JUANJO ARQUES: UNSOUND by Juanjo Arques & Heidi Vierthaler

25 Sept 2012

UNSOUND by Juanjo Arques & Heidi Vierthaler

Juanjo and Heidi are collaborating in the creation of Unsound, a new ballet for Compañia Nacional de Danza that will premier in Madrid on 14th of November.

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Arques & Vierthaler chose a philosophical study of the actions/emotions realised daily by human beings as their motivational crux. ‘Relationships’ played a key part in the
movement conception, determined by a focus on opposites.

develop – regress
freedom – boundaries
intimacy – distance
communication – silence
selfless – selfish
desire – repulsion
trust – betrayal

These difficult, yet familiar actions/emotions were elected as they determine sanity
of mind and physical comfort, as well as the trauma that mankind can bequeath.
Whether acknowledged or not, beneficial or otherwise – ‘relationships’ are what make
individuals feel alive and necessary, explored in UNSOUND through an unbounded
movement-dialogue.

Choreography & Concept: Juanjo Arques y Heidi Vierthaler
Music : Gavin Bryars, Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto, Andy Moor, Miguel Ángel Clerc
Light Design: Tatiana Reverto y Antonio Regalado Fernández
Set Design: Marc Koehler Architects
Video: Heidi Holkenborg
Assistant to the Choreographers: Charlotte Chapellier, Jose Carlos Blanco

Text: Matthew James Paluch

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LIFE

Juanjo Arques

Juanjo Arques trained as a dancer at the Conservatorio de Danza in his hometown of Murcia, before moving to Madrid to join the Ballet Victor Ullate. Having reached soloist level in Spain, Arques moved to London and the English National Ballet next, before finally settling in Amsterdam at the Dutch National Ballet as a second soloist. His extensive career enabled him to work closely with such choreographers as Van Manen, Van Dantzig, Forsythe, Makarova, Wheeldon, Pastor, Morris, Deane, Corder, Ratmansky, and Dawson; as well as appearing in the works of Balanchine, MacMillan, Cranko, Ashton and Nureyev.

Alongside his dancing career, Arques is a gifted choreographer working with modern language fuelled by a desire to communicate thought-provoking material. Working closely with Dutch National, the company have performed two of his works Minos (2010) and Consequence (2012), with a third commission confirmed for 2014. Elsewhere Arques’ work has been acquired by the Slovenia National Ballet (Miniatures [2011]), and the Compañía Nacional de Danza (Unsound [2012]).

In continuing his education as a dance-maker Arques has entered choreographic competitions in both Hannover and Copenhagen (2012), enabling him to keep up with current practices and future developments within the dance genre.

Unsound 2012

Consequence (2011)
Miniatures (2011)
Tectum (2011)
Minos (2010)
Lost in Thought (2010)

The initial inspiration for the work developed through the geometric patterns of labyrinths, which further led to a study of the ancient Greek myth of the Minotaur. These references enabled the discovery of a movement language based around a hybrid of classical ballet form. The development of the language became set by the rules within the piece itself.
The intention of the movement carries no purpose to convey a certain message or singular idea. It simply needs to be observed by the individual to allow for an individual experience. Minos should be understood as a liberal viewing excursion where a number of cultural associations and references are on offer for the taking.
The score of the work is a new collaborative arrangement of the existing piece by Ryuichi Sakamoto: 'Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence', rearranged by Sakamoto with the aid of Alva Noto.
At times Sakamoto's piano composition takes the lead which drives the listener into a world of melancholic reflection; this is counter-balanced with Noto's padded bass stabs and individually pitched electronic frequencies which sign-post sudden changes and the ever growing inevitability of disintegration.

Choreography: Juanjo Arques.
Assistant Choreographer: Charlotte Chapellier.
Music: Ryuichi Sakamoto & Alva Noto. Revep: 1- mur; 2 - ax Mr. L.
Light Design: Wijnand van der Horst.
Costume Design: Oliver Haller.
Dancers: Jurgita Dronina, Suzanna Kaic, Jan Zerer, Remi Wortmeyer and Koen Havenith.
Premier: Alte Oper Frankfurt October 2010.
In Hidden Waves (2009)

In Hidden Waves was created for the Dutch National Ballet's League dinner. The piece took Arques into the realm of the narrative dance work. The premise centred on a mature relationship, and how comfort can cause the loss of communication. Below is a short verse by the poet Ineke Kokernoot that further confirmed the need for Arques's narrative approach:

"Have you ever loved someone so deeply that, from fear of losing yourself, you rather destroyed the love instead? Then don't let me drown in you. Hear, the bell heralds the hour that evaporates in our hands".

Choreography: Juanjo Arques.
Music: Arvo Pärt, Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten.
Light Design: Bert Dalhuysen.
Costume Design: Oliver Haller.
Dancers: Seh Yun Kim and Jan Zerer.
Premier: Muziektheater Amsterdam October 2009.
Behavioral Patterns (2009)

This interdisciplinary dance project explored the possibilities between dancers, motion graphics, stage-set design, and light and audio in an interactive live approach.

The collaboration across choreography, spatial design, and dynamically generated graphics explored a dialogue between dance and its projected image, which was technically registered by a camera placed within a bird's-eye view perspective, revealing the patterns underlying the basis of Arques's choreography.

Tracking the network of movements across time exposed the dance experience to a fourth dimension.

In creating a new mode of performance language for the present day Arques, Marc Koehler Architects and Sticky underscored the role ballet plays/could play as a model and metaphor for local and global movements. Both the choreography and the specially designed motion tracking effects were inspired by the complex forms of social networks that are the essence of modern communication and contemporary city life.

In this piece Arques's interest focused on a binary conundrum. First, the possibilities of a creative tension linked between pattern and geometry, and secondly, the complexities of free-expression and its visually recognisable manifestations.

'Arques was inspired by an idea from architect Marc Koehler, visualised through an interactive installation by Sticky. The concrete form of the choreography on the stage was enhanced by the graphics of energy play on the screens. The applied science sparked off the dance, inspiring some of the most exciting choreography of the evening; innovated and well structured. It was well paced throughout, achieving a dynamic balance between the technology and the dance especially in the central duet between Igone de Jong and Jozef Varga; a mix of aesthetic beauty and edgy confrontation.' Maggie Foyer, for Dance Europe (May 2009).

Choreography: Juanjo Arques.
Assistant Choreographer: Judy Maelor Thomas.
Music: Thijs Kaldenbach.
Light Design: Wijnand van Horst.
Set design: Ellen Windhorst.
Costume Design: Isabel Arques.
Dancers: Igone de Jong, Rosi Soto, Sang Yi Han, Sasha Mukhamedov, Jozef Varga, Mathieu Gremillet, Koen
Hevenith, Chao Shi, Bruno da Rocha Pereira and George Hill.
Premier: Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam April 2009.
L'entranger (2008)

This pas de deux is a variation on a theme taken from Arques's previous work Wonder Waltz. Arques himself describes the work seamlessly as: 'A chance meeting of two strangers, both sub-concisely yearning for a reason to belong, where emotions of passion, desire and ecstasy are heightened due to the unknown'.

The score is split into two movements and is an electronic composition by two different composers, the young Dutch maestro Thjis Kaldenbach, in conjunction with the Japanese maestro Susumu Yokota.

The commission for the work came directly from the Korea World Dance Stars Festival in Seoul.

Choreography: Juanjo Arques.
Music: Thjis Kaldenbach and Susumu Yokota.
Light Design: Wijnand van der Horst.
Costume Design:Markus Pysall.
Dancers: Sang Yi Han and Juanjo Arques.
Premier: The Korea World Dance Stars Festival in Seoul July 2008.
Wonder Waltz (2008)

This work was an experimental foray into the philosophical thoughts and physical attractions developed by human beings for each other.

'Arques's Wonder Waltz was another strong work, using three couples and interesting material in a mature and confident fashion'. Maggie Foyer for Dance Europe (July 2008).

Choreography: Juanjo Arques.
Music: Thjis Kaldenbach and Susumu Yokota.
Light Design: Wijnand van der Horst.
Costume Design:Markus Pysall.
Dancers: Rosi Soto, Laura Hidalgo,Sang Yi Han Tycho Hupperest , Chao Shi and Juanjo Arques.
Premier: New Moves Dutch National Ballet June 2008.
Vita Brevis (2007)