Panflutes and Paperwork is a collaboration between choreographer Ingrid Berger Myhre and composer Lasse Passage Nøsted. In the duet they take existing expectations around ”creating music for dance” or ”dancing to music” as a starting point. The duet playfully problematizes the conventional relationship between dance and music by challenging the standardised idea of they each have to live up to and what they together can produce. In their quest for assimilation without compromise, the work makes use of scores as a tool to define and prioritise collective structure above individual skills.
“When the form is in place, everything within it can be pure feeling” – A.Schöenberg
The title alludes to the contrast between the dry and the “wet”: Panflutes, on the one hand suggests the playful, sensational and passionate. Paperwork on the other refers to notation, the formal and bureaucratic. Myhre and Passage both work with a lighthearted approach to composition and share affinities in regards to subtle humour. Panflutes and Paperwork is in many ways their formalistic approach to expressivity.
★★★★ – de Volkskrant:
‘Hilarious and sweet, as they try to share everything (even each others talent) in this small hour full airy performed nonsense-games. The opening is strong, with a synchronized spoken word dadaïstic poem full of duo-words: fish & chips, meet & greet, up & down. Just like the sitting duet full of sharp head nods on the rhythmic rumbles of four percussion blades.’
Spokenword artist Chery (Spraakuhloos) gave words to what she saw after the première on February 20th. Read them once again here:
My mind is like a dancefloor And I swear I can make anything happen I’ll make my thoughts walk backwards in opposing directions Have them converse in silence until they synchronize intentions
I see the beauty in the madness And the chaos in the void I drink sounds and sweat dance Leave my limbs without a choice Have them carry all my burdens and delights Just to hand them to the crowd Like I said, my mind is like a dancefloor And here, there’s no restrictions allowed This is where I let everything in Entertain all my thoughts just to keep my conscience clean
Where sometimes grief waterfalls into my waking dreams And has me feeling like I’m drowning in air Like I’m floating in water barely breathable Even though I love the anchor that keeps me there Sometimes my mind is a dancefloor Littered with empty glasses Spilling liquid laughter See, I told you, in my mind I can make anything happen
Sometimes my mind is like a playground Where I speak sounds into existence Watch the syllables ride up and down the waves Take the vowels out to play Sometimes my mind is like a dancefloor And this is where it goes down There’s nothing I can’t imagine with my mind both lost and found
I find myself in retracing my steps In jumping hurdles and soaring free In having breakfast every night of the week I sit down with my thoughts Comfort them, take them out for a spin Appreciate the duality within their different faces My mind is like a dancefloor, And I swear, it’s one of my favorite places
