Thomas, secret figure and TW discuss the upcoming residency for Echo:
Thomas: What is the focus of the performance Echo?
Secret figure: I’m not telling you. I think you should just wait and see, it’s better not to put too much pressure on the process. Let it evolve of its own accord. What do you think?
TW: Don’t be so obscure. The tension between elusive instances of concealment in performance and an acknowledgement of the specific history that performers and spectators carry with them in those moments is the starting point for Echo, a new choreographic work which I am planning to present in 2024. The work considers different forms of concealment at play in dance and choreography, the theatre, the art world and the world world (however fleeting and increasingly rare these instances are). Echo admits that although there are times when a peculiar kind of evaporation of the self is possible, it is never fully realised. The work proposes the body of the solo performer as something that can be fragmented, camouflaged, and that has multiple incarnations and competing tendencies rather than as a singular and unified entity. How can my eye or limb be less identifiable? Or, what if the body is seen as a site for things to move around, as if it’s almost un-inhabited? Echo is informed by a simple thought – just as an individual can have multiple perspectives and identities at the same time, a performance itself can too.
Secret figure: That sounds a bit nebulous. I’m nervous about this collaboration.
TW: This isn’t a collaboration. You’re so oblivious. What do you want to work on Thomas seen as though you’re the only one making any sense right now?
Thomas: I’ve barely said anything… Um… I think I need an outside eye? In fact, Megan Payne has excitingly agreed to assist for a few sessions during the residency, and for the project at large. I plan to work on ways language and action can intersect to frame different forms of concealment and recognition. I want to experiment with ideas related to the multi-faced reality of authorship and visibility/invisibility in performance. I also want to work with some artificial eyes. So many eyes!
Secret figure: I’m going to pull out. This is such a hoax.
*Thomas gives secret figure a hug and gently slaps TW in the face*
Thomas: We will see where we end up… Bye! Thanks LGI!
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About Thomas Woodman
Thomas Woodman is a Melbourne/Naarm-based dancer and choreographer, who has performed and presented work in a range of contexts. He completed a BFA in Dance (2015) and Honours through the Visual Art School at Victorian College of the Arts (2019). Thomas’s work is concerned with different philosophical perspectives, human and non-human exchange, eschewing notions of originality (how original…), the influence of mass media, and the function of imagination in performance and beyond. He approaches choreography as an equally conceptual and embodied form, drawing from a pool of diverse interests that range from dance to body-mind practices, performance art, experimental music and continental philosophy.