Nov 24. Weld Company + Matthias Sperling (UK)
In the fall of 2017, the British choreographer and dancer Matthias Sperling worked in a week-long process with the company based on his concept “looping”, a rhythmic repetition of a single movement while also gradually reshaping it in barely perceptible increments. The result was the suggestive choreography Soft Power Generator 2. Now he is developing this further during a new working period with the company to be presented together with a talk.
Matthias Sperling about the work:
In this research week, Weld Company artists and I will take as our starting point the practices that I am currently working with, which are developments of the choreographic approaches that we first explored together in 2017. These practices stem from the question: If knowledge-generation is a fundamentally embodied process, can we see and experience it happening in a dance performance?
Approaching the generation of embodied knowing in dance as a kind of conjuring, these practices are ways of ‘taking a reading’, as one might take a reading of someone’s palm, some tea leaves, or the stars: a form of seeking knowledge of the unknown, through the doing and observing of moving.
On Sunday November 24th, Weld Company and Matthias Sperling will present a sharing and discussion at Weld about their exploration of these practices, ahead of Weld Company’s further self-directed investigations with these practices, which will take place unannounced in selected public spaces in Stockholm over the coming weeks.
November 24 at 18.00–20.00
Weld, Norrtullsgatan 7
Book: book.weld.se
Choreography: Matthias Sperling
Dance: Sybrig Dokter, Per Sacklén, Caroline Byström, Andrea Svensson, Anna Westberg, Kajsa Sandström and Max Wallmeier
Weld Company is produced by Weld
Weld is supported by Stockholms stad, the Swedish Arts Council and Region Stockholm
WELD COMPANY
Weld Company is aiming to rediscover and revaluate the old institution of Dance Company and is updating the Company form through a collective work conducted by one of Weld clearly given structure. Dancers and choreographers from different backgrounds share a common, daily and physical practice. The Company will work with invited choreographers; self-made works and instigate the Swedish dance history. The members contribute with and are involved in selecting the content. Weld Company could be seen as an enabling structure where new constellations and ideas become. The main focus is on the space freed to practice the art form. To become the dancing body, the dancing community and through this pose questions about dance and choreography today. Yearly a book is being produced with the name ”No Talking No Props”,
MATTHIAS SPERLING
is an artist, choreographer and performer born in Canada and based in London, UK. His work manifests in an increasing range of forms, including performances in theatre, gallery and museum contexts and public spaces, as well as extending to making video works, online projects, writing, curating and scientific research collaborations. His work has been presented in the UK at Sadler’s Wells, Tate Modern, Southbank Centre, Royal Opera House, Dance Umbrella and Nottdance among others. He has been a frequent collaborating/commissioned artist with Siobhan Davies Dance since 2008, and was an Associate Artist with Dance4 (2007-2015) and is the winner of a Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award (2008). He was a Sadler’s Wells Summer University Artist (2010-2014) and is currently pursuing a practice-based PhD (2017-2020) at De Montfort University (Leicester), supported by Midlands4Cities in partnership with Dance4 and Siobhan Davies Dance.
He worked with Weld Company in 2017 to create Soft Power Generator II, and presented his solo science-fiction performance-lecture Now That We Know as part of ’Talking and Props’ at Weld in 2018.