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GROWTH

Gloria Benedikt and the Italian dancer & choreographer Mimmo Miccolis  presented An Evening for Humanity at the Kennedy Center (MillenniumStage) in Washington, DC, consisting of two thought provoking contemporary dance pieces: GROWTH and RIGHTS(?).

GROWTH (World Premiere), choreographed and danced by Benedikt and Miccolis, is an artistic investigation in the meaning and function of 'growth' in our time. While the notion of ‘growth’ is traditionally framed in a purely socio-economic context, Benedikt and Miccolis are investigating the concept through their bodies. Reflecting on the old - and envisioning a new - narrative on 'growth', they attempt to offer audiences around the world a new, globally comprehensible way of looking at the phenomenon..

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The performance was  lived streamed and is now available in the KennedyCenter Archive.

SYNOPSIS

Part 1: Evolution 

A short film inspired by the evolution of homo sapiens.

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Part 2: Old Narrative

If we are becoming a civilization that can only measure extrinsic values, aren’t we going back in evolution, back to the state of nature? And aren’t we consequently giving up on the core of humanity—the ability to recognize value beyond what is directly in front of us? What impact has this view on human behavior? This train of thought inspired Benedikt and Miccolis to create movement sequences during which they alternate between functioning like machines and animalistic moves. For the last section, they incorporated the sign language of open outcry trading.

Part 3: New Narrative

We now live in a world that is becoming ever more interconnected. Our actions will impact people on the other side of the world and vice versa. Firmly held believes, for instance, that we are always in competition and some of us must lose, so others can win, or that our wealth in the West will eventually 'trickle down to the rest', have lost credibility. Today, we can only solve the biggest problems we face when working and thinking together as one. Benedikt and Miccolis translated this new reality into a physical experiment: What possibilities would they discover if they attempted to choreograph a duet during which they never lose connection? What may seem like an inhibiting condition, leads to some rather innovative movement sequences that require a constant balancing act, acute awareness of one another, immense concentration, the ability to simultaneously focus inward and outward, and at times also risk. And perhaps these are also the ingredients needed for a new narrative on growth…

 

 

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