The multi-national dance theater collective The BlueBridge Project will be premiering Túl a Folyón (Beyond the River) at the National Dance Theater’s Mainspace in the historic castle district on May 27th. A co-production between dance and theater artists from Hungary, Canada, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, Beyond the River artfully explores bridges, rivers and the multitude of mythology that surrounds them. Canadian Kevin Rees, who’s called Budapest home since April 2007, performs in and co-wrote the piece. He spoke to us about the performance itself, multi-national collaboration and his thoughts on Hungary’s dance and theater scenes.
Beyond the River is inspired by the János Arany poem A Híd-Avatás (The Dedication of the Bridge). What do you find personally inspiring about Hungarian literature/art/culture?
This is a tricky question, as I’m not fluent in the language, so although I go to Hungarian dance, theater, film and art shows often, I’m not always able to fully appreciate it the way a Hungarian might. Once I had been here for a few months, I really started feeling the sense that Hungary was deeply different to where I grew up, and it’s not simply because of the language and the architecture. Even having read books in English translated from Hungarian hasn’t given me the full idea. What I find most inspiring about the work and culture I have experienced is that Hungarians seem to have an equal sense of humor and beauty, even when discussing the darkest of subjects. This is evident in Hid Avatás, as it is with translations I’ve read by say Péter Eszterhazy or Sándor Márai.
I understand The BlueBridge Project is an international collective of artists. How did its formation come about, and do all those involved live in Hungary?
Well, I met Julia Sasso about 11 years ago in Toronto, where we both worked in the theatre and dance communities. Monika had met Julia about eight years ago in Toronto and invited her here to teach in 2002. Monika and Dano had already worked together with another choreographer in Budapest and then Monika travelled to Toronto in 2004 to work with Julia and I on one of Julia’s pieces. In 2007, Monika got the idea to pull us all together because she thought the chemistry would be interesting. It’s just Monika and I that live here, the others had to travel – so it’s taken a lot of emails to organize this!
What, in your opinion, has international collaboration brought to the production, and what has it brought to your work and creativity as a whole?
I think the most vital thing that comes from an international collaboration is the individual personalities and their decades of experience from somewhere outside of one’s own realm of reality. Our differences make it potent. Julia and I are both from Canada, Toronto even, but she trained as a ballerina for example before she got into modern dance, whereas I was reading comic-books and found theater. Monika and Daniel grew up in neighboring countries, but have very different experiences too. Julia, Daniel and Monika have spent most of their professional lives as dancers. Daniel went to University for mathematics, and I have had a more motley array of jobs than you can reasonably shake a stick at. Ultimately, it’s just nice to work with really intriguing people who are really good at what they do. It just so happens we are from all over the map. For me personally, the project has further magnified my fascination with languages.
What do you think the illustrations of Mihály Zichy bring to the performance?
Oh, so much… the drawings are incredible. In the poem you have this macabre kind of celebration of futility, and then in the drawings it goes a level deeper where you see someone riding Death’s back in their descent to the Danube. Every time I ride the 4-6 tram I can’t get these images out of my head, because that’s the same bridge Arany is talking about in the poem and the bridge Zichy has drawn. The drawings have definitely influenced the forms and some of the tones of certain phrases in the choreography as well.
Beyond the River is described as dance theater. Can you tell us whether there will be any dialogue involved?
A lot of people have asked me if the show is in English or Hungarian – I guess they wonder because I’m a Canadian English speaking actor more than a dancer and the other performers are Hungarian and Slovak dancers. The simple answer is that we are representing ourselves honestly, and so if there is dialogue or monologue that aesthetically needs to be Hungarian it will be – and likewise for Slovak and English. We use the term dance theater because it frees us from being dumped into one set of expectations or another. There will absolutely be text spoken, but if we are doing our jobs properly it shouldn’t matter if you only understand French or Arabic, it should still be compelling if you don’t comprehend one word. I guess that’s the bliss and the danger of playing with language in a dance context.
Hedvig Fekete, a member of The BlueBridge Project, has recently returned from the Extremely Hungary festival in New York. Do you see a growing international interest in Hungarian arts occurring at the moment?
It’s hard to say from within Hungary, and unfortunately I don’t know much about this festival in New York. I will say that I think it’s incredible that it’s happening. It only seems logical, though, that with the world changing as it is, it is every country’s responsibility to develop and promote culture from abroad. It makes sense in a place like New York, too, as there are so many Hungarians in North America. I hope Toronto follows suit.
Do you have any predictions for the arts in Hungary (both nationally and internationally)?
Hmmmm… this is a difficult situation. I think Hungary is in a unique position because the language is so alone in the world; it has no real contemporary relatives. For this reason I think dance has a much easier trail to blaze, because language is not always a dominant component of its performance, the vocabulary is more universally understandable. Though I have noticed that a lot of Hungarian artists incorporate some English, French or German into their shows and some provide subtitles in another language. I find this problematic, though, because it draws attention away from the action. Hungarian is a beautiful language, and I think foreigners here in Budapest need to make more of an effort to learn it and look deeper into the act of performing to realize that words are not the only tools we use to communicate.
How would you describe the Hungarian dance theater scene?
I’m told that contemporary dance and theater here in Hungary developed not so long ago. This is probably because of the Iron Curtain, but I think Hungary has sprung up very quickly in that case. I see a lot of experimentation. I had a friend who was at the Theatre Performance University here, and I saw a lot of the student shows he was in; they were doing way more interesting stuff than I ever did or saw at my university. I never got to run around in my underpants throwing tomatoes in a posh theater. I actually did a show in Toronto where we were asked to wrap the fruit we were smashing on a plinth in cling-film so it wouldn’t make such a mess! Come on! I think Hungary is taking risks to define itself. Don’t get me wrong, good performance doesn’t have to be messy or naked, but I think it must have room to play.
Where’s your favorite place to catch a performance in the city?
Trafó is probably the venue I attend the most – I usually like the programming and the fact that you can eat there. They’ve also done some swanky redecorating lately. MU and Artus definitely have their charms; at heart I always prefer non-theater spaces. I saw a show two years ago at a disused missile base near Zsámbék, which was unsettling. I recently saw Tim Crouch’s England at the Polish Institute’s art gallery – that was an amazing show, really good use of the space, too. But the Nemzeti Tancszinhaz is in the Castle District, which is never a bad idea.
Do you have any hot-tips for theater groups, venues or performances in the city?
Budapest has two excellent traits in the performance world: it hosts bucket-loads of international touring productions at places like Trafó, MU, Millenáris and the Palace of Arts, and it has a thriving local scene with a lot of smaller companies and festivals for every kind of discipline imaginable. It also has lots of places to have a drink after any show. I believe that is how a community stays strong – support each other and socialize.
Beyond the River will be performed at The National Dance Theater mainspace on May 27th and 28th at 7 p.m. There will be an artist talk session moderated by Hedvig Fekete following the performance on May 28th.
Amy Weston
National Dance Theater Mainspace
Dates: May 27 and 28 at 7 p.m.
1014 Budapest, Színház utca 1-3.
Tel.: +36.1.201.4407, +36.1.375.8649
info@nemzetitancszinhaz.hu