Manila-based Donna Miranda of Green Papaya Art Projects is a globe-trotting, award-winning (she received the Jury Prize last year from Yokohama Dance Collection R) contemporary dancer working to change the art scene beyond the Philippines. Her most recent showstopper involved hijacking a city train to host a public “Urban Love Disco.” We caught her during some downtime to hear her thoughts on the future and role of contemporary dance in the wider world of art today.
What is Green Papaya Art Projects?
Green Papaya Art Projects is an artist-run initiative that supports and organizes actions and propositions that explore parallel approaches to the production, dissemination, research and representation of art in various disciplines. Founded in 2000, Green Papaya endeavors to provide its artistic community the importance of intellectual exchange, sharing of information, critical dialogue and creative and practical collaboration in contemporary art practice. It consistently seeks to strengthen this position by providing a platform for multi-disciplinary collaboration and cross-border cooperation among Asia Pacific and Filipino artists.
What has been your favorite collaboration in Green Papaya Art Projects?
To date my favorite collaboration at Green Papaya Art Projects has been the series of Anatomy Projects we had back in 2004-2006. It was a series of curated dance performances where we invited dancers/choreographers, sound artists, and visual artists to work as an artistic ensemble/collective. The last installment was called Anatomy of Humiliation in Desire and involved three choreographers, seven dancers, two live sound artists, and two visual artists. Up until the last day of the performance, everyone was still experimenting and changing things during live performance.
Could you describe to us what contemporary dance is to you and what role you see yourself playing in the field?
To me, contemporary dance is an ongoing dialogue on the subject of dance itself… I would describe contemporary dance as an ongoing process of asking questions. Particularly staring back at our premises and assumptions on the universality of the ‘body,’ movement and the ‘dance.’ Here at home [in Manila], I would like to propose a parallel dance practice that emphasizes dance as a forum for research on what it means to live in our body and in society rather than the more emotional, “I dance to express myself.”
We’ve noticed that you’ve done some interesting work like “Of course not, this is a bathtub” – a performance that takes place in various locations, and where there’s little or no room for an audience. Why?
“Of course not this is a bathtub” is still a solo work-in-progress. It takes place in several different spaces: a gallery, on stage, outdoors (for the film component), and even in a private bathroom in an apartment in Berlin. There are a number of reasons for this. The first is necessity. I just don’t have the luxury of having much space being an independent artist with no theater houses in Manila that can accommodate contemporary artists.
….The beauty of performing in intimate spaces is that you can actually make real connections with the people and the ‘audience’ turns into individuals with [whom you have] the possibility of creating relationships and interaction.
You mentioned that “Of course not this is a bathtub” is still a work in progress. What do you mean by that?
As I work a lot according to structured improvisations, many of my solo pieces start out in different versions until I am able to fine tune it and see the elements that fit together. In the beginning “Of course not…” was solely a solo piece with only me appearing in the video projection. Later on as I decided to work with live music, I decided to weave in the presence of the musician in the piece and to expose the element of sound as part of the dance. As a performer I am interested in exposing this vulnerability that no one (both audience and artist) is comfortable at seeing. So I do have this habit of presenting works-in-progress as I try to bridge the gap between practice and performing by making the process of choreography the subject of dance itself.
What inspires you?
Life! The frailty of human condition, the paradox of love, the strange ecstatic bliss of pain, the relief of tears, the cold detachment of science, accidents, language, history, and the persistence to belong. The gray zone between sleep and waking hours.
Thanks, Donna!
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