Solos Extremos is a set of three solo dance pieces made for Lucianna Croatto - La Mujer Tambien en Casa and De lo Alto de Altos Edificios commissioned by Fiver Festival and premiered in2020 and Amor Inquieto premiered at Teatro Colon in Beunos Aires in2024. The three works can be performed as individual stand alone works, as a trilogy or in any pairing.
La Mujer Tambien en Casa
La Mujer Tambien en Casa uses German Language tapes as the basis for each dance and the music is made from repetitions of the words from the course which send up the sexist nature of the phrases used in the original course. The dancer is dressed in leather in a punk style and the Visual Design by Silke Mansholt is composed of projected re-imaginings of the Berlin Wall graffiti.
De lo Alto de Altos Edificios
De lo Altode Altos Edificio is a lyrical work set in Black Box space with a simple shift Costume. Each piece is based around a poem of Cowie's which Luciana Lip Syncs either before the start of the dance or during it.
Amor Inquieto
NB contains flashing images
Amor Inquieto is based around a set of five lieder by Cowie with texts by Goethe and sung by Elisabeth Woolett. The back ground projections are again visual art by Silke Mansholt playing on giometrical shapes and diagonals which mirror some of the choreograpie's use of a fighting stick.
Solos extremos is a good example of a multidisciplinary amalgam: image, music, texts and dance united to address the feminine ideology, in a tripartite work whose segments can be understood as a whole or as disconnected parts. In any case, the result is magnetic due to the number of ingredients that trigger the most diverse ideas.
Women at home can also be read as an expression of the feminist struggle. ‘What can I give to men?’ asks the protagonist, dressed in black leather, a miniskirt and fishnet stockings, yearning for ‘orchids in cardboard boxes’, ‘a housewife and mother’ who unbridledly dumps imaginary groceries into an equally imaginary supermarket cart. Music and movement are part of an indivisible whole: at times, it seems that sound is separated from movement and other times vice versa. There is a lot of irony towards the feminine stereotype against which the protagonist fights –literally- and fights, until the final knockout.
In the middle, From the top of high buildings brings to the stage a rich poetics bathed in the theme of light. The darkness of the previous number gives way to the clarity of the beige tones in the costumes and lighting. Structured in choreographic paragraphs that close with blackouts, the images refer to fear, lack of protection, vulnerability when faced with the exposure of feelings, in areas limited by circles of overhead light.
Restless Love (premiered in these Buenos Aires performances, since the other two were in 2020 in Madrid) closes these Extreme Solos, at the antipodes of the first section of the work. Immersed in a dialogue with the geometries projected in the background, the story travels the paths of submission and struggle, with powerful images such as the one that evokes the Christ-like pose of the crucifixion. The music of the Scottish Billy Cowie, in the form of lieder, imbues the moment with spirituality and retrospection.
It is difficult to imagine this piece without the participation of Luciana Croatto, a rara avis in the world of dance, an artist who escapes any stereotype and whose strong personality ultimately transforms her version. There are no technical limits for the dancer, who is both impressively physique and fragile, resembling a fibrous living sculpture. The proximity between the audience and Croatto, made possible by the stage layout of the CETC, allowed us to enjoy the expressiveness of her face and the unlimited use of her body as an instrument to translate both the dramatic and musical aspects, which make her an exceptional performer.
Billy Cowie's musical work, interspersed with spoken texts and a great diversity of sounds, is the other protagonist of these solos, which move and inspire admiration. Patricia Casañas
Solos extr3mos es un buen ejemplo de amalgama multidisciplinaria: imagen, música, textos y danza unidos para abordar el ideario femenino, en una obra tripartita cuyos segmentos pueden entenderse como un todo o como partes desconectadas. En cualquier caso, el resultado es magnético por la cantidad de ingredientes disparadores de las más diversas ideas. La mujer también en casa puede leerse como expresión de la lucha feminista. ‘¿Qué puedo darle al hombre?’ se pregunta la protagonista, enfundada en cuero negro, minifalda y medias red, añorando ‘orquídeas en cajas de cartón’, ‘ama de casa y madre’ que vuelca desenfrenadamente imaginarios víveres en un también imaginario changuito de supermercado. Música y movimiento son parte de un todo indivisible: por momentos, parece que el sonido se desprende del movimiento y otras veces viceversa. Hay mucha ironía hacia el estereotipo femenino contra el cual la protagonista lucha –literalmente- y da pelea, hasta el knock out final. En el medio, De lo alto de altos edificios trae a escena una rica poética bañada por la temática lumínica. La oscuridad del número anterior deja paso a la claridad de los tonos en beige en el vestuario y la iluminación. Estructuradas en párrafos coreográficos que se cierran con apagones, las imágenes remiten al miedo, la desprotección, la vulnerabilidad ante la exposición de los sentimientos, en ámbitos limitados por círculos de luz cenital. Amor inquieto (estrenada en estas representaciones porteñas, ya que las otras dos lo fueron en 2020 en Madrid) cierra estos Solos extr3mos, en las antípodas del primer tramo de la obra. Inmerso en un diálogo con las geometrías proyectadas en el fondo, el relato transita los caminos de la sumisión y la lucha, con potentes imágenes como la que evoca la pose crística de la crucifixión. La música del escocés Billy Cowie, bajo la forma de lieder, impregna de espiritualidad y retrospección el momento. Es difícil imaginar esta pieza sin la participación de Luciana Croatto, una rara avis del mundo de la danza, una artista que escapa de cualquier estereotipo y cuya fuerte personalidad transforma en definitiva su versión. No hay límite técnico para la bailarina, de físico impresionante y frágil a la vez, semejante a una fibrosa escultura viviente. La proximidad entre el público y Croatto, posible gracias a la disposición escénica del CETC, permitió disfrutar de la expresividad de su rostro y la ilimitada utilización de su cuerpo como instrumento para traducir tanto los aspectos dramáticos como musicales, que la configuran como una intérprete excepcional. El trabajo musical de Billy Cowie, intervenido por textos hablados y una gran diversidad sonora, es el otro protagonista de estos solos, que conmueven y admiran. Patricia Casañas
.....................Breve ensayo sobre ""Solos Extr3mos" de Billy Cowie
As I was watching this dance performance, several statements came to my mind that could serve as a prelude to the construction of a semiotics of the body.
On stage, three solos on the edge of the impossible, at the limit of physical performance, and so interesting -for that very reason- to be thought of from a disciplinary approach that, curiously enough, also seems to strain its own principles. There is something risky and at the same time fascinating about being there in front of Croatto and her dances, as solitary as they are passionate.
Solos Ext3mos (Three Extreme Solos) are three pieces that mix classical ballet, expressionist dance and butoh techniques with multimedia resources. Against this, I believe I own the theoretical tools to face the task of thinking about a complex body which, from the outset, is not presented subtly, far from the figure of the sylph. However, today those tools sound pure slogans to me.
Then, I choose a different path. I turn to Nicolás Rosa’s fascinating text «The nature of passion» from which the almost spontaneous question arises: What moves that body, and I discover that in Solos Ext3mos a body crossed by desire «speaks» to us or, more precisely, I hear the clamour of three bodies affected by three absences.
Solo 1
By way of social criticism, this first section of the presentation consists of the hyperbolic thematization of the female body immersed in a social device which assigns both a role and a rhythm. Different scenes depict sociological stereotypes such as that of a woman who holds her gaze defiantly in front of the public while smoking a cigarette, another one who goes for groceries to the supermarket, or the one who succumbs to the gift-trap of a red rose.
On the sound level, this piece uses repetitions of German words (voiced off as if it were a language course). The costumes consist of all-in-black leather and mesh attire with black ankle boots, in reference to the punk style, in accordance with the visual background by the artist Silke Mansholt, which evokes the graffiti of the Berlin Wall. From these elements which are sustained in a rhythm of unbalanced effect -exacerbated by the loop of certain phonemes-, the body fluctuates through an alternation of agile movements and frenetic walks; thus, constructing an artificial, uncomfortable dance. It is about a tense body, fearful of the possibility of no longer belonging and, for this very reason, it attends to and executes its role with energetic and repeated movements until exhibiting a nervous breakdown or exhaustion. This body twists, shakes and pushes itself to the limit. Long-suffering but always driven by the desire to remain part of it.
Solo 2
This scene begins with a soft instrumental melody that, at first thought, suggests to the viewer that what follows will be of great relief in relation to the intensity experienced a few minutes before.
The black-box stage together with the use of minimal costumes make the light prominent. The dance is performed based on a poem that is heard off and on which the performer performs a lip sync.
yesterday I did a new dance – a dance of fear – small movements – perfectly choreographed – alarm gestures – jolting moves – laboured breathing – it was such – its success – that I will dance it – today again – and tomorrow – and the day after that...
The artistic undulation that the movement acquires combined with the surface of the body through subtle games of shadows emphasise the recitation.
The tempo is permanently varying, on which the body produces compulsive movements by thumping and shaking, turning as well as release-and-fall gesturing that produce a sense of helplessness, of being out of control (the unpredictability of these actions causes an anxiety effect). Gradually, the body comes to a halt, becomes small and vanishes.
It is the most subtle and bereft solo of the three, however, it is the one that exhibits an absolutely overwhelmed carnality, lost in sadness and solitude. A body leaning over an abyss, counting on nothing but itself to keep from falling.
Solo 3
It is based on five songs in voice (off) by Elizabeth Woollett with texts by Goethe, which explore the themes of nature, love and loss. The dancer moves accompanied by a martial arts Bo stick.
In this third solo, the body ceases its subjectivity to become pure materiality subsumed under the pulsed movement and the extensive gesture. As a partner, a long wooden cane is added to the scene, which collaborates as a pendulum needle with the mimesis of a metronome; its base is the performer herself positioned vertically, or rather it could be a spear used by the dancer to repeatedly address the spectators. In this way, bringing them to the unwavering rhythm of the time that marks her movements. From a body point, attached to a regular tempo, to a body trajectory (aspects aligned by the paintings that serve as a backdrop. A body that at times extends itself through the object to focus on the figurative effects of a personal space projected towards the extrapersonal. In this third solo, we observe a present body that interrogates, challenges and strains itself within its own limits but in search of something beyond.
On Balance
The variations in the movement and posture tone, appearing at times whimsical and extravagant, modulate three distinctive emotional moods in complement or counterpoint with the verbal expression together with the sound and visual element.
The Cowie-Croatto duo wields (there is no better term) some physicality that links the social and the individual figuratively. The act becomes distinctive by varying in its typification, which oscillates between presenting itself as a mirror of instincts or as pure physiognomy.
Then, what could be said from a semiotic point of view? Well, that we are dealing with three solos, or rather, with one body and three ways of being affected. Three variations in dance that allude to an embodied emotion which takes shape in lacking states. Where the absent subdues but also mobilises, leading to linger on in resistance.
In short, and from the position of expectation, three ways of being impressed and transformed. Three passions.