top of page

Dance to Death

No art is possible without a dance with death

(Vonnegut, Kurt. 1969)​

BACKGROUND 

 

Rituals have to be displayed time after time to underline the status of the action. If a ritual is not reiterated then it can be associated with a casual and ephemeral situation, meaningful maybe, but irrevocably spontaneous. One of the most prevalent and salient rituals within societies around the world are the funeral ceremonies. They are diverse in their significance and symbolism. In some cases, death is associated with discretion and silence. Conversely, other cultures commemorate it with dance and music. These rites of living the mourning reveal pivotal information about the deceased, the families and the cultures, among other things. However, for some people, these ceremonies are still considered taboo, eccentric or bizarre. It seems easier to avoid the topic of death and neglect its permanent presence in our life than recognize its beauty and imminent impact on ours. 

 

Despite some general feelings, practitioners and gatekeepers of funeral ceremonies keep insisting on the vital dimension of bury and mourn the deceased as part of the reconfiguration and balance in life. Behind each ritual, it is possible to explore a series of religious experience, social organization, an intricate system of values and practices, within others aspects. Death is universal but the ways to grief are particular to each individual and community. Sometimes, the act of lament is conceived a public manifestation, and others tend to be a more private experience.

 

Certainly, dance and death are perceived as antagonistic because it seems in a body the presence of one means the lack of the other one.

/Movement versus stillness; creation versus disappearing; living versus dying/.

 

However, in some societies, it is necessary to dance, as well as to pray and sing with energy to ensure a safe passage of the soul into eternity. The dead body cannot dance, but their relatives and friends dance for him or her to provide them with an appropriate farewell. Meanwhile, mourners are channeling emotional pain through ecstasy and bustle. They claim this has a cathartic function that releases tension and helps to alleviate the sorrow. That is why; music and dance are highly estimated to undertake the ritual process.

 

 

CURATORIAL PROJECT

 

Life is not the party we thought

but now we are here,

let’s dance

(Popular proverb) 

 

This curatorial project in progress is an invitation to get seduced by the complex and fascinating act of lament created through dance in different cultures. The idea is to broadcast an event presenting a select range of mourning rituals from different regions of the country and also some others from around the world, at the National Museum of Bogotá (Colombia). The aim is to provoke shocking yet cathartic experiences by bringing death rituals into frank and open talks, and a collective space where it is not common to see death dancing around.

 

The reason why is been planned to be in this location is for the urgent necessity Colombians have about talking to/of death. After several years of Civil War, finally, the country is facing a peace period of forgiveness and reconciliation. Although, they have a long way to go through. By bringing mourners and bereaved from all around the country, those who have been suffering the war in their own skin, audience, and other local and international participants will have the chance to expose their own stories and embrace together the collective pain of so many years of death. 

 

When rituals and other celebrations are taking out of context, tend to create distortions about their function and significance. The exhibition wants to provide a collective and massive healing process that raises questions of all kind for further analysis and mutual discussion. Parallel, the public will be provided with enough background and additional information about each type of funeral ceremony, the places where there come from and the people who perform them. That is why the role of the performances that want to be displayed in this event is a more reflective, profound and touching. Therefore, this exhibition does not have an entertainment, exoticizing or aestheticizing goal itself. It does not want to make death looks like a morbid product. Conversely, it is about bringing awareness and self-reflexivity about the circumstances where these human expressions are taking place. How much are we prepared to talk about death? Who are those mostly dying every day? What are the reasons? What are the rituals transmitting us about these deaths?   
 

 

STRUCTURE OF THE PROJECT


To begin with, it is important to start with the researching phase to identify the funeral dances, the practitioners and the meanings of each aesthetic form. Parallel, it will be collecting information also about the general context of the village, region or country where dances are performed in the past and the present. The idea is to connect traumatic experiences with the mourning processes that are performed. In company with the bearers and in constant dialogue and discussion with them, this material eventually will be the axis for the preparation, conceptualization, and assembling of the whole exhibition.  


The second phase would be selecting the individuals or/and groups to perform during the event. In a country like Colombia, the multiculturalism and ethnical diversity offer a wide range of opportunities to explore a variety of funerals and mourning dances. Besides, it will be extraordinary to invite some dances and musicians from abroad to make sure they also show their own funerary rites that involve dance. So far, the previous research has shown this is a vital practice in places like Ghana, Taiwan, Greece, México, Azerbaijan, Uganda, Korean, among many others (See the other windows). The constant interaction and feedback from the gatekeepers are the keys to ensure a fine curatorial project. Dances will be the hub of the concept, however, other artistic works can be included in the exhibition, as well as, talks and workshops.    

 

After preparing the final program and the museography it will time to the final and third phase, which is to divulge the value and magnitude of this kind of project.     

 

 

It is time to explore each corner and inch of this liminal and abstract space creates by loss, to discover other ways to approach the grief. Open your mind and sense to understand other practices and forms of mourning. Imagine other manners of being buried and commemorate. Confront your own fears about the inevitable loss of your beloved and your irremediable mortality. Think and discuss it because without question death is the only certainty in life.

findagrave.com
travel
     blog
PLANETOUR
WORLD
TRAVEL
skycloud
bottom of page