On Thursday 6th February at 18:30, ŻfinMalta & Heritage Malta invite Arthur Dumas for our third Movimento appointment at MUŻA

Movimento Appointment 3 : “Transposition: Transposing Life, Theatre & Dance”

Like every art form, theatre and dance get their inspiration from life. But how do artists model life as we know it to give it an artistic form? They transpose it.

Arthur Dumas tells us more …

Who are you (now)?

I am an actor, a performer and a theatre-maker based in France. I trained at at the Jacques Lecoq Theatre School in Paris, which specialises in mime and physical theatre.

What relationship have you had or do you hope to build with ŻfinMalta?

I have been coming to Malta regularly for 3 years as I form part of the theatre company Teatru Triptiku (directed by Jacob Piccinino), and we have already performed several physical theatre works here. From my first visit, I had the opportunity to discover and follow the work of the national dance company as a spectator. We had the opportunity to collaborate with the dancers of ZfinMalta and thus to meet through work. Last year, the artistic director of ZfinMalta, Paolo Mangiola, and his team invited me to participate in the first edition of Movimento. The experience was exciting and very joyful. I find that the initiative of this project opens a beautiful space for sharing and research between artists from all horizons and I am honoured to be part of it. My relationship with ZfinMalta is a conversation, a research space where the questions relating to the practice of an art are shared with everyone and a history which continues to be written (and which, I hope, will continue for a long time).

Tell us a story about you and dance.

Dance was the bridge that led me to become the artist that I am. I started acting from a very young age, falling in love immediately. I must have been 14 years old when I was advised to take dance lessons, in order to perfect my acting through my relationship with the body and space. So I started taking contemporary dance lessons which opened up a whole new world to me, a world in which I found a freedom that I did not know with theatre. But, still, theatre held a special place in my heart… So I kept dancing, and I kept acting. Until the desire and the « quest » for a common place between dance and theatre led me to physical theatre. There I discovered an approach and concrete tools that allowed me to reveal the artist that I am and allow me to explore areas – on stage – that bring together what seems to me unique in dance and in the theatre. And I think what unites them is movement, in its widest sense.

How would you describe your relationship to movement (if you have one at all)?

Relating to my answer in the previous question … everything moves! Movement is life. Bodies move and react to everything, to the environment, to others, to thoughts, to emotions …

I have become a great observer of movement – of movements. I try to stage them to produce something that everyone can recognise through them: life as we know it.

What are you planning to present on the 6th February at MUŻA as part of Movimento?

We will see how movement allows us to translate life as it is on stage.

I call this process “transposition“.

We will see, through 5 steps common to dance and theatre, how to make life is presented on stage, and open our poetic and sensitive look on art. The form of this masterclass is intended to be fun and educational. I’m sure we will have a great time together!

Which three gestures/movements/action verbs do you think will encapsulate this event?

Pull / Push / Support

It might sound mysterious but join me on the 6th February @MUŻA and it will make sense!

Reserve your Movimento session here!