SNOWFLAKES (2008)

As part of sommerszene 08 (july 3 – 19) Michael Stolhofer together with Bettina Kogler invited dance-artists to set found objects from the Derra de Moroda archives, one of the biggest historical dance archive in Europe at the university in Salzburg, in motion. I was invited to “search for my image(s) in the archive and to develop my movement idea with the image in order to present a solo or duet not longer then 8 minutes that would become a part of a miscellaneous exhibition”.

My inspiration was related to Lev Ivanow’s The Nutcracker at Maryinsky Theatre in St Petersburg in 1892 (first production), precisely the posing picture of the Snowflakes dancers.

Setting in motion became for me a game of transformation: I focused on the social context and changes that happened in between the moment of capturing the original photo in XIX century ballet Russia and nowadays, when this photo is treated as a found object in the art – dance context.
I asked myself how to condense multiple motions into one moving museum exhibit.
And I ended up with the Snowflakes laundry machine.

Snowflakes is a museum exhibit, precisely a dancing laundry machine. The piece last 4’30”, as long as Op.71Waltz of the snowflakes of Pyotr Tchaikovsky from The Nutcracker.
It is exposed on a small podium (50x140x140).
It has to be presented at particular, announced moments (meaning not in a loop) in. ex. at full hour, preferably in a connection with another event (before the other performance or installation which takes place at the same location).

DATES

3th – 19th July 2008 Sommerszene Salzburg/Austria 9th October 2009 Tanz Nacht/Vienna/Austria

VIDEO