Borderline by César Brodermann
A project by Cesar Brodermann Featuring Beatrice Larrivee Guy Davidson Alma Karvat Shemesh Tom Nissim
Words by Nastasia Khmelnitski
César Brodermann is a Mexican multidisciplinary artist currently living and working in Tel Aviv, Israel. César’s holistic approach to art combines choreography, performance, photography, and film. In his work, the focus is on researching the limits, pushing boundaries, and scrutinizing the closeness and distance and the impact it has on the dynamics between dancers themselves and dancers and the audience. With this new performance work, Borderline, to be
premiered in Israel, César poses the question of freedom as the leitmotif. The theme touches on the concept of personal freedom in opposition to the borders pushed on individuals by the system. The attempt is to understand the limit and find the true self during the process, both for the performers and the audience. César explains what freedom means to him, “The fighting for global freedom will constantly be there; until we are all free, no one can be completely free.
We should focus on everyone’s freedom to become free.” While Beatrice, one of the dancers in the piece, emphasizes the hardships of fighting toward freedom, “we can take what happened in the US recently with the abortion ban as a clear example of this conflict… How, as dancers, within this piece, can we use the moment to create an experience of freedom.”
Performers Beatrice Larrivee Guy Davidson Alma Karvat Shemesh Tom Nissim Music by SLOWDANGER Costume Designer Avion Asayag Cinematography Roos Stuurman & Ido Toledano Color Grading Anusha Kaul Datta Photography Cesar Brodermann Produced by César Brodermann Production Assistant Ido Toledano
Special Thanks to Batsheva Dance Company Suzanne Dellal Center
Sean Howe, Adrienne Lipson, Luis Brodermann, Silvia Sanchez, Luis Esteban Brodermann, Yarden David Baruch, Gili Navot, Gianni Notarnicola, Saar Harari, Dana Katz Naaman, Michal Rymon Marom.
Tickets at
Batsheva Smart Ticket
Israel Premiere at Varda Hall, Suzanne Dellal Center, Tel Aviv
2nd July 2022, 20:30
Project Fundraising
Borderline
‘The seeking for freedom is a constant in my life and work. I feel free when I move; it has always been my way of expressing and exiting hardships.’
Borderline
Hi César, congrats on successfully funding your personal project, Borderline, with Kickstarter to present the work at FIDCDMX (International Festival of Contemporary Dance, Mexico City). I can’t wait to see the premiere in Tel Aviv! Borderline is described as (boundless, infinite, limitless, eternal, perpetual, endless, or horizonless). The exploration is of the concept of freedom, or more precisely, freedom from, the idea of dissolving borders. Did you have this experience of finding your freedom? What do you think are the main constraints today that make it hard to get past the horizon?
César: The seeking for freedom is a constant in my life and work. I feel free when I move; it has always been my way of expressing and exiting hardships. I think one of the biggest things in the recent years of my life has been finding my own voice and discovering who I am. I've learned to allow myself to live freely, despite all the restrictions the world we live in has for us. At this moment, I can say, I've understood that maybe I can't destroy all borders, but I can learn from these restrictions and systems to find my way to exist inside of them. Also, to work towards finding freedom and connecting fully to myself.
In my work, I aim to create experiences for my performers and the audience that will allow them to forget about the world for that one hour they are with us. The fighting for global freedom will constantly be there; until we are all free, no one can be completely free. We should focus on everyone’s freedom to become free. And to focus on what makes us more similar than different — these lines of differentiation will be dissolved — to focus on how oceans can unite us instead of separating us.
‘Most of my latest work researches distance and constant climax of presence: the idea of how to be in a perpetual place for a long time just to be able to find different ways to move or exist in extremity.’
⎯ César Brodermann
The Experience
The idea of exploring closeness and distance between the dancers and between the dancers and the audience is something you return to in several projects. What part do you think contemporary dance and choreography play in allowing to reach the boundless state and get beyond the border — the main idea of this work?
César: As work goes on, the dancers surpass their limits in a lot of places. Most of my latest work researches distance and constant climax of presence: the idea of how to be in a perpetual place for a long time just to be able to find different ways to move or exist in extremity. I am really lucky to be working with such a committed group of performers. I push them so much. Sometimes we break down in rehearsal, sometimes there are tears, and there is always sweat, but we are in constant discovery of this freedom and how these hard moments, and surpassing them, can bring us joy and hope. We want to make people question this hope and freedom. They enter the journey with us, and by the end, something in them opens or feels liberated.
‘The line between resistance and freedom is very thin and always controlled: we can take what happened in the US recently with the abortion ban as a clear example of this conflict… How, as dancers, within this piece, can we use the moment to create an experience of freedom, even though we might not feel free before starting to dance?’
⎯ Beatrice Larrivee
The Resistance
The dancers are physically and mentally fighting and resisting a certain notion, concept, or even an experience connected to their body. The moves are thoughtful and careful, though decisive, while the atmosphere of the performance is tense and filled with anticipation. What do you think about this controversy of opposition to freedom and seeming resistance to getting free.
César: We talk a lot about being on this journey together and not being able to survive without each other. Sometimes one of them gets weaker than the others, and another one has to give more. I enjoy these moments of real emotions, these moments of weakness that come from time and effort. There is something really meaningful in placing yourself in moments where you don’t think you can keep going, but somehow you find the means to do so. And this really brings strong emotions. You can even feel proud of yourself or happy about surpassing another mountain that you have been trying to climb for a long time. And then continue advancing in the journey with new knowledge — the journey of life.
Beatrice: I start the work facing another dancer and looking deeply into her eyes, wanting to get closer to her. At this moment, I am unable to say if I am free or if I resist freedom. To break free from barriers, you have to allow yourself to truly understand the limitations in which you live, especially the ones you are not yet aware of. This research is physical and emotional as well as social and individual. We are never completely free or completely locked. Opposite forces need each other and become stronger because they are constantly fighting against one another. We allow this process to happen within us and present it to the audience — this conflict, and all the emotions that can pour out of it.
The line between resistance and freedom is very thin and always controlled: we can take what happened in the US recently with the abortion ban as a clear example of this conflict… How, as dancers, within this piece, can we use the moment to create an experience of freedom, even though we might not feel free before starting to dance? What César has permitted me to find within his work is freedom within myself and within all the boundaries that society forces onto us. He has given me a movement language that I can use to immediately access the joy of this freedom and the power of togetherness.
Choreography
In this project, which you lead as an independent artist, you’re working with four dancers and creating a story through their bodies, and this experience they re-live from practice to practice. What are some changes you decided to implement based on the numerous rehearsals and perhaps the evolving vision?
César: This work has been developing for almost three years. Beatrice and Alma have been with me since the beginning of the process, and Guy and Tom joined later. Most of the time, I create from improvisation, either from my body or by guiding my performers in a session. We put ourselves into long periods of improvisation then, we can start building a score we can play with. This year was a restarting of the process once Tom joined. I wanted to have a part of each one of them, so the work has changed and evolved with whomever I was working with at the moment.
One of my favorite things about working with people is to be able to push them, to bring things out of them, which is something we find a lot in these improvisation sessions that we aim to keep even when we set a choreographic structure. We build a structure we can then play around with or destroy as the work evolves. In my work, I prefer to rehearse less and allow them to experience the journey of it. I'm interested in seeing how it fully comes to life in the show and what it brings to the performers when the audience, set, and lights are there.
