An artist, choreographer, and dancer whose practice spans video, sculpture, and performance, Cecilia Bengolea (Buenos Aires, 1979) often uses dance as a means to stimulate empathy and encourage emotional exchange.
In her recent research in the Linificio e Canapificio Nazionale (National Linen and Hemp Mill) in Villa d’Almè, Bengolea connects the era of the Industrial Revolution with her own practice of Free Dances, which were created by famous and lesser-known choreographers between the two wars.
She also looks at the machines that spin linen threads and develops a metaphor of dancers concentrating on one single action, with machines and workers collaborating on a meditative, generative, and potentially liberating mental state induced within the performer’s body. The condition brought about by the body’s repetitive rotation can activate energies that translate into movements full of spontaneity and vitality, capable of disrupting mechanical repetition and giving way to improvisation.
For Thinking Like a Mountain, the artist has come up with a new performance to be presented on June 7 in the former twisting room of the linen and hemp mill. To bring the project to life, Bengolea collaborated with five young dancers from the Danzarea school in Mozzo (Bergamo), drawing inspiration from the mechanical, rotary movements of the machinery once used in the plant’s hemp and linen spinning departments and from Free Dances from the 1930s.
Raw linen fabrics play a central role in the costumes worn by the dancers, whose qualities vary depending on the stage of processing of the linen and hemp used.
Created in collaboration with costume designer Alberto Allegretti, the costumes are inspired by the Theyyam ritual, held annually in Kerala, India, during the harvest season, where dancers wear garments made from the fibers of pepper, cardamom, and vanilla plants.
The choreography devised by the artist unfolds through a sequence of initially mechanical actions, collective choreographies, and elements of the Free Dance repertory, while a number of house dance rhythms are also integrated into the composition. Reflecting on contemporary alienation, the work draws a parallel with the historical alienation associated with labor during the Industrial Revolution.
The performance is part of the fourth edition of ON AIR – Argentina-Italia Art Residency, a residency program created through a collaboration between GAMeC and Fundación PROA in Buenos Aires, aimed at fostering the exchange of experiences and promoting the artistic potential of both countries.
