STEHBLUES
Do You Want to Dance with
Me?
Ninel Çam
Abstract
The participatory dance performance STEHBLUES
was created by the duo of Ninel Çam (an artist) and Chris Schaal (a
filmmaker), who travel to different cities, mark a 2×2-m area in a
public space, and display an illustrated sign that lets passersby
know that they can dance with the standing-and-waiting artist if they
want. Chris Schaal documents the performances through still images
and videos. Moving images are live-streamed to the World Cafe in
Stuttgart.
In STEHBLUES,
the artist stands in the midst of the marked field in a public space,
waiting until a stranger is willing to slow-dance with her. As soon
as someone volunteers, a relationship is created in this sphere of
dance and becomes an ephemeral part of the city, of the culture, of
the world. STEHBLUES
travels to different cities that have invited this project to be part
of their culture or to cities with which the artists feel a
connection.
Osallistavaa STEHBLUES
–tanssiesitystään varten duo Ninel Çam ja Chris Schaal
matkustavat eri kaupunkeihin, merkitsevät julkiselle paikalle 2m x
2m alueen ja pystyttävät kuvallisen kyltin, joka kertoo
ohikulkijoille, että nämä voivat halutessaan tanssia ‘paikallaan
pysyvän - odottavan’ taiteilijan kanssa. Elokuvantekijä Chris
Schaal dokumentoi esityksen valokuvin ja videoin. Elävä kuva
striimataan suorana World-Cafe kahvilaan Stutgartissa.
STEHBLUESissa
minä, taiteilija, seismografi, seison keskellä merkittyä kenttää
julkisella paikalla odottaen, että joku haluaa tanssia hitaita
kanssani. Kun vapaaehtoinen ilmaantuu, seismografi muuttuu
taiteilijaksi ja kohtaa muukalaisen, joka tahtoo tanssia hänen
kanssaan. Tässä tanssille määritellyssä syntyy suhde, josta
tulee hetkellinen osa kaupunkia, kulttuuria, maailmaa. STEHBLUES
tulee/matkustaa kaupunkeihin, jotka kutsuvat sen osaksi kulttuuriaan.
Reason.
Art. Freedom.
Living in the age of reason, one must constantly make up and be
conscious of reasons to allow oneself to do things, even if the
reasons for an action are not yet known or not yet clear to one. I
remember my son and his friends, who were seven years old at the
time, using the word ‘art’ now and then. I asked them what art
meant to them, since I could not find a common pattern in their uses
of the word. They immediately gave me the following answer: when you
do something without a reason, it’s art. I was overwhelmed by the
simplicity of this answer—above all, because I am an artist who
believes it is an important duty of artists to ask themselves again
and again what art means to them and what their motivation is. Can
art indeed be described so simply? Were the children not
intellectually mature enough to have a more sophisticated concept of
art? Were they living in a culture where making art was equated with
nonsense, or was their description simply wonderful? I was not sure
if their answer praised or demeaned art, or if it was free of any
value judgement. It took me a while to clarify that they were
admiring not just art but also the possibility of not being required
to reason. It was the feeling of freedom that attracted them—the
possibility to do things, experiment, tinker, and try, all driven by
different kinds of curiosity about their body, soul, and aesthetic
connection to life, for which they simply do not have many spheres,
besides art, where they can play freely and where these very human
qualities of freedom and curiosity are activated/asked about/allowed.
Unique. Diverse. Crossing Paths.
If one had asked me what my hobbies were when I
was in my teens or twenties, I would have said that I loved to
observe people: their bodies, gazes, and gaits, what they wear, the
way they move, and how they communicate. I loved to imagine fragments
of possible stories that arose from every tiny detail that I was able
to observe, and this interest has stayed with me ever since. This is
the main reason that I love to be in public spaces, where people from
very different backgrounds cross one another’s paths and have the
potential for a coincidental encounter. Probably for the same reason,
I also love asking strangers for directions, even if I have a map in
my hand. This also explains why I loved certain part-time jobs as a
student; they gave me the opportunity to get in touch with different
lives: factory workers who spend large amounts of time on an
assembly line, scientists who work on special topics with accuracy
and precision, people behind the camera creating films, music videos
and soap operas, or celebrities whom I accompanied backstage at
concerts. I consider it a gift to have experienced all of these
individual and diverse lives in their uniqueness and the possibility
that diverse people can cross one another’s lives and have an
exchange. The participatory dance performance STEHBLUES—Do
You Want to Dance with Me? is driven by
admiration for this diversity and the need to have some contact with
people who are not normally part of my social surroundings—lives
and circumstances that I wouldn’t otherwise be touched by.
Travel.
Encounter. Exchange.
I don’t remember when and how my attitude of
curiosity toward exploring different countries and cultures changed
into not wanting to travel unnecessarily. It was probably the feeling
that tourism resembles a kind of consumerist plundering, with
tourists adorning themselves with the images of special places, which
overrides the inborn human interest in experiencing different
cultures and ways of living. Tourists who move through continents in
five- to ten-day programmes, visiting galleries and museums with
their eyes glued to the viewfinders of their cameras, constantly
accompanied by selfies at every step, must have caused my reluctance
to travel. Having respect for the lives and spheres of others instead
of consuming their ways of living, spaces, art and food overcomes my
curiosity nowadays. Asking myself, “What do I have to offer when I
visit a new place and a new society?” became my credo. With
STEHBLUES,
I can allow myself to travel to other cities. The filmmaker Chris
Schaal and I go to different cities and find outdoor places to mark a
2×2-m square on the ground, where I stay and wait to see if anyone
wants to slow-dance with me. We display an illustrated sign in the
corner of the marked space so that passersby know what we are
offering. The sign has a quotation by the Austrian poet and author
Ingeborg Bachmann that emphasises the importance of any simple
one-to-one relationship, which we all experience: “[W]here does
fascism begin? It does not begin when the first bombs are dropped …
it begins in the relationship of the people.” If we want to think
about peace in Europe and on Earth, we should be aware that it is
closely related to every single encounter we create and experience.
Curiosity.
Questioning. Understanding.
My son and his friends taught me that art can be
defined as the sphere where you have freedom to do things without
being obliged to give a reason. I also consider art to give us the
possibility of expanding our own spheres of experience. Art is caused
by and also provokes curiosity, questioning, and the acquisition of
new understanding. These statements may seem paradoxical at first,
but they’re not. The keywords that make it clear that there is no
paradox are ‘obligation’ and ‘freedom’. When making art, it’s
not that there is no will for or interest in reason, understanding,
or insight; it might even be that these are fundamental parts of any
artistic action. The point is that curiosity, action and drive do not
necessarily need to be framed, regulated or underlain by reason. An
analogy could be to imagine yourself writing to your loved ones at
every moment you can, driven by the need to share as much as possible
of your life while you travel.
Now, imagine yourself writing postcards to friends
every time you are on holiday because you have been educated to do
so—as an
automatic act, an action without imminent will or necessity. When the
children spoke about art as the sphere where they have no obligation
to reason in a determined way, it was not because they don’t like
to reason. They want to experience reason through an intrinsic
curiosity for life, like the traveller who writes for the sake of
sharing. The children simply do not enjoy being educated to reason
rigidly through disciplines that do not allow them to follow their
genuine, overflowing desire to explore and understand.
Woman.
Man. Camera.
When I first had the idea for STEHBLUES,
it came to me as an image of a one-woman performance project. I soon
realised that that would not be at all easy for me. It would require
an enormous amount of strength and energy, so I had to create a frame
for it. I asked the filmmaker Chris Schaal if he would accompany me
to my performances of waiting in public spaces and dancing with
strangers. As soon as the camera was included in the performance, the
forces that had sapped my energy simply disappeared. The camera
provided a reason for my performance to the passersby and allowed
them to understand what I was doing. Occasionally, some people still
made offensive and even humiliating gestures or spoke unkind words as
they walked by, but my main problem—that my empathy was constantly
‘hearing’ the thoughts of the passersby—disappeared. I could
perceive their criticism and this disturbed me, I could not feel
free. However, when the camera is present I felt justified by making
art. The camera, which is constantly directed at me, not only ‘gives
a reason’ to my actions, but it also has a protective quality,
since people are aware that their actions in my space are being
documented. Having a cameraman instead of a camerawoman helps to
reinforce this protected space. It is certainly sad that this is
true, but it must be confessed.
Listening.
Singing. Intimacy.
Our first performances were in Stuttgart, Germany.
Whilst waiting for people to approach, I developed the idea that I am
a seismograph installed in a public space to experience what that
particular part of the city makes me sense. Achieving this requires
becoming extremely sensitive to the outer world, which is something
we normally prefer not to do
in public spaces. Listening to the
city became an important parameter to which I gave more attention as
I was performing. I turned this awareness into part of the
performance: before we begin to dance, I now ask my volunteers to pay
attention first to their own breath and second to the sounds of the
city, as if the collection of sounds were a symphony. The volunteers
should oscillate back and forth between these two states of attention
as they wish.
Later, in Lodz, Poland, while dancing with an extremely open and
charming woman, I began to softly sing some improvised melodies into
her ear. Since it was such a magical experience, I decided that
singing quietly should be a part of this project going forward.
Creating a shared, intimate sphere with the help of the voice and
music is much more joyful and also easier, since it distracts the
volunteer from needing to reason about what we are doing there.
These
quietly sung songs, which are evoked by the
encounter/relationship/movement of two people in a tiny concert for
two, have expanded the intellectual sphere of this project for me.
The action of singing has added a new dimension, sensibility and
vulnerability. I am still thrilled by this new depth that STEHBLUES
has gained, which makes it much easier for STEHBLUES
to create intimate relationships, which I greatly appreciate and wish
to explore.
Struggle.
Shame. Confession.
What am I struggling with? It is so difficult for
me to confess and directly state what my issues are, because I want
to be sure that you will empathise with me. But I will confess. I
experienced and still experience a certain helplessness about dancing
STEHBLUES
in some countries. I am struggling with this helplessness even more
in light of everything that is happening currently
in the Middle East, the ‘immigration
problem’ around the world and the attitudes of left- and right-wing
politics toward fear and trust, respect and responsibility, inclusion
and exclusion.
Here are the facts: STEHBLUES
is partly sponsored by the Office of Cultural Affairs of the city of
Stuttgart and the Office of Affairs of Sister Cities of Stuttgart. We
therefore perform in Stuttgart’s sister cities, amongst others, and
document the performances. The recorded performances will be
exhibited in the last quarter of 2018 in Galerie b at the City
Library of Stuttgart. We have already performed in Stuttgart,
Germany; St. Louis, USA; Berlin, Germany; Lodz, Poland; Warsaw,
Poland; and Brno, Czech Republic. However, there are other sister
cities of Stuttgart where we should perform, but we have decided not
to go because I am afraid! I am afraid of going to countries such as
India, Tunisia and Egypt to dance with strangers and seek and create
intimate moments. I am ashamed of this fear. I have spoken about this
issue with many people, both women and men, some of whom are citizens
of these countries. No one I spoke to had a positive opinion about
this project working well in their country or the worth of trying.
They could not imagine that I would not
be harassed during such a performance. A friend even asked why I
should risk my life; what would I gain if a crazy person plunged a
knife into my stomach?
- Surely this would not happen.
- But am I really certain that it would not happen?
- I should have
my own experiences and not be driven
by other people’s fear.
- The Italian artist Pippa Bacca also wanted to have her own
experience in Turkey, believing in the good of mankind and wanting to
reinforce this belief. She was raped, violated and killed because she
had decided to travel in a wedding dress.
- Why should I risk anything?
- I am thinking about the mind-soothing talk ‘Don’t Panic’ by
Hans Rosling, in which he visualises the big data of global
development, where hope and confidence in humanity can find fertile
soil to grow. During an optimistic state of mind, we even bought
tickets to Tunisia.
- Collecting big data, interpreting them and using
them to create the future of our society and world is quite a new
phenomenon for humanity. On the other hand, every single human being
is creating their world through their own experience and from their
own point of view and perspective, and this has always been the case.
To have access
to big data certainly is important. Engaging with this can be very
influential on political and economical development, and therefore on
the lives of masses of people. This means that big data should and
will be a field or a medium for the arts to work with. However, the
importance of one’s own life is the priority for anyone. I should
not unnecessarily endanger my life.
- Maybe we should go to these countries without
the fixed goal of performing STEHBLUES
but should try to imagine what it would be like once we’re there.
That way, our reactions would be based on our experiences in that
society and what feels right to us, instead of being based on a
preconceived fear. Or is this fear a protective instinct that I
should listen to?
- The Office of Affairs of Sister Cities informed us that they cannot
support the performance in Tunisia. It is not difficult to comprehend
their decision; they don’t want to back a risky project.
- The lack of funding doesn’t matter. We can afford to travel to
these countries on our own.
- The International Institute for Foreign Relations recommends that
people do not visit Tunisia if it is not necessary.
- Chris Schaal believes that it is I who must decide. I am grateful
for his respect. The woman has to decide; the performer has to
decide, because she is the vulnerable one.
- The camera is probably no longer able to create a secure space for
the performance in these countries.
- It might even be that a camera would incite someone to perform an
act of violence.
- What a nonsensical space of fear I find myself in, as if all the
men in these countries are abusive!
- Certainly, I don’t think so. But I lived for
long enough in the east of Anatolia, where the roles of women are
strictly defined and limited, to know that some people may not be
able to make sense of such a performance. I learned that even the
length of a woman’s t-shirt can carry sexual connotations that I
could hardly make sense of. Through the filter of this mentality,
STEHBLUES
could easily be mistaken as an invitation to sexuality, since it
seeks the intimate and the sensitive.
- Doesn’t
this statement also apply to more liberal countries? A German
journalist once asked me whether slow dancing is not a way for people
to approach each other sexually.
-Yes, it can be, since sexuality often happens in intimate and sensitive spheres, but it’s one thing to have sexual thoughts and quite another to act inconsiderately/impulsively on them. Crossing this line might be likelier to happen in cultures where there is less respect for women. Or perhaps it’s just the image I have of men from these cultures, in relation to sexuality, which causes me this fear.
- I am considering adapting STEHBLUES for these countries. What would such an adaptation look like?
-Yes, it can be, since sexuality often happens in intimate and sensitive spheres, but it’s one thing to have sexual thoughts and quite another to act inconsiderately/impulsively on them. Crossing this line might be likelier to happen in cultures where there is less respect for women. Or perhaps it’s just the image I have of men from these cultures, in relation to sexuality, which causes me this fear.
- I am considering adapting STEHBLUES for these countries. What would such an adaptation look like?
- I am sorry, very sorry, but I cannot come up
with an adapted version that works for me.
It would be unfaithful to the
project itself. I’m
not interested in turning STEHBLUES
into a performance only for a female audience or turning it into
something completely different, such as walking around and greeting
people and probably handing out some small pamphlets with best
wishes, or something similar. No, I don’t want that!
- Why am I struggling? If a certain society doesn’t have the
conditions required for me to perform there, in that culture, then
that is a fact that I need to accept.
- But perhaps it is not a problem with the society but with the image
that is created in our minds.
- My spouse, who has accompanied me in my struggle, reminds me how
rapidly violence against women has increased in Turkey in recent
decades. The Turkish political system, dominated by a fundamentalist
interpretation of Islam, results in human rights abuses such as an
increasing number of child marriages.
- Since Chris Schaal is a man, his presence will protect me.
- No, it might not.
- My son asks me why I should do such a performance in a country that
I have nothing to do with.
- Because I want to believe—I want to prove—that, in essence,
there is a shared humanity between us and ‘the other’ and that
every one-to-one encounter can be respectful and even magical.
- Do you really believe that?
I
have decided not to visit some of the sister cities of Stuttgart.
Unfortunately, these are countries where the dominant religion is
Islam, which is a pity. I feel guilty and wonder if I am supporting
Islamophobia. But I am afraid! I believe that I must accept my fear
and not ignore it, so that it is possible to work with it. In 2017,
we will visit the United Kingdom and some Nordic countries. I am
certain that while we are touring in the north of Europe, my thoughts
related to my fear and struggle will accompany me, since this is a
complex issue with many aspects that must be differentiated. This
fear, which seems to be my fear, and this struggle, which seems to be
a struggle of STEHBLUES,
is certainly not unique, as no autoethnographic work is solely about
the researcher him- or herself. This fear and this struggle are our
issues, belonging to our times, and I hope to achieve some insights
through STEHBLUES
that will contribute to our well-being and happiness.
BIOGRAPHY
Ninel Çam is a Turkish-German choreographer and
performance artist who is based in Barcelona. She is affiliated with
Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland, and is working currently on
her doctoral project entitled Dancing
Dialectics—Thinking with the Moving Body.
For her dissertation, she is specifically interested in the concept
of collective flow, the self-regulating abilities of groups, and
improvisational techniques for exercising to deal with states of not
knowing. She considers dance and performance to be the places where
the mutual relationships among the intellectual, psychological, and
physical worlds of any person can be amplified.
(www.ninel.de, ninelcam.blogspot.com, ninel.cam@gmail.com)
(www.ninel.de, ninelcam.blogspot.com, ninel.cam@gmail.com)
LYHYT BIOGRAFIA
Ninel Çam on Turkkilais-Saksalainen koreografi,
joka asuu Barcelonassa. Hänellä on yhteys Aalto-yliopistoon
Helsingissä ja hän työstää parhaillaan väitöskirjaansa nimeltä
´Dancing Dialectics - Thinking with the Moving Body´.
Väitöksessään häntä kiinnostaa erityisesti sellaiset konseptit,
kuin kollektiivinen flow, ryhmien itsesäätelykyky ja
improvisaatiotekniikat harjoitteina eriasteisen ei-tietämisen kanssa
toimimiseen. Hän näkee tanssin ja esiintymisen ihmisen älyllisen-,
psykologisen- ja fyysisen maailman välisiä yhteyksiä vahvistavana
paikkana. (www.ninel.de,
ninelcam.blogspot.com, ninel.cam@gmail.com)