Is it possible for a 19 year old to be still? What about forty 19 year olds? Would that be boring to watch as a performance?
These are the questions that I am playing with.
I have 4 weeks at Stishti Institute of Art Design and Technology, starting on Monday the 19th of November 2018, to create a performance piece. I want to build a work based on the experience of stillness. In performance, we sometimes get so caught up in movement that we forget that it is stillness that frames movement. So what might emerge when we start with an exploration of stillness?
Echoing several ancient philosophies, Pico Iyer says “in an age of acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow. And in an age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as [being] still”.
Working alongside me are two former Srishti students. Noor Sengupta is going to be assisting me with teaching, directing and documenting the project. And Navya Sah is making a video installation with material she will shoot through the rehearsal and development process.