The choreography of Normality No More is full of contrasts. It is a work by Davide Bellotta, who, for many years, was a dancer at Conny Janssen Danst, and, in the last few years, choreographed small productions for the company. Normality No More is his first Big Stage production.
How did you go about it?
‘It all started with Schubert’s Winterreise that made Rosa (Arnold, Ragazze Quartet, ed.), Dagmar (Slagmolen, Via Berlin, ed.) and me think hard. How does it feel to be an outcast, to have that feeling of not being understood? How do we deal with other people who do not meet our standards? While talking, we arrived at the theme of neurodivergence that turned out to be a source of inspiration for all of us.’
What is it that makes this subject matter so inspiring for you?
‘Neurodivergent people have a different perception and interpretation of the world. This is interesting since they pay attention to other things. Actually, it is a kind of super power, very valuable to society. The longer we talked, the more we discovered that we are more or less situated on the same spectrum. We all have our own unique personalities. However, to what extent do we reveal them? Do we not, all of us, lose ourselves from time to time? This notion felt extremely topical.’
I like to test the limits Davide Bellotta
How did a choreography emerged from this?
‘I started working with seven of the company’s dancers. I asked them to return to a moment in their lives at which they did not understand themselves or felt unaccepted. From these personal experiences, we started to improvise. To what extent do you have the courage to deviate from the norm? How can you connect with each other through movement? A hand on your shoulder, what emotional effect does it have on you? These improvisations took me to a choreography that, initially, was, for the greater part, a search and an exploration, but culminated in an exuberant celebration.’
What do you regard as your biggest challenge in making this performance?
‘I like the limits; I like to test them. It always is a process of scanning: how far can you open Pandora’s Box without people dropping out? It is a fine line, I like to dance around, and, every now and again, cross slightly. The dream is that this performance will make us realize that all of us conceive the world through our own lenses. I hope that Normality No More provides the power to break free, to liberate each other and ourselves from prejudices, labels and stigmas.’
Normality No More is the artistic product of a collaboration between Dagmar Slagmolen (Via Berlin), choreographer Davide Bellotta (Conny Janssen Danst) and Ragazze Quartet under artistic supervision of Ria Marks, with artistic advise by Conny Janssen.
> Normality No More is in theaters from December 14, 2024 untal April 6, 2025.
