux fils en parallèle : le « nuage » de données, cet « hyperobjet » conceptualisé par Timothy Morton, qui désigne « une entité ou un phénomène d’envergure massive excédant l’entendement humain et pouvant mener à la catastrophe écologique – par exemple l’énergie nucléaire ou le dérèglement climatique » ; et le fameux nuage de Tchernobyl, qui a envahi l’Europe, et une grande partie du monde à moindre échelle, en 1986.
Blurry Manifestos
by Arkadi Zaides, for 'War and Aesthetics: Art, Technology, and the Futures of Warfare', edited by Jens Bjering, Anders Engberg-Pedersen, Solveig Gade and Christine Strandmose Toft, The MIT Press — 06/24, (EN), about work: TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
I was initially interested in the joint work of Israeli dancer, choreographer and theoretician Noa Eskhol and her student and later professor of architecture, Avraham Wachman, because their approach questions the notion of "document". The two, often referred to as avant-gardists (Zyman, Finkelman), are renowned for inventing one of the most simple and applicable systems that enable the precise notation of movement patterns (Yanai). However, when I embarked on my historical investigation, I was captivated by the way their system has transcended the artistic field to perform outside of its primary frameworks.
Absent bodies
by Johannes Odenthal, tanz — 06/24, (DE), about works: NECROPOLIS THE CLOUD
Mit Rabih Mroué, Omar Rajeh und Arkadi Zaides haben wir drei Künstler aus dem Libanon und Israel nach ihren Strategien künstlerischen Handelns gefragt. Vor dem Hintergrund der Konfliktlinien im Nahen Osten und den Debatten in Deutschland und Europa zu Antisemitismus, Kolonialismus und Rassismus nehmen sie radikal individuelle, kritische Positionen ein, die uns helfen, jenseits von ideologisch geprägten unverrückbaren Standpunkten Wege der Reflexion und Kommunikation zu finden.
Nur in der Differenzierung von individuellen Positionen erschließt sich ein Blick auf eine kosmopolitisch geprägte Gesellschaft, die durch die Identitätsdiskurse von Religion, Ethnie oder Nationalismus das Potenzial eines offenen Gesellschaftmodells verliert. Exemplarisch verweigern sich alle drei Künstler einer orientalisierenden, fremdbestimmten Definition. Dabei wird deutlich, dass Europa und vor allem Deutschland gut daran täten, eigene Perspektiven zu reflektieren und neue Debattenräume zu eröffnen.
The Cloud. A morbid choreography
by Klaas Tindemans, e-tcetera — 05/24, (NL), about work: THE CLOUD
Nu maakt Arkadi Zaides een voorstelling over Tsjernobyl, en het komt nog dichter bij. Zaides is geboren in Belarus, niet heel ver van de Oekraïense grens, in gecontamineerd gebied. Tsjernobyl zit dus letterlijk onder zijn huid. Als kind is hij geëmigreerd naar Israël, toen dat mogelijk werd voor Joodse Sovjet-burgers, maar ondertussen was hij wel besmet – of niet: alles is onbekend en onzeker. De beruchte wolk – the Cloud dus, zo heet zijn voorstelling – was nog compact in de streek waar hij woonde, de overblijfselen die Armand Pien tot bij ons zag komen waren helemaal verdund. Zaides maakt The Cloud als een nevenproject bij zijn langlopende traject over de ontmenselijking van migranten naar Europa, waaruit twee jaar geleden Necropolis ontstond. De aanleiding is persoonlijk, hij weet immers heel goed wat de ramp in Tsjernobyl écht teweegbracht, maar de vertelling gaat een andere richting uit. Hij concentreert zich op de zogenaamde liquidators, de mannen die, nadat de reactor tot relatieve rust was gekomen, de boel moesten opruimen en opkuisen. Zij stapten in beschermende pakken, gemaakt van een soort rubber dat amper ademde, en op de meest gevoelige lichaamsdelen, zoals de nek (met de schildklier), werden ze bedekt met plakken van lood, een beetje kneedbaar. Van een grondige veiligheidsanalyse was er geen sprake, niet van de plek waar ze moesten werken, niet van de betrouwbaarheid van de bescherming. Ze bewogen zich, vanuit voorzichtigheid maar net zo goed vanuit pure angst, op een trage, aftastende wijze, niet goed wetend wat ze mochten aanraken en wat niet.
About friendship and destruction in virtual times
by Lotte Ogiers, pzazz — 05/24, (NL), about work: THE CLOUD
In ‘The Cloud’ deelt choreograaf Arkadi Zaides de beelden en gedachten die hij tijdens acht jaar onderzoek verzamelde met het publiek. Dat intensieve onderzoek weegt soms op de performance die een brug wil slaan tussen zijn persoonlijke verhaal over zijn migratie van Wit-Rusland naar West-Europa en de herinnering aan de allesverwoestende nucleaire wolk van Tsjernobyl. Toch biedt Zaides een sterke beschouwing over onze (virtuele) tijdsgeest: moderne technologie kan veel oplossen, maar paradoxaal genoeg lijken we toch onze greep te verliezen op de ecologische en maatschappelijke gevaren die als een dreigend wolkendek boven onze hoofden hangen.
Deconstructing the archive as a form of power
by Flavia Dalila D’Amico, Connessioni Remote. Artivismo_Teatro_Tecnologia — 12/23, (IT), about work: NECROPOLIS
Il teatro e gli archivi hanno una radice in comune: sono entrambi sistemi di rappresentazione della realtà, organizzano e rielaborano i fatti, distillandoli in materia universale. In entrambi i casi, le premesse, le pratiche e le modalità con cui i dati si depositano in una determinata struttura, sia essa drammaturgica o documentale, articolano una specifica prospettiva, enunciano un punto di vista in maniera esplicita o implicita. La ricerca dell'artista biellorusso Arkadi Zaides si insinua esattamente nello iato tra un fatto e la sua cristallizzazione in dato, in un momento di transito che, rallentando, riesce a far trapelare l’ideologia alla base dell'impianto. L’artista, infatti, riconosciuto per la personale metodologia che definisce Documentary Choreography, indaga il rapporto tra scena, tecnologia e potere. Molti dei suoi lavori rendono tangibili le questioni geopolitiche a fondamento di alcuni depositi di informazioni.
Towards Documentary Choreography - Encounter #1
by Arkadi Zaides, a three-day symposium at Beursschouwburg, Brussels — 12/23, (EN), about work: TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
For this symposium, which follows from his practice-based PhD research, Arkadi Zaides invited various practitioners and scholars to reflect collectively on the notion of “documentary choreography”. By looking at concrete case studies and by proposing various theoretical lenses, the participants explored the strategies used by artists when combining embodied and documentary practices. Through different formats, they considered the potentiality of such blending not only to challenge the boundaries of contemporary dance and documentary theater, but also to engage critically with social and political issues.
Only when you die can you enter Necropolis
by Nikola Marković, in conversation with Arkadi Zaides and Igor Dobričić, Novi Magazin — 12/23, (SR), about work: NECROPOLIS
Na nedavno završenom 16. Kondenzu – festivalu savremenog plesa i performansa, u Centru za kulturnu dekontaminaciju, koreograf i performer Arkadi Zaides iz Brisela izveo je predstavu Nekropolis, koja istražuje i dovodi u pitanje forenzičke procedure i odsustvo informacija vezanih za raspadajuća tela nepriznatih i neidentifikovanih žrtava – migranata i izbeglica koji su izgubili živote pokušavajući da uđu u Evropu. Predstava, kao doprinos aktivističkim borbama da se pomogne porodicama nastradalih migranata i mapiraju njihovi grobovi širom Evrope, nastala je u saradnji sa dramaturgom Igorom Dobričićem kao autorom teksta. U razgovoru koji je s njima dvojicom vođen za Novi magazin, dotaknute su brojne teške teme koje ovo delo stavlja u fokus, ali i kompleksnost same produkcije, odnosno istraživanja koje stoji iza nje.
Documentary Choreography and Human Rights
by Yael (yali) Nativ, Iris Lana, in conversation with Arkadi Zaides, as part of Creatures of Dance, a podcast on contemporary dance in Israel — 11/23, (HE), about work: TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
האתר של ארקדי זיידס נראה כמו עיתון, פרוס לרווחה, בשחור-לבן ובטורים אנכיים. שמות עבודות המחול, הפרפורמנס והפרוייקטים שלו מוצגים באנגלית, בגופן גדול ובסגנון חדשותי. מתחת לכל תצלום של עבודה, ישנו טקסט תיאורי צפוף ומפורט. בשורה הראשונה מופיעים הפרויקטים העכשוויים: נקרופוליס, The Cloud, טאלוס, ומחקר הדוקטורט שלו (בתרגום לעברית) - ׳לקראת כוריאוגרפיה תיעודית׳. בשורה הבאה אפשר למצוא את Infini#1, ארכיון ,תרגול תפיסה, A Response to Dig Deep. כשממשיכים לגלול למטה אפשר לראות את Violence of Inscriptions, מחקר–ארץ, את Moves Without Borders ואת שקט. גרעין העבודות והפרויקטים הפרפורמטיבים של זיידס נמצא בפעולות תיעוד ודוקומנטציה קפדנית, כך גם האתר הופך בעצמו לארכיון של תיעוד על תיעוד.
Arkadi Zaides, Necropolis
by Wilson Le Personnic — 06/23, (FR), about works: NECROPOLIS TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
Depuis 1993, UNITED for Intercultural Action recense et liste les réfugiés et les migrants décédés sur le chemin de l’Europe. La dernière version, publiée en juin 2022, a enregistré 48 647 décès signalés. La grande majorité des personnes décédées qui y sont inscrites ne sont pas identifiées par leur nom. Avec sa création Necropolis, le chorégraphe Arkadi Zaides et son équipe sont partis sur les traces de ces réfugiés qui sont morts anonymement en tentant de rejoindre l’Europe. S’appuyant sur les pratiques de la criminalistique, l’artiste et son équipe présentent sur scène les résultats de cette enquête évolutive qui vise à redonner une histoire et une identité à ces migrants morts aux portes de l’Europe. Dans cet entretien, Arkadi Zaides partage les rouages de sa recherche et revient sur le processus de création de Necropolis.
The dead on Europe's doorsteps
by Yaël Koutouan and Leonard Kaiser, Theater der Zeit, photo: Eike Walkenhorst — 02/23, (DE), about work: NECROPOLIS
Necropolis ist ein stiller Ort. Er ist still, aber nicht friedlich. Hier liegen die Toten, dieNamenlosen, die Ungewollten, die Verstoßenen. Sie ruhen nicht. Sie tanzen nicht. Sie warten. Im Rahmen des Theater- und Diskursfestivals „Claiming Common Spaces“, das in der fünften Ausgabe unter dem Titel „No One’s Land“ künstlerische, wissenschaftliche und aktivistische Perspektiven aus transnationalen Kontexten versammelt, konfrontiert Arkadi Zaides sein Publikum mit Daten zu Personen, die in der Nähe des Aufführungsortes Frankfurt am Main und darüber hinaus tot aufgefunden wurden. Bei allen dokumentierten Todesfällen handelt es sich um Personen, die auf ihrem Weg nach Europa oder an Europas Grenzen starben. Die Daten, die Arkadi Zaides in seiner Performance Necropolis verarbeitet, stammen aus einer öffentlich zugänglichen Liste von UNITED for Intercultural Action, einem europäischen Netzwerk aus antirassistischen Organisationen, das seit 1993 diese Tode dokumentiert. Zudem haben Zaides und sein Team Gräber auf über 600 Friedhöfen lokalisiert und diese Informationen in einerumfangreichen Datenbank gesammelt, die auch Handyvideos der Friedhöfe enthält. Dieser
body of data ist Necropolis, ein lebendiges Archiv, das mit der Hilfe vonengagierten Menschen stetig aktualisiert und erweitert wird.
Necropolis, the Danse Macabre of Arkadi Zaides
by Hugo Lacroix, Le Tote Bag — 11/22, (FR), about work: NECROPOLIS
Le public fait face à un écran. Entre les deux un bureau. Sur ce bureau des manettes de commande et des ordinateurs. Au lointain, dans le coin côté cour, un chariot de service en métal. Et sur ce chariot qui ressemble à ceux que l’on peut trouver dans les chambres froides des médecins légistes, un corps. Un corps en morceaux.
Lorsque l’on cherche « Necropolis de Arkadi Zaides » sur internet, ce sont les images de ce corps, manipulé, autopsié, qui ressortent en premier. La performance est d’ailleurs accompagné du sigle (18+) sur le site du KAAI Theater, à Bruxelles. Un spectacle de danse, déconseillé aux mineurs, avec une image de cadavre en publicité. De quoi attirer, peut être au travers d’une pulsion scopique perverse, le public pour Necropolis.
Residency permits for the city of the dead
by Klaas Tindemans, Pzazz, photo: Alice Brazzit — 10/22, (NL), about work: NECROPOLIS
Enkele jaren geleden toonde Arkadi Zaides, geboren in Rusland, opgegroeid in Israël en momenteel actief vanuit Frankrijk, het indrukwekkende ‘Archive’. Israëlische mensenrechtenorganisaties hadden aan Palestijnen, in bezet Palestina, camera’s uitgedeeld, om pesterijen en geweld te documenteren. Het ging met name over agressie (o.a. stenen gooien) van Joods-Israëlische bewoners uit de oprukkende kolonies die hun leefgebied bedreigden. Uit dit beeldmateriaal koos Zaides grote en kleine gebaren van agressieve en defensieve lichamen, actie en reactie, en hij bevroor de beelden. Vervolgens eigende hij zich die bewegingen toe, in zijn eigen lichaam, en zo ontstond een abstracte bewegingstaal die uitgroeide tot een choreografie.
Necropolis, funeral dance for the unknown migrant
by Katia Berger, Tribune de Genève — 09/22, (FR), about work: NECROPOLIS
45’764. Un nombre abstrait de plus, tel qu’on les voit pulluler dans les médias. Derrière celui-ci, des cadavres. Ceux des migrants morts en exil qu’a recensés depuis 1993 United for Intercultural Action, un réseau d’organisations antiracistes actives à travers l’Europe. Fauchés en tentant de rejoindre le continent, qui en pleine mer, qui sur la route ou sous une tente, ils sont pour la plupart anonymes, car non identifiables par les médecins légistes. De leur histoire, on ne sait rien: seulement qu’ils ont perdu la vie loin de chez eux.
Avec une équipe de 49 personnes, le danseur, chorégraphe et artiste visuel Arkadi Zaides, Israélien actuellement basé en France, a constitué une archive évolutive de ces corps ignorés. Localiser un à un les 600 cimetières où ils sont enterrés et rassembler les informations existantes en une vaste base de données: ce travail lui permet de créer «Necropolis», un documentaire à large composante numérique que le directeur de La Bâtie, Claude Ratzé, tenait à programmer «pour sa force» depuis 2021 déjà.
Necropolis. Counter Forensic Practices for Mourning the ‘Othered’ Dead
by Arkadi Zaides, in Rekto Verso, issue 96: Post Mortem — 09/22, (EN), about works: NECROPOLIS TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
For over a quarter of a century, UNITED for Intercultural Action, a network of hundreds of anti-racist organizations from all around Europe, has been compiling a list registering deaths of refugees and migrants who have attempted to reach Europe. This database forms the basis for the performance ‘Necropolis’, in which choreographer and director Arkadi Zaides attempts to outline an ‘invisible city of the dead’, mapped from the graves of the migrants who could not reach their final destinations in Europe.
Dancing Human Rights: Politics in Archive
by Jinyao Wu & Shiri Goren, Paradigm Academic Press — 08/22, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
In his solo work Archive, Israeli choreographer Arkadi Zaides provides a physical and choreographic interpretation of footage collected by the Israeli humanitarian group B’Tselem as part of its “Camera Project” initiative. Arkadi Zaides conducts a self-analysis of the modern Israeli body by extracting, imitating, and repeating this material. As isolated choreographic material, the gestures reform in an ongoing act of abstraction: as a critical pointing at absence, they defy any metaphysics of presence, activating an archive of gestures, focusing on the aesthetic and political potential for the disappearance, pausing poses and positions — literal and figurative, ambiguous positions. Here, deconstruction techniques call into question the linearity of a history’s causes and effects. This paper will discuss the synthesis of the following questions to illuminate the methodology and political impact of Zaides’ Archive. How does the duality of Archive help it to serve as a tool for criticising Israeli society? How does the implementation of Zaides’ forms of expression and dance techniques change the role of the Israeli people in Israeli-Palestinian conflicts? To what extent does Archive engage with real politics, both locally and globally?
Choreographic Gestures of Resurgence and Repair
by Christel Stalpaert, in Perfromance Research — 07/22, (EN), about work: NECROPOLIS
With the Institut des Croisements, choreographer, dancer and curator Arkadi Zaides unfolds a continuing engagement in human rights issues. In his art practice, he consequently thinks through the entanglement of politics and the ways bodies (are allowed to) move. Whereas in dance studies, choreography is usually defined as the arrangement of bodily movement in time and space, Zaides primarily considers choreography as (arranged) patterns of movement across the world’s stage. His dance performance projects are hence an ongoing journey in tracing and thinking through these patterns of movement: How is/are the movement(s) of people geared along national boundaries, along notions of citizenship and statelessness? How are bodies allowed to (be) move(d) in territory wars, or during religious and political occupation? What is the choreographic pattern of social (im)mobility in global migration, also in the context of environmental displacement and ecological grief? Linking bodily movement with dance and politics, Zaides intersects art and activism throughout his choreographic practice.
Arkadi Zaides: An Israeli Choreographer?
by Dana Shalev, for 'The Oxford Handbook of Jewishness and Dance’ edited by Naomi M. Jackson, Rebecca Pappas, and Toni Shapiro-Phim — 03/22, (EN), about works: ARCHIVE LAND RESEARCH QUIET
This chapter focuses on Arkadi Zaides, one of Israel’s foremost choreographers, whose work has positioned him as an important opposing voice to the state’s dominant political regime, both in terms of its investment in the Occupation, and in terms of its suppression of aberrant artistic expressions. In this context the chapter attempts to narrativize Zaides’s biography as one caught in the throes of movement between countries, and in effect as one constantly reflecting a state of placement and displacement, which is transformed into choreography on stage. Accordingly, the chapter traces a certain development within Zaides’s choreographic language, which resonates shifts in Israel’s political landscape as well as in the artist’s personal one, and may be divided into two intertwined gestures: on the one hand, a transition from metaphoric-poetic meanings to painfully literal ones; and on the other hand, a transition from a-political to political, and indeed politically activist discourse.
Tentacular Thinking in Storied Places
by Christel Stalpaert, Arkadi Zaides, Michel Lussault, Philippe Rekacewicz, Igor Dobricic, Atelier Cartographique in GPS (Global Performance Studies) — 01/22, (EN), about works: NECROPOLIS TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
This text is an in-between report of the ongoing collaborative practices of the NecropolisLAB in relation to the research-based perfromance project Necropolis. Every performance of Noceropolis is a preliminary culmination point in the many-faceted and long-term process, placing the body and choreography (in its most expansive sense) as key attention points. The Necropolis erformance calls upon the local (European) audience to individually and collectively acknowledge the death of people wh are dying on the Europien shore by mapping their place of death, performing a grave location search and a walk towards a grave of a migrant.
InConcrete Stones
by Maayan Sheleff, InConcrete Stones exhibition catalogue — 07/21, (HE/AR/EN), about work: CAPTURE PRACTICE
The entrance point to the exhibition, both literally and conceptually, is Arkadi Zaides’ Capture Practice (2014). (...) The work includes footage from the video archives of B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. The archives, which were shared with Zaides by the organization, contain footage documented by Palestinian volunteers, mainly portraying human rights violations and violence instigated by settlers and soldiers. B’Tselem’s project “arms” Palestinian residents with cameras, in order to produce evidence that can later be used both in court and in the media, which usually portrays an extremely onesided and censored picture of the reality in the West Bank.
Staring Straight into the Migrant Tragedy: Arkadi Zaides’ Shock Performance
by Emmanuelle Bouchez, Telerama — 06/21, (FR), about work: NECROPOLIS
Sur scène, assis à sa table, installé de dos avec Emma Gioia, co-interprète, il manipule son écran d’ordinateur projeté en grand. Une carte de France et d’Europe vue du ciel, truffée de balises rouges. À chaque zoom sur un point, un nom apparaît. Avec un rapide CV qui fait froid dans le dos. Âge, origine, circonstances de la mort. Noyé « dans la mer du milieu » ou accidenté de la route pour avoir voulu échapper à la police des frontières. Plus de 44 500 personnes ont été dénombrées par l’association humanitaire United for Intercultural Action, sur laquelle le performeur a appuyé son travail.
Processing Mourning Through Ritual
by Rosita Boisseau, Le Monde — 06/21, (FR), about work: NECROPOLIS
Si des applaudissements ont salué avec fougue cette envolée, aucun claquement de mains n’a conclu Necropolis, du chorégraphe et artiste visuel israélien Arkadi Zaides. Il n’en désire pas d’ailleurs, comme on nous l’indique en voix off. Et aucun spectateur ne semble en éprouver le besoin, même sion emporte avec soi, telle une chose précieuse, ce qu’il nous a confié.
Personnalité profondément politique, Zaides, né en Biélorussie, émigré avec sa famille en Israël lorsqu’il avait 11 ans, met au point des dispositifs scéniques et performatifs sobres, s’appuyant sur des vidéos et des textes documentés. Dans la continuité esthétique de son spectacle Archive, à l’affiche du Festival d’Avignon en 2014, qui s’immergeait dans les images de B’Tselem, le centre d’informationisraélien sur les droits de l’homme dans les territoires occupés, Arkadi Zaides questionne, cette fois, la mort violente de milliers de migrants disparus en se risquant à venir vivre en Europe.
Selon l’association United for Intercultural Action, réseau d’organisations antiracistes européennes, avec laquelle Zaides a collaboré pour son projet lancé en 2018, 40 555 décès de migrants ont étédéclarés en juin 2020. Sur ce socle, Arkadi Zaides mène une enquête complexe, belle et grave commeun rituel de deuil en cours. Avec une équipe de complices, il a localisé les emplacements des tombes de centaines de personnes dans différents pays et filmé certains cimetières au téléphone portable pour faire apparaître la cartographie d’une planète-sépulture.
Sur scène, un bureau, deux ordinateurs, un grand écran. Zaides y projette des images de Google Earth. Il nous entraîne en zoomant et dézoomant jusqu’au tournis dans les lieux précis où sont décédés etparfois enterrés des femmes et des hommes. Originaires du Congo, du Nigeria ou d’Irak, ils sontmorts brûlés sur le toit d’un train, noyés dans un naufrage, se sont jetés par la fenêtre pour échapperà la police. De la France à la Suède, de la Belgique à l’Italie, cette navigation nomme les personnespour en porter la mémoire. D’une intelligence ultrasensible, Necropolis décape les nouvelles technologies en induisant un usage inédit pour la cause de l’humain.
Arkadi Zaides’ Dance of Death opens Montpellier Danse Festival
by Amelie Blaustein Niddam, Toute La Culture — 06/21, (FR), about work: NECROPOLIS
Depuis 1993, la plateforme européenne UNITED for Intercultural Action recense les migrant(e)s mort(e)s en essayant d’atteindre l’Europe. Elle dénombre déjà plus de 40 500 personnes disparues, en grande majorité non identifiées. Arkadi Zaides est un écorché vif, il ne cesse de montrer via son travail la douleur du monde. Talos nous plaçait du côté de ceux qui sont encore vivants et qui tentent de fuir, symbolisés par des petits points bleus et jaunes. Ici, il y a toujours des points, mais sur des vraies cartes, et cette fois c’est trop tard.
Dancing the Image: Complicity, Responsibility and Spectatorship
by Noa Roei, for 'Bodies That Still Matter. Resonances of the Work of Judith Butler’ edited by Annemie Halsema, Katja Kwastek, and Roel van den Oever — 04/21, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
In Giving an Account of Oneself (2005) as well as in Precarious Life (2004), Judith Butler theorizes the notions of ethical responsibility and risk in relation to a subject who is not selfgrounding, and who can never give a coherent and final account of herself. Butler’s understanding of subjects as fundamentally vulnerable, fundamentally “given over” to each other’s mercy, forms the basis of what she calls “collective responsibility” (2004, 29). Prevalent responses to injury, such as rage or guilt (“bad conscience”), work against such responsibility as they withdraw the subject into narcissism and foreclose the primary relation to alterity (2004, 29; 2005, 99-100). As an alternative, Butler offers vulnerability to (and risk of) loss as primary tools for “living otherwise” (2005, 100). “Mindfulness of this vulnerability,” Butler argues, “can become the basis of claims for non-military political solutions, just as denial of this vulnerability through a[n institutionalized] fantasy of mastery can fuel the instruments of war” (2004, 29).
Against a Choreography of Privilege
by Paola Granato, Dinamopress — 12/20, (IT), about work: NECROPOLIS
«Abbiamo iniziato il lavoro su questo progetto – mi racconta Arkadi Zaides – quando abbiamo scoperto la lista di United, un network di organizzazioni che dal 1993 ha iniziato a raccogliere dati su persone che perdono la vita nel loro viaggio verso l’Europa. Nel 2013 questa lista contava 3000 morti, l’ultimo aggiornamento della ne conta 40.000 e sappiamo che si tratta di un numero parziale, ci sono casi non riportati». Partire dai dati, interfacciandosi con varie discipline per un’investigazione forense realizzata a partire da giornali, fonti orali, database ufficiali, archivi urbani, autorità cimiteriali e ospedali utilizzati come fonte per ricostruire la storia dei defunti, molti dei quali senza nome. Un progetto artistico che, per mezzo di una rigorosa pratica di ricerca, ha come obiettivo, anche, quello, di implementare la lista elaborata da United. «Fino a ora abbiamo condotto l’indagine in Belgio, Francia, Italia, Spagna, Svezia, Svizzera – racconta Zaides. «In ogni luogo è diverso: in alcuni paesi si tratta solo di pochi casi, in altri, come in Italia, ce ne sono moltissimi. In ogni paese viene condotta una ricerca specifica sul territorio e ogni nuovo ritrovamento permette di implementare il nostro database».
Arkadi Zaides’ Necropolis in the Digital Version of Atlas of Transitions
by Daniele Vergni, Artribune — 12/20, (IT), about work: NECROPOLIS
È stato trasmesso online Necropolis, del coreografo Arkadi Zaides, nell’edizione 2020 di Atlas of Transitions Biennale, dal chiaro titolo WE THE PEOPLE, curata da Piersandra Di Matteo per ERT in collaborazione con Mediterranea Saving Humans. Il lavoro si sofferma su diversi aspetti burocratici, medico-scientifici, sociologici, politici, in una parola umani, che riguardano la dolorosa questione delle morti dei migranti in rotta verso l’Europa. Un aspetto centrale della nostra contemporaneità, spesso passato sotto silenzio, riguarda le assenze che questi corpi vengono a creare, non solo quelle ovvie dei corpi non più vivi, ma quelle di soggettività innominabili – non conosciamo il nome del 95% di questi corpi, ci ricorda Zaides nel talk che ha seguito la messa in onda, coordinato da Piersandra Di Matteo. Così il coreografo bielorusso realizza una cartografia di queste morti senza nome cercando di ricostruirne i dati essenziali (nome, età, provenienza, motivo del decesso): una cartografia collettiva del lutto che diventa non solo strumento-archivio ma “rito e grido”, come giustamente sottolinea la curatrice della manifestazione.
Necropolis – Walking through a List of Deaths
by Arkadi Zaides, for (W)archives: Archival imaginaries, war, and contemporary art, edited by Daniela Agostinho, Solveig Gade, Nanna Bonde Thylstrup, and Kristin Veel, Berlin/New York: Sternberg Press — 12/20, (EN), about works: NECROPOLIS TOWARDS DOCUMENTARY CHOREOGRAPHY
In Europe after World War II, there were massive efforts to search for missing soldiers and citizens, many of which remained unresolved for decades. Only in the early 1990s, after Gorbachev's perestroika, were the Russian archives opened, finally allowing access to information about millions of German prisoners of war who had been previously untraceable. Since 2004, the German Red Cross has digitized two million prisoner files belonging to missing German soldiers and civilians from Russian military archives to create a database with personal information and details about their fates. Germany has not been the only country to conduct such efforts.
Incorporating/Excorporating the Images of a Conflict (Arkadi Zaides)
by Anne Bénichou, in "Replaying the Live. Reenactments as (in)actual cultural and artistic practices" — 11/20, (FR), about work: ARCHIVE
Dans ces répertoires en régime intermédial que sont les reenactments artistiques, quelles relations les corps et les images entretiennent-ils ?
Comment les corps peuvent-ils s’emparer des images, et les images se saisir des corps ? Des dialogues se tissent-ils entre les représentations médiatiques et l’expérience kinesthésique ? Comment s’opèrent l’incorporation des images par les corps et l’excorporation des corps vers les images ? Quels gestes et quelles représentations émergent de ces échanges ? L’oeuvre chorégraphique Archive (2014) et l’installation vidéographique Capture Practice (2014) du chorégraphe israélien Arkadi Zaides constituent un terrain privilégié pour explorer ces questions. Dans ces oeuvres, Zaides rejoue la gestuelle des colons, des soldats et des policiers israéliens filmés lors d’affrontements avec les populations palestiniennes dans les territoires occupés. Il cherche à saisir comment les conflits résonnent dans les corps et à comprendre les images que les corps affectés par la violence produisent.
Bodies as Evidence
by Sandra Noeth, for the Tanz Im August Magazine — 08/20, (EN), about work: NECROPOLIS
Movement is the primary starting point of the research, movements of people who are systematically and brutally stopped by border policies. This is about thousands of bodies that are absent, silenced, drowned. It’s about a collective body, haunting us. Another aspect lies in the material itself, in a gesture performed by all of us involved in the project “NECROPOLIS”, and I’d like to call this a choreographic gesture. Wherever we are, we scroll through the list put out by UNITED for Intercultural Action – a network of hundreds of anti-racist organisations in Europe, and one of our central sources of data – and there or nearby, like now in Berlin, we try to find the burial places of migrants and undocumented asylum-seekers who couldn't reach Europe alive.
Body Becoming Archive. Archive Becoming Body.
by Alice Ciresola — 05/20, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
This article aims to explore how archival material belonging to a specific time and place, in this case The Occupied Territories in Palestine, is activated through performance and dance in the work Archive by Arkaidi Zaides. [1]
In 2007, the organization B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories) began distributing video cameras to the Palestinian population, allowing them to document the daily violations of human rights in the Occupied Territories. The video material is now available on the organization's website under the name Camera Project [2], which constitutes a document of the conflict from a Palestinian perspective.
Subversive Repetition
by Li Lorian — 04/20, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
The piece Archive by the choreographer and dancer Arkadi Zaides depicts the Israeli body in the occupied Palestinian territories through its physical and vocal gestures. In this solo piece, Zaides creates a gestural lexicon by projecting videos on stage, excerpts from the archives of the B'Tselem human rights organization, which distributes cameras to Palestinians in order for them to document the daily assaults they witness and suffer in the West Bank. While Palestinians civilians are behind the camera and out of frame, we see in the videos the bodies of Israeli settlers, policemen and soldiers engaging in a “day-to-day, low-impact violence, not sensational enough to be shown on television, but repeated often enough to creep into the body and to constitute a sort of common set of movements” (Pouillaude 2016: 19).
On Archive
by Caroline Masini, in conversation with Alix Morant, Chroniques #01, La Vignette — 10/19, (FR), about work: ARCHIVE
Archive : document, trace, enregistrement, acte, témoignage, empreinte, vestige, preuve, les synonymes sont multiples et la définition du terme est vaste, elle renvoie d'abord, dans son premier sens antique, au « lieu où l'on conserve des documents officiels » (arkheia) 1.
Voilà plusieurs années maintenant que le traitement d'archives sur
les scènes du spectacle vivant est apparu de façon significative. Si les hypothèses pour comprendre ce type de pratiques sont nombreuses et ici non exhaustives (symptôme du vertige du passage d'un siècle à un autre peut-être, influence de la toute- puissance du présent des sociétés contemporaines 2 engendrant un besoin d'offrir des preuves à l'histoire ou nécessité de débattre de la
« vérité historique » en fouillant par exemple dans : « les archives (...) dissimulées ou détruites, interdites, détournées,“refoulées” 3 » , comme on l'a vu notamment avec le travail de Walid Raad et l'Atlas Group autour des archives de guerre au Liban), on peut se demander ce que l'art fait aux documents et à l'Histoire dont il s'empare.
Disappearing Dance, Dancing Disappearance
by Krassimira Kruschkova, Performance Research — 09/19, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
An almost empty stage, only two large screens in the background: a large white one on the right and a smaller black one on the left with a mixing desk in front of it. "Good evening. Thank you for coming. My name is Arkadi Zaides. I am a choreographer. I am Israeli. For the past fifteen years I have been living in Tel Aviv. The West Bank is 20 km away from Tel Aviv. The materials you are about to watch were filmed in the West Bank. All the people you will see in these clips are Israeli, like myself. The clips were selected from a video archive of an organization called B’Tselem." With this introduction the choreographer Arkadi Zaides starts his solo performance Archive (premiered 2014 in Avignon). For these short introductory words a young man (working at Tanzquartier Vienna where Achive was presented in 2016) stands close to Zaides and translates simultaneously every single sentence – in an act of collective responsibility as we could think instantly hearing this text. In the mere act of translating into German the young man must say of course also that his name is Arkadi Zaides. Thus, in the very beginning choreographic problems of authorship appear.
Questions about reenactment: interview with Anne Bénichou
by Rémy Besson, Entre-Temps — 12/18, (FR), about work: ARCHIVE
Dans le cadre du focus « re- » d’Entre-Temps, l'historienne et théoricienne de l'art contemporain Anne Bénichou a accordé un entretien à Rémy Besson portant sur le reenactment. À travers une série de définitions et d’études de cas, il est question de la façon dont le passé est re-joué en fonction d’enjeux actuels. Plus qu’une simple présentation, Anne Bénichou se livre à une démonstration qui révèle la valeur heuristique de ce terme souvent déconsidéré par les chercheurs en sciences humaines.
The Stage and Non-Fictional Representations of History
by Frédéric Pouillaude, Politica — 12/18, (FR), about work: ARCHIVE
Ce type de traces filmiques peut aussi faire l’objet, non pas d’un commentaire verbal, mais d’une activation corporelle. C’est ce qu’accomplit le chorégraphe israélien Arkadi Zaides dans Archive (2014). À partir de vidéos émanant de l’association B’Tselem et documentant différentes situations d’affrontement et de violation des droits de l’homme en Cisjordanie, Zaides extrait un matériel gestuel qu’il recompose et reperforme de manière plus ou moins autonome. En un sens, c’est une conférence sans mots, sorte de commentaire kinesthésique du document visuel. En un autre, c’est presque déjà un reenactment. Plus exactement, ce serait l’application au champ chorégraphique de la pratique du verbatim compris en un sens large, c’est-à-dire comme citation et réactivation littérales d’actes de langage ayant eu lieu dans le monde. Ce qui, appliqué au geste, pourrait se nommer gestuatim
Artistic Activism
by Henia Rottenberg, from 'Moving through Conflict’ edited by Henia Rottenberg & Dina Roginsky — 10/18, (HE), about work: QUIET
ריקוד פוליטי המתמקד בעימות הישראלי–פלסטיני בישראל הוא נושא מאמר זה. את המפגש בין האמירה האסתטית לבין הפוליטית ואת הדיון הפוליטי שהתקיים ביחס אליהם בדעת הקהל אבחן בשתי יצירות — יומן מילואים 89' (1989) של רמי באר ושקט (2009) של ארקדי זיידס.1 שני היוצרים הם כוראוגרפים פוליטיים– חברתיים המעורים במציאות המקומית ומגיבים לה ביצירתם. יומן מילואים 89' נוצר עבור להקת המחול הקיבוצית ועוסק בחוויותיו של באר כשהיה חייל מילואים ושירת בגדה המערבית באינתיפאדה הראשונה. שקט, שנוצר כשני עשורים לאחר מכן, הוא תגובה אישית של זיידס למציאות החיים, ורוקדים אותו ארבעה גברים מלאומים שונים ומרקע אמנותי שונה ובדרכי ביטוי שונות. עבודות אלו, המבוססות על מוסכמות המחול התיאטרלי המערבי, עוסקות במחאה ישירה, בוטה ומקומית.
המפתח החברתי–תרבותי המונח ביסוד הריקוד הפוליטי הכרחי למעשה הפענוח המודע של היצירה בשל התובנות הנוספות שהוא עשוי לספק נוסף על הממד האסתטי. לאור זאת, אבחן כיצד ובאילו אמצעים אמנותיים מובעת המחאה בכל אחד מהריקודים; אילו סוגים של יחסים פוליטיים עולים בריקודים — כוח, מחאה או התנגדות; אם הייתה השפעה לריקודים אלה על דעת הקהל בזמנם,
ואם כן — איזו השפעה ואם העיסוק בפוליטי השיג את מטרתו.
המפתח החברתי–תרבותי המונח ביסוד הריקוד הפוליטי הכרחי
למעשה הפענוח המודע של היצירה בשל התובנות הנוספות שהוא
עשוי לספק נוסף על הממד האסתטי. לאור זאת, אבחן כיצד
ובאילו אמצעים אמנותיים מובעת המחאה בכל אחד מהריקודים;
אילו סוגים של יחסים פוליטיים עולים בריקודים — כוח, מחאה או
התנגדות; אם הייתה השפעה לריקודים אלה על דעת הקהל בזמנם,
ואם כן — איזו השפעה ואם העיסוק בפוליטי השיג את מטרתו.
From Baruch Agadati to Arkadi Zaides
by Yael (Yali) Nativ, from 'Moving through Conflict’, edited by Henia Rottenberg & Dina Roginsky — 10/18, (HE), about work: ARCHIVE
מתי מחול הוא פוליטי? חוקרי המחול מרק פרנקו ונורמן ברייסון מציעים לראות את המחול ואת ייצוגיו בהקשר היסטורי ופוליטי רחב. פרנקו למשל טוען שלמחול פוטנציאל להיות פוליטי כאשר הוא מתהווה בתנאים של שינויים פוליטיים חברתיים של ממש. ברייסון מפנה את המבט למדיום עצמו ומבקש לראות את המחול כשדה של ידע משמעותי המגלם ומייצג שינויים פוליטיים. לדעת שניהם, אפשר לבחון מחול פוליטי באמצעות ניתוח יחסי הכוחות בין אוכלוסיות המיוצגות ביצירות ובבדיקת האופן שהסיפורים ההיסטוריים מסופרים מתוך בירור מה מסופר בהם ומה מודר מהם. סוציולוגית האמנות ג'נט וולף, דנה באמנות ובייצוגיה כאתרים שתהליכים פוליטיים של עיצוב זהויות ואידיאולוגיות מקומיות וגלובליות משתנות מוטבעים בהם, ובו–בזמן כאתרים שבפעולותיהם משתתפים בארגון ובניסוח מחדש של אלה; טענה דומה משמיע תאורטיקן המחול אנדרה לפקי (Lepecki), השואל איך תנועת הגוף מעצבת אירועים פוליטיים וטוען שהבסיס לאירועים אלה מונח בחריגה עקבית ממסורות וממוסכמות דיסציפלינריות
ואסתטיות (לפקי, 2013).
The empathetic gaze in the theater. How can empathy and identification generate critical insight
by Esther Tuypens — 12/17, (NL), about work: ARCHIVE
De dansvoorstelling Archive van de Israëlische choreograaf Arkadi Zaides is een tweede voorbeeld van hoe empathie kan werken in het theater. De performance is opgebouwd rond een verzameling videobeelden, gemaakt door Palestijnen die leven in de bezette gebieden. Gedurende de voorstelling zien we op een scherm een opeenvolging van fragmenten die geweld ten opzichte van de Palestijnse bevolking tonen: kinderen die stenen gooien, dronken jongeren die op de deur van een woning beuken, velden die in brand worden gestoken enzovoort.Tegelijkertijd probeert Zaides om op scène de gestes en handelingen van de Israëliërs in de opnames te belichamen en te herhalen.
Performing the witness role, from literality to transfiguration: “Archive” by Arkadi Zaides
by Salvo Lombardo — 12/17, (IT), about work: ARCHIVE
Per raccontare meglio della prospettiva dell’artista come testimone in mezzo al proliferare di atti documentali e medializzati prendiamo in esame il coreografo israeliano Arkadi Zaides e in particolare la sua performance Archive che ha debuttato nel 2014 al Festival di Avignone. L’archivio in questione, in questo caso, si riferisce ad una mole di documenti visivi, di vere e proprie testimonianza filmate dal 2007 da un gruppo di volontari palestinesi in seno al progetto Camera del B’Tselem, che ha previsto la distribuzione di videocamere agli abitanti palestinesi dei territori occupati della Cisgiordania, perché potessero documentare abusi di potere e atti di belligeranza da parte dei coloni israeliani . Zaides, israeliano di Tel Aviv e originario dell’Unione Sovietica, crea la 2 sua performance a partire da una selezione di questi filmati (una selezione esigua rispetto alle centinaia di ore di girato di cui l’archivio dispone), e decide di riproporli in scena attraverso delle video proiezioni senza nessun tipo di post produzione, lasciandoli nella loro cruda immediatezza e privi di elaborazione artistica. Quello che rende “personale” la proposizione dei frammenti è pertanto la scelta degli stessi, la loro durata e in alcuni casi la dilatazione e contrazione della velocità del filmato (Zaides ha in mano un telecomando) e in qualche caso il soffermarsi attraverso delle pause e degli stop su una scena o su un’altra. Dunque di tanto in tanto assistiamo ad una sorta di congelamento dei frame durante i quali il performer incorpora le stesse posture e le stesse gestualità che vediamo nel video, dapprima in chiave mimetica.
INFINI 1-15 (BOOK)
by Jeroen Peeters and Jozef Wouters — 09/17, (EN), about work: INFINI#1
With contributions from: Anna Rispoli, Arkadi Zaides, Begüm Erciyas, Benny Claessens, Chris Keulemans, Jisun Kim, Jozef Wouters, Michiel Soete, Michiel Vandevelde, Rebekka de Wit, Rimah Jabr, Rodrigo Sobarzo, Sis Matthé, Thomas Bellinck and Wim Cuyvers.
With INFINI 1-15, Decoratelier created a performance around the following question: “which spaces must we show in the theatre today?” Fourteen artists entered into a dialogue with Jozef Wouters and Decoratelier, an eclectic group of builders and thinkers, and each conversation resulted in an infini: a unique interpretation of the painted backdrops that were lowered on pulleys, as a horizon for the imagination. The book INFINI 1-15 is a continuation of that dialogue, a translation of scenographic space and image into both words and layout. Published by De Nieuwe Toneelbibliotheek, the volume gathers together the makers’ performance texts, stage directions and spatial descriptions.
Record, Reproduce, Record...
by Nora Akawi, for 'Scenographies of Power' curated by Maite López-Pastor, La Casa Encendida, Madrid — 09/17, (EN), about work: CAPTURE PRACTICE
Facing incessant destruction, looting, and denial, Palestinians have maintained a steadfast resistance against the project of erasure and forgetting employed by Israeli settler-colonialism. Rituals and classes, theatres and photographs, walks and ruins, melodies and stories are all mobilized for the spectres of memory to stay woke.
In States of Fantasy, Jacqueline Rose writes that it is precisely that memory evaded, that archive burned, that place destroyed, that evidence buried which returns to haunt. In Capture Practice and Archive, Arkadi Zaides’ work becomes the channel through which collectively evaded memories are not only captured and inscribed, but also displaced, abstracted and released in their most haunting form; undeniable, indestructible.
Between the collective and the Individual: The Israeli body as a site of conflict and resistance
by Zohar Yanko — 07/17, (PT/EN), about work: CAPTURE PRACTICE
A few months ago I went to see Capture Practice, a video installation by Arkadi Zaides featured at the Festival Temps d'Images, Lisbon. Standing in the big old palace in Principe Real with some of my colleagues from school, we were all seemingly observing the same thing: on the left screen images of humans in a conflict zone, on the right -the performer translated those images simultaneously into body language, using his movements to draw a cartography of conflict, violence and pain.
Arkadi Zaides: Embodying the Abject
by Orsola Vannocci Bonsi — 12/16, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
Both Archive and Capture Practice are focused on the relation between the Israeli settlers and the Palestinians, including the impact that the settlement policy and, broadly, the religious attitude in the legislative apparatus, have in the everyday life of the Israeli society. The performance Archive was premiered at Festival d’Avignon in 2014. In 2007, B’Tselem started a program, named Camera Project, which consisted of the distribution of video cameras to Palestinians living in the West Bank in order to film and document the daily human rights violation committed by the settlers. Zaides selected some of the filmed material, and during the performance, the artist displays the footage on the stage. In the first ten minutes, the choreographer stands in front of the screen, watching carefully the actions made by the settlers. Suddenly he starts to move and dance, embodying their “choreography” of violence, transforming himself into a living brutal archive. In my opinion, one of the most curious aspects of the project is that the moving images which Zaides chose to show are not the most violent. The footage he uses, according to the artist, exposes another kind of violence, which is more daily and subtle, this is violence which in a way becomes part of the ordinary life. The video installation Capture Practice was commissioned by the Petach Tikva Museum of Art in 2014. The installation consists of a two-channel video loop, projected on two screens: on one channel is projected the B’Tselem footage, and on the other the performer is dancing in a studio, mimicking the violence committed by the settlers.
The Place will Testify: Dance Settles in the Museum
by Drorit Gur Arie, from 'Set in Motion, Dance- Art- Community’ edited by Drorit Gur Arie & Avi Feldman, Petach Tikva Museum of Art — 12/16, (HE), about work: CAPTURE PRACTICE
ב׳צעדים בוני אמון׳ הוצגה עבודת וידאו דו–ערוצית בשם ׳תרגול תפיסה׳ על שני קירות נמוכים שנבנו בחלקו הרחוק של אולם המוזיאון הפנימי. מתוך קטעי וידאו שצולמו בשטחים ונאספו מארכיון ׳חמושים במצלמות׳ של ארגון ׳בצלם׳, בודד זיידס קטעים המראים אך ורק חיילים ומתנחלים ישראלים – ואז צילם את עצמו בסטודיו כשהוא מחקה את תנועותיהם. שפת התנועה נפתחה בתוך כך לכיריאוגרפיה של היומיום הלא–מחולי והלא–מקצועי, תוך הצבעה על כך שהיומיום הישראלי הזה דווי אלימות ומתח הנטבעים בגוף ובתנועה.
Dancing Human Rights
by Dana Mills, from 'Dance and Politics: Moving Beyond Boundaries' — 11/16, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
I focus upon the choreographic language of the work, which I have been calling the strong reading of political dance. The work powerfully and persuasively questions the concept of a spectator and an agent, sepa- rated by boundaries between two bodies. The footage used throughout this choreographic work is documented by Palestinians who carry cam- eras. Their bodies enable the creation of the archival material. Zaides is the Israeli spectator who mimics the movement of settlers and soldiers viewed on screen, sometimes violent, sometimes complacent. His body reacts to the screen, his movement embodies the motion of the Israeli structures as viewed by the Palestinian archivists. At the same time, the spectator, sitting in the auditorium, is spatially located in the embodied position of the Palestinian documenting the abuses shown.
Borders are invisible lines that stir up war
by Lise Behné Eie — 11/16, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
Arkadi Zaides portrays in his perfromance art piece, Archive, teh choreography of violance. As humans in a society we all participate in choreographies that are unknown to us. Mentally and bodily we inhabit the invisible flow of information around us, and through our movements we all take partin a game that recreates society as a whole. Coming to Israel as an immigrant from Belarus, Arkadi got to experience the choreography of Israelis. His main concern became the consequences of borders. In his performance he frames the body language of Israeli settlers in a beautiful dance of violence, hatred and power. We are shown video footage of Israelis confronting Palestinians. His interpretation of the scenes are expressed thorugh dance abd music derived from the sounds and movements in the film.
Dance as Documentary: Conflictual Images in the Choreographic Mirror
by Frédéric Pouillaude, Dance Research Journal — 08/16, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
In a solo performance entitled Archive (2014), the Israeli choreographer Arkadi Zaides offers a physical and choreographic interpretation of videos collected by the Israeli non-governmental organization B’Tselem within the frame of an operation called “Camera Project”. The footage projected on stage shows only Israelis, but the viewpoint is Palestinian. Starting from this material, Arkadi Zaides performs, by extraction, imitation, and repetition, a (self-)analysis of the contemporary Israeli body, following a procedure reminiscent of Avi Mograbi’s for film. What is the specific nature of these images, whose very mode of capture emblematizes the conflict situation? In the face of them, what might be the contribution of an approach that puts the dancer’s kinesthetic knowledge to work? How far does this offering force us to think about the “documentary” potential of dance performance, which is too often brushed aside or played down?
Conflicting Images and Choreographic Mirroring
by Frederic Pouillaude, Les Carnets Du Bal n°7 — 08/16, (FR), about work: ARCHIVE
Depuis 2007, dans le cadre de ce qu’elle appelle le « Camera Project », l’association israélienne de défense des droits de l’homme B’Tselem distribue des caméras vidéo à des volontaires palestiniens habitant les Territoires occupés. Collectant les images produites, l’association a constitué un fonds de documentation considérable – et sans cesse crois- sant – sur les violations des droits de l’homme et les affrontements quo- tidiens en Cisjordanie et dans la bande de Gaza. Ces images, dont une sélection thématique peut être consultée sur le site Internet de l’associa- tion, ont une fonction au moins triple: 1) constituer des preuves oppo- sables, à charge ou à décharge, dans le cadre d’éventuelles actions en justice; 2) alerter le public national et international quant à la réalité de la situation ; 3) faire immédiatement baisser le niveau de violence du seul fait de la présence d’une caméra, qui contraint bien souvent les acteurs du conflit à une (toute relative) modération. Attestation, information et « dissuasion », telles seraient les fonctions principales de cette micro- politique des images inhérente au Camera Project. Images en conflit tout autant qu’images du conflit, ces vidéos inscrivent dans leur facture même la situation d’affrontement qui les génère. Point de vue distal ou proxi- mal, frontalité ou latéralité, plongée ou contre-plongée, bougé du cadre, omniprésence sonore du hors-champ, toutes ces propriétés ou options « formelles » dérivent de conditions de filmage qui sont d’abord celles d’un affrontement physique, tantôt larvé, tantôt violent.
Archives, Classics, and Auras
by Andrew Friedman, European Stages — 04/16, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
Archive (2014), the festival's opening performance by the Israeli choreographer Arkadi Zaides, considers how dance can contend with the voluminous documentation of the conflicts occurring on the West Bank. Zaides' source material is an archive of hand-held camera footage of human rights violations recorded by Palestinians. The registry of clips is spearheaded by B'Tselem (The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories), which equipped Palestinians with cameras to document infractions by Israeli military and settlers. Zaides, on a bare stage save for two large video screens and a small table holding various pieces of technical equipment, provides this sparse context.
Jozef Wouters/ Decoratelier – Infini 1-15
by Marijn Lems, Etcetera — 03/16, (NL), about work: INFINI#1
Jozef Wouters was toch heel erg duidelijk geweest. In zijn vraag aan een vijftiental theatermakers, choreografen en andere kunstenaars om na te denken over welk landschap zij in het theater verbeeld zouden willen zien, had hij gestipuleerd dat er in het eindproduct hoe dan ook geen tekst aan te pas zou mogen komen. Toen zijn enige eis massaal werd genegeerd en slechts drie makers erin slaagden om daadwerkelijk alleen met een beeld te komen, zag Wouters zich echter genoodzaakt om de regels aan te passen.
Deze schijnbare onderwaardering van de pure zeggingskracht van het beeld kon de scenografen met wie ik Infini 1-15 bezocht maar matig bekoren, en het moet gezegd: het is op zijn minst wonderlijk dat de ratio van beeld en taal in een project met de opzet van Infini zo ver naar de verbale kant is doorgeslagen. Aan de andere kant biedt de uiteindelijke voorstelling zo´n rijkgeschakeerde selectie van landschappen en vergezichten dat het onmogelijk is om lang stil te blijven staan bij eventuele gemiste kansen.
A short organon for the dance, on Bertolt Brecht and Arkadi Zaides
by Jonas Rugteers — 03/16, (NL), about work: ARCHIVE
In het artikel Voorbij Brecht? schrijft Rudi Laermans dat Brechts theatraal en pedagogisch project aan scherven ligt. Niemand vereenzelvigt zich nog volledig met de visie van de Duitse dichter, (toneel)schrijver, toneelregisseur en literatuurcriticus. Dit is niet onlogisch. Hoewel Brecht kan gezien worden als een van de grondleggers van het theater van de 20ste eeuw, doet zijn geloof in de maakbaarheid van de maatschappij vandaag aan als naïef en simplistisch. Toch is dit, dixit Laermans, geen reden om Brechts project naar het rijk van de geschiedenis te verwijzen. In dit artikel onderzoeken we hoe een van deze ‘brokstukken’, de gestus, een nieuw licht kan werpen op de voorstelling Archive van de Israëlische choreograaf Arkadi Zaides. Welke rol neemt choreografie op in Brechts oeuvre? En, hoe kan Brechts visie op choreografie ons helpen om naar Arkadi Zaides’ werk te kijken?
Choreographing Violence
by Ruthie Abeliovich, TDR — 02/16, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
Israeli choreographer Arkadi Zaides’s solo dance performance Archive investigates the somatic impact of transgressions performed daily in the West Bank by Israeli fundamentalist settlers against Palestinians. The performance, which premiered at Festival d’Avignon in July 2014, activates the enduring habits of Israeli violence by weaving together two concurrent threads: video projections from an archive assembled by B’Tselem, 1 an organization that documents human rights violations in the occupied territories, and Zaides’s live performance in which he embodies the physical and vocal gestures in the video in order to re-present the Israeli aggressive position.2 While Archive has been performed in different venues around the world,3 it generates the
Settler Dance in Arkadi Zaides’ “Archive”
by Mona Kareem — 01/16, (AR), about work: ARCHIVE
ضمن مهرجان مسرح نيويورك للفنون الحيّة، افتتح الكريوغرافر أركادي زايدس برنامج العام بعمله التفاعلي "أرشيف". وصل العرض أخيراً إلى ساحل الأطلسي بعد أن أثار الصخب والعنف من القدس وتل أبيب إلى طولوز وباريس. كان أركادي قد انطلق في تقديم عرضه بدايات العام الماضي رغم محاولات عديدة لمنع ظهوره لأنه "يشيطن جنودنا" ويساهم "بنشر معاداة السامية" حسبما هتف حفنة من المتظاهرين هنا وهناك. في يناير ٢٠١٥، قدم أركادي ثمانية عروض متتالية لقاعة ممتلئة بالحضور في باريس بعد أيام من أحداث شارلي ابدو.
في هذا العمل، نجد محاولة فنية لاستعراض الواقع عبر الوساطة المريبة للصورة حيث يبني أركادي شريطه المرئي والجسدي بالتنقيب في تسجيلات الفيديو التي يمتلكها "مركز بتسيلم". يهرب الفن الإسرائيلي مرة أخرى إلى "بتسيلم" وكأنه معبداً للحقيقة فهنالك يقبع أرشيف طويل صورته كامرات المركز بأيدي “متطوعين” فلسطينيين ضمن مشروع توثيقي أسموه “shooting back”. يذكرنا أركادي في بداية العرض أنه إسرائيلي وأن الأبطال-الأشرار ممن يظهرون على شاشة عرضه إسرائيليين مثله. يسير العمل دون أن ننسى من جاء بتلك الكامرات ومن يمسك بجهاز التحكم.
Right-wing Protesters Attack Art Talk in Jerusalem
by Yonatan Amir & Ronen Eidelman, Hyperallergic Online Magazine — 11/15, (EN), about work: CAPTURE PRACTICE
WEST JERUSALEM — In retrospect, we were complacent. We thought that the opposition would fade away by the time of the event, or at most, the action would amount to a polite protest vigil. Even after seeing the distorted stories claiming that our event supported terrorism and called for the destruction of Israel we were relatively calm. We are accustomed to this language — the lies and distortions of the nationalist right in Israel.
But when invitations for a demonstration against our event started appearing on the Facebook pages of extremist organizations the management of the Hansen House hired six security guards and notified the police. The night of the event, Monday, November 10, there were roughly 50 people inside to attend our event, while others were left outside after the guards locked the gates as a safety precaution. When police arrived, they recognized some of the protesters — and they suspected things may turn violent — so the police officers stayed at the scene and called for backup.
The Occupations and Preoccupations of Arkadi Zaides
by Naomi Zeveloff — 02/15, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
In the video clip, a Jewish boy of no more than 12, seemingly drunk on Purim wine and missing a shoe, kicks and slaps the exterior of a Palestinian home in Hebron. A man in a kippah, perhaps the boy’s father, appears and drags the boy away. The man turns to a soldier off camera who was presumably about to intervene: “You’re not touching him, right?” The boy resists the older man’s grasp. His legs splayed on the ground, he looks up at the Palestinian who is filming him from inside the house and shouts the Hebrew equivalent of “Damn you.” Then the man throws the boy over his shoulder and lumbers away.
Arkadi Zaides, Archive, Salle Maurice Béjart
by Nicholas Minns, Writing About Dance Blog — 02/15, (EN), about work: ARCHIVE
The Palais de Chaillot in Paris is where, on December 10 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Palais de Chaillot is now the Théâtre National de Chaillot, and in its basement theatre — Salle Maurice Béjart — Arkadi Zaides is performing Archive in which he borrows a Palestinian perspective to view transgressions of human rights by Israeli soldiers and settlers against the indigenous Palestinian population.
The significance of the place is not lost on Zaides but he doesn’t reveal it until the post-show discussion: the context of Archive is undoubtedly human rights but it is not the main focus of this work.
The Palais de Chaillot in Paris is where, on December 10 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Palais de Chaillot is now the Théâtre National de Chaillot, and in its basement theatre — Salle Maurice Béjart — Arkadi Zaides is performing Archive in which he borrows a Palestinian perspective to view transgressions of human rights by Israeli soldiers and settlers against the indigenous Palestinian population.
Arkadi Zaides in Moving New Work
by Zvi Goren, Habama Online Magazine — 11/14, (HE), about work: A RESPONSE TO DIG DEEP
ארקדי זיידס הפך בשנים האחרונות ליוצר החתרני המשמעותי ביותר במחול הישראלי. הוא מקיים סדנאות, הוא מופיע במרכזי מחול בינלאומיים, תוך שמירה מוקפדת על זהותו הישראלית באמצעות יצירותיו הנוגעות בנקודות הרגישות ביותר, מעוררות המחלוקת, של ההוויה המורכבת והמסוכסכת שאנו חיים אותה ביום-יום.
השנה הוא לכד את תשומת הלב במופע "ארכיון" שלבש שני פנים, אחד במוזיאון פתח תקווה, והאחר במסגרת פסטיבל צוללן שהיה לא מכבר, ובמסגרתו העלה בתיאטרון תמונע דו שיח עם תנועות הכובשים והנכבשים כפי שצולמו בשטח והוקרנו כסרטוני ווידאו.
זו לא הייתה הפעם הראשונה שהוא עסק במצב הצבאי הפוליטי, אך דווקא בה, אולי הקיצונית ביותר מבחינת הישירות שלה, הוא חזר אל עצמו כאיש במה, המחפש תמיד את הביטוי העצמי, כרקדן המבקש לבחון את גופו ותנועתו שלו.
עתה במקביל למפעל "הרמת מסך", שבמהלכו קיים סדנה, הוא קיים את סדרת המופעים שיזמה עמותת הכוראוגרפים במחסן 2 בנמל יפו, שבה יוצר מארח יוצרים אחרים, מקיים מפגשים ודיונים ומעלה יצירה חדשה משל עצמו.
Taking Over the Occupation
by Dana Shalev, Erev Rav Online Magazine — 10/14, (HE), about work: ARCHIVE
היצירה "ארכיון" של ארקדי זיידס מעתיקה את הכיבוש מהשטחים אל הבמה. באמצעות עיבוד המציאות המצולמת בשטחים לעבודת מחול טוען זיידס כי לא ניתן לנתק בין "כאן" ל"שם", בין "המציאות" ל"אמנות", בין "שמאל" ל"ימין". הכיבוש מתקיים בשם כולנו, ועל כן הוא נוכח בהכרח בכל. תחושת האחריות מניעה את זיידס להתבוננות מעמיקה ב"אחר" – במתנחלים ובחיילים. במקום להדיר אותם או להתעלם מהם, הוא מבקש להכיר אותם.
על המסך מוצגים קטעים מתוך ארכיון בצלם, שצולמו על-ידי מתנדבים פלסטינים ומתעדים מצבי עימות בגדה המערבית. על מסך אחר מוקרנים גם פרטי הקטלוג: היכן צולמו הסרטונים ומתי ומה התיאור שניתן להם על-ידי ארכיון בצלם. מתוך הארכיון בחר זיידס סרטונים שמציגים דמויות ישראליות בלבד. אל מול קטעי הווידיאו ניצב זיידס וחוזר אחרי תנועותיהם.
כדי ללמוד את הישראלים, נבחרו קטעים שמדווחים על פעולות מסוגים שונים: יידוי אבנים, השחתה של מטעי זיתים, עימות עם הצבא, מתנחל שנתפס על-ידי חיילים ומובל בכוח, חייל אוחז ברובה ומביט מבעד לכוונת. אוסף האירועים והתנועות שנגזרות מהם מורכב ממצבים פיזיים ורגשיים שונים של האובייקטים – פעם הם החזקים ופעם הם החלשים.
Dancing to His Tune, After the Music Stops
by Gia Kourlas — 10/13, (EN), about work: A RESPONSE TO DIG DEEP
One obvious idea behind Walls and Bridges, a French-American festival now running in New York, has to do with making connections — or building bridges — between ideas and art. On Thursday at New York Live Arts, the topic was the link between music and the body. As the writer and documentary filmmaker Elena Mannes, one of the evening’s speakers, said, “Scientists believe that we came into the world prepared to respond to music.”
Even so, this program, featuring the choreographer and dancer Arkadi Zaides, was perplexing. The stilted lecture portion, lasting nearly an hour, showed Ms. Mannes and the French philosopher Peter Szendy speaking about the body while standing awkwardly on the large, lonely stage.
Arkadi Zaides Digs Deeper Into Dance
by Stacey Menchel Kussell, The Forward Online Magazine — 10/13, (EN), about work: A RESPONSE TO DIG DEEP
“There is a certain feeling of ‘in-between’ that you inherit as an immigrant. My life as an artist has expanded this feeling,” said Arkadi Zaides in an interview with The Arty Semite. “Living all over the world, performing and choreographing, it is hard to say what constitutes my home. My home is everywhere.”
Zaides has always felt like an outsider, both artistically and personally. Born in Belarus, the choreographer moved to Israel with his family at age 11. Even after living for decades as an Israeli citizen, he has difficulty defining the concept of home.
Zaides examines his feeling of oscillation on a somatic level in his new piece “Response to Dig Deep” which has its North American premiere at New York Live Arts October 10.
Accompanied by French string quartet Quartour Leonis, Zaides responds to Julia Wolfe’s composition “Dig Deep” in a solo piece interpreting the poignant sound of violins, viola and cello.
“I chose the music because it was so physical. The strings bring out such intense emotion — they literally vibrate, crunch, and move. I mirrored the oscillation with my body and thought thematically about being suspended between two points,” Zaides said.
“Reponse to Dig Deep” was originally commissioned by the Aire de Jeu project at Les Subsistances, a center for choreographic innovation in Lyon, France. Wolfe, the famed co-founder of the musical organization Bang on a Can, contributed her compositions and collaborated with four international choreographers. Zaides first presented the work in France in January 2013.
Beyond Our Borders
by Ori J. Lenkinski, The Jerusalem Post — 12/12, (EN), about work: MOVES WITHOUT BORDERS
Zaides has made himself known over the past decade as a bold, innovative and socially aware choreographer. His most recent works Quiet and Land Research explore socio-political themes. Moves Without Borders is in many ways the natural progression of the overall statement made in Zaides' performances, one that reaches past the narrow scope of daily life and yearns for further communication. The culmination of months of work was meant to take place last week, with performances scheduled in Tel Aviv.
First Gehmacher canceled, followed by Salamon. Apparently the sizzling political environment in Israel was enough to keep the visitors away. Their cancellation, while unfortunate, only points to the necessity of Zaides' project.
Visions of a Venomous, Pulsating Embrace by Arkadi Zaides
by Rosita Boisseau, Le Monde — 10/12, (FR), about work: QUIET
Un homme saisit la tête d'un autre par-derrière, l'immobilise et lui colle sa bouche derrière le crâne. Une attaque rapide pour un accès de violence tordue. La bouche vissée, ventousée, semble transpercer la peau pour s'accrocher à l'os. Elle crache des sons à peine audibles qui pénètrent et semblent irradier la boîte crânienne. Cette étreinte empoisonnée fait culminer la tension au coeur du spectacle "Quiet" mis en scène pour quatre danseurs par le chorégraphe israélien Arkadi Zaides, programmé pour la première fois à Paris, au Théâtre de Chaillot, jusqu'au 26 octobre.
Land Research – Arkadi Zaides
by Ayelet Dekel, Midnight East Blog — 08/12, (EN), about work: LAND RESEARCH
In Land Research, Arkadi Zaides presents a stark landscape: images projected on a large screen at the back of a wide stage empty of all props, except a mic stand at the front left. Land Research was performed in Israel on July 30, 2012 as part of the Summerdance Festival at Suzanne Dellal in Tel Aviv, continuing his process of developing an artistic dialogue with artists from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds, into this landscape enter performers: dancer Yuli Kovbasnyan who immigrated alone to Israel from Russia in her teens, Ofir Yudilevitch, a dancer with an extensive background in acrobatics and Capoeira, Palestinian artist and actress Raida Adon, performer and video artist Sva Li-Levy, and dancer/acrobatics practitioner Asaf Aharonson.
Dance that is Live and Kicking in 'Land-Research'
by Ruth Eshel, Haaretz — 08/12, (HE), about work: LAND RESEARCH
For a few decades now, the body has turned into a place where dance is written. It's not a body telling a narrative with a libretto, not a body in the service of the whims of the soul, but a body of bones, flesh and blood that speaks in its own voice. It's a body that shakes itself loose of dance genres, of phrases of movement, of rhythms; it sheds everything familiar, in a desire to produce only what the body writes. The body in Zaides' work cries out in distress. His movement is not humane, in not attentive to natural abilities or the desire for what is pleasant and good for the body; rather, it is cruel and screaming. All the solos are finely performed and characterized by a restlessness – one that projects the sense of seeking, with repetitive motions strewn within as a refusal, as the body's unwillingness to express itself "properly".
Choreographer Arkadi Zaides talks Quiet
by Lauren Bakst, BOMB Magazine — 06/11, (EN), about work: QUIET
Choreographer Arkadi Zaides’s latest work, Quiet (performed at La MaMa Experimental Theater on June 8 and 9), wrangles with the emotional corporeality of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as it is intertwined in the lives and histories of four men—two Palestinians and two Israelis. Far from the serene state its title suggests, the dance teeters on an ever-shifting terrain layered with the sediment of exhaustion, urgency, pain, and desire. Quiet, in both process and performance, makes tangible the space between bodies and the hope of living alongside and through difference.
Quiet
by Ayelet Dekel, Midnight East Blog — 04/10, (EN), about work: QUIET
Quiet opens with the sound of water. Three men lie down in the darkness, the shadow of a fourth man stands in front of a wall. As the space fills with light, colorful birds and graffiti can be seen in the background. They could be anywhere, but for anyone who recognizes the hooded eyes and bold lines of the creatures drawn on the wall by Klone, they are here in Tel Aviv. They could be any four men, but they are two Arabs and two Jews, who have been working together to create Quiet, choreographed and directed by Arkadi Zaides. Quiet is something I have learned to live without since moving to Tel Aviv. Or should I say, Tel Aviv-Yafo? Jaffa? Yaffa? The hyphen, the line that connects or divides those two entities, the multiplicity of languages and identities contained within the name, symbolizes the ambivalence of the relationship. The noise never stops in this city that never sleeps, reinventing itself at every turn. The rumble of buses, the duet of radio music and hammering from the construction site beyond my window, the ring of my neighbor’s phone and the conversation that follows – all these have become the background to every word I write. Surrounded by the sounds of people I do not see, I have learned not to listen, not to be distracted by whatever is going on around me.
What is the meaning of quiet in this environment where the noise is constant, and languages separate people from one another? What kind of communication and connection is possible in this context?
Dance is not a natural meeting place for these kinds of conversations, yet movement offers an alternative to words that is at once more immediate and clear, yet open to interpretation. As choreographer and dancer, Arkadi is both inside the work itself and outside, observing. He was joined in this external view by Joanna Leznierowska who hosted the four men for a month in her apartment in Poznan, during the creative process.
Solo Colores
by Meanie Suchy, Ballet Intern — 04/10, (DE), about work: SOLO COLORES
The sculptures of Isabel Cruellas, - stylistic, waved grasses in a raw, give the space the wideness of a coastal or a deserted landscape. The woman appears like abandoned, not fitting in, making herself small on the floor. Buckling, shrinking, lashing out, touching herself like a foreign person at her head, neck, leg or sliding down on the other arm. Her neck is firm. A leg. A pressure on the breastbone. Or invisible light bulbs screwing into the heaven. She repeats phrases like nightmares. Works through something by creeping, running or on her knees. Inside and outside simultaneously, or actually inseparable, and gets sometimes calm, as would she sink inside herself, as would she be falling invisibly. Strong piece.
Enjoy the Silence
by Maayan Bonnie, Time Out Tel Aviv — 05/09, (HE), about work: SOLO COLORES
"Solo Colores" is a minimalist, intimate solo work, which reveals the wondrous abilities of the body.
About a year ago, during a trip to Spain choreographer Arkadi Zaides and dramaturge Itay Weiser came upon an intriguing sight. They saw a person hammering away at hunks of iron with a giant hammer, and only after the protective helmet was removed did they discover that she was a woman. This chance encounter between Weiser, Zaides, and the Spanish sculptor Isabel Cruellas led to the conception of the work "Solo Colores". Solo Colores combines a variety of art forms. On stage there are two sculptures resembling water plants, created by Cruellas. The sculptures are so delicate and fragile; it is hard to believe they “grew” from hard iron. During the entire work, dancer Iris Erez's feet shake the leaves.
Two additional woman collaborated in this work: the designer Sarah Brown, who created a simple cream-colored costume that underscores Erez's strong presence, and the musician Karni Postel, who wrote the music which is composed of an element that returns and interrupts the silences. Each of these talented creators contributes her own unique color, creating an amazingly harmonious result.
Solo Colores – The Art of the Solo
by Zvi Goren, Habama Online Magazine — 12/08, (HE), about work: SOLO COLORES
In this work, Arkadi Zaides reveals himself as an original artist; a conceptual thinker who uses movement and the body to express man's existential philosophy. This process began in the early stages of his exit into the world of choreography, when he examined his ideas with his body. He did it recently with the ensemble "Meeting Brian Wash", and this time he's doing it in a solo for a dancer, who responds and participates in his study and the dramatic layout he creates with Itay Weiser. In terms of the local dance scene, this is a big and welcome step into the center.
Five Dancers Within a Trapezoid
by Zvi Goren, Habama Online Magazine — 12/04, (HE), about work: A WAY
The movement in the piece is extremely personal, deriving from the dancers, each with his own personality and in search of a way from the inner to the outer. There is no story, but rather an individual existential situation, albeit portrayed by a group, or in the background.
The creation takes place within a restricted white surface, shaped like a trapezoid, which is accentuated with the lighting – emphasizing that which is open, and no less the line distinguishing the inside from the outside. The five dancers do not move in the conventional manner of dance. Their dancing is built of small hand, leg and head gestures – even when the entire body is in perturbation or physical occurrence – much like a multi angled mirror of inner struggles, painful or exiting. This is a very strong piece, original, creating a strong tension between stage and audience, and does not allow you to remain indifferent.
A Way
by Merav Yudolevitch, Ynet Online Magazine — 12/04, (HE), about work: A WAY
On a black stage, with an asymmetric white linoleum square in the middle, lay five bent dancers. Movement has begun before the eye can distinguish. Body touches body, head pushes hand, and it seems the movement has a life of it’s own, stronger then the will to control it. Five bodies share one space and attempt, each in his own way, to extricate something that insists on staying in, as if trying to get rid of an obsession. Zaides’s lines are clean, which is also true of the stage design, costumes and movement itself.
It’s difficult to distinguish whether the dancers deform in pleasure or anguish, but that line, fine and deliberately unclear, leaves the audience attention. As his previous creations, this is also an abstract piece that makes use of sharp and mechanical movements, yet at the same time very emotional and sensual. At the end of the piece Zaides brings together all the edges of emotion that unfolded throughout and allows, for the first time in the evening, the calm to return.