THE ECHOES OF MYTHOS

CONCEPT
A layered body home to multiple memories
In this project, we want to investigate the impressions of the mythical image within our
movements.
We want to see how these if evoked, can take possession of our body and speak through
It, be embodied in It.
We want to experiment with our dance the powerful influence of mimesis within the
individuation process described by Jung, of how mythological figures, even seemingly
distant from us, can become personal mirrors warping the perception of ourselves.
What role do these mythological phantoms play in today's performative action, and what
old or new meanings can they carry?
Inspired by Jungs' work and especially by the research of his most brilliant student Ernst
Bernhard, on the role of mythos and dreams in our reality and evolution, we opened our
creative process to a dream-like state of communication with the fading remains of some
deities.
We decided to communicate primarily with two figures derived from two different
ideological, mythical/religious backgrounds that have profoundly marked the evolution of
Western thought: the Egyptian and the Christian.
We chose to evoke two entities that often pass by in the background or are even unknown
to most people, firstly because we were attracted to them precisely by that play of mirrors
and individualization, and secondly, to give them space to express their nature.
Those are respectively: Serket, goddess of the dead and healer of venom, and Jophiel,
archangel of beauty and leader of the Angelic host of Cherubs.
By investigating the symbolism and elements associated with these mythological figures,
we stumbled upon an initial intersection between these figures and a system of thought
that we can consider mythology of the present, namely astrology, which conditions the
lives and actions and thinking of so many people.
The archangel Jophiel, for his qualities, is associated with the sign of Libra and the
element of air, while Seket is kindred with Scorpio and water.
As much as these may be superficial semantic connections, it is precisely in our interest to
investigate these relationships between old and contemporary mythology by looking for
points of contact that may evoke elements of a hybrid mythical approach. After all, the
subconscious is more prone to associating aspects and symbols than minutely and
logically comparing signifiers.
This mixing and hybridizing of symbolical elements will guide our bodies in dancing, as in
recalling and calling forth a higher quality that we can address as supernatural.
On one side, we find the tension between the magical and pagan supernatural that is thus
linked and mingled with nature and its phenomena. On the other hand, we dabble with the
angelic, pure, idealized that rises to the dimensions of the spirit.
It is interesting to note how, in the creation of religious and mythological figures over time,
there is a tendency to personify ideas and natural phenomena in gods, titans, angels,
nymphs and other semi-humanoids.
That is likely the same tendency that transformed biblically-accurate angels into winged
humans. Way easier to comprehend and relate to.
It seems like we need to give a face to unexplained phenomena, to humanize what
appears to access a mystical force, to originate from a higher dimension.
Thanks to the infinite receptive and transformative capacity of Butoh, we will try to make
these supernatural bodies our own, to play between the voids, between the sacred and the
profane, and to attempt in the enterprise of showing a scene worthy of a myth, imbued with
magic. And go further, testing this need for human traits, getting rid of the flesh shell and
dancing the force itself.

That is why the relationship with the space will be essential throughout the performance.
The space will be reagent to the performers. Every action will have a resonance, an effect
that will modify its surroundings, and those will affect back the bodies creating a spiralling
creation towards an unknown dance.
This space is almost organic and contains the performers inside is biological structure,
generating the perception of hybrid interdimensional space, likethe one we stumble upon
in dreams of in legends.
DESCRIPTION
The performance starts with one dancer
(D1) hooked to two cables hanging from
the ceiling. He is in a dormant state.
Close to him was an aquarium, a vertical
case filled with water.
Another performer (D2) enters the scene,
slowly approaches the aquarium, and
then enters the water.
The lights change.
D1 slowly wakes up and starts his dance
struggling to get closer to the audience.
He is inevitably impeded by the cables
hooked under his skin, like a leash
confining him to his spot.
Then he faints.
The lights change
D2 dives into the water.
Some lights positioned at the base of the
aquarium will turn on and off, creating a
game of reflection with the transparent
walls of the aquarium. D2 will dance with
her image doubled, with her appearing
and disappearing ghost.
Gentle as the healing water she is
immersed in, she will gracefully resurface to get oxygen and then dive back in and dance
again.
The aquarium will also have piezo contact microphones that will capture the vibrations of
the body of D2 when it touches the surface around itself.
Her movements will resonate in this way around the space and influence it. Her magical
dance will be inspired by the same sounds she produces and will also have a healing
effect on D1.
In the meantime, D1 is slowly dragged by the cables getting shorter. A man, hidden in the
shadows, is pulling the threads, making D1 surge in the air.
Finally midair, his true nature unfolds. The weight of gravity and the hardness of the
ground doesn't affect him anymore. He is now free to explore his gentle angelic dance.
Here he will discover his hidden power, and his action will start to influence space.
A Kinect camera connected to two light projectors will track D1's arms so that his
movements can thus guide the lights. He will have the ability to shine his light through his
dance.
Both awakened, they now literally dance with the space, creating the sound and
manoeuvring the lights that define it. A climax happens, and the peak of their potential is
reached. What is left to do is now vanish and go back to a less material dimension.
A cloud of smoke slowly engulfs them. The lights change. What we see is now a dance of
shadows, only silhouettes. The smoke thickens, and the lights change again. Now we see
only the cloud, the synthesis of their two elements, air and water.
Then just darkness and silence.