DANCE UNDER CONTROL

Dance Under Control

Artistic Research on Puppetry, Dance, and the Dialectics of Power

Residency: Dis-Tanz-Solo
Research Period: March 27, 2023 – June 30, 2023

 

 

The harmony of movement between a giant puppet and its manipulators presents a fascinating field of investigation. Who controls whom in this relationship? Are the puppeteers exercising power on a grand scale, directing the body of the puppet as an extension of their own agency? Or do they become puppets themselves, caught within the physical and symbolic structures of manipulation, attempting to free themselves from the strings that define their role?

The interaction between the giant puppet and its manipulators can therefore be understood as a dance of control—a choreography of influence, negotiation, and resistance. This dynamic relationship becomes a performative representation of the dialectic between power and resistance.

Dance Under Control is an artistic research project that investigates these relationships through the intersection of contemporary dance, puppetry, and public performance.

The project originated in the winter of 2021, when I was invited by Claire Chalet and Saba Tsereteli to collaborate as a dancer, performer, and choreographer with the Theatre of Details in the production Die Be-Suchenden: A Mobile Backyard Theatre for All, directed by Claire Chalet. Through this collaboration, I became increasingly interested in the unique performative language that emerges between puppeteer and puppet. This relationship opens a rich field of physical, dramaturgical, philosophical, and symbolic possibilities.

Unlike many other performative practices, puppetry renders relationships of control and dependency visibly present. The tension between manipulation and autonomy becomes embodied through movement, allowing audiences to perceive complex power relations through physical action and choreography.

Research Context and Objectives

The central objective of this research is to investigate how a dancer’s training can open new possibilities within the practice of puppetry. By integrating principles of contemporary dance with the techniques of puppet manipulation, the project explores new choreographic and dramaturgical approaches to puppetry performance.

The research is conducted in collaboration with Theatre of Details, with the intention of continuing this partnership over the coming years through future productions, interventions, parades, and storytelling projects in public space.

The work situates itself within a transcultural and intergenerational artistic context. The performances bring together participants and audiences from diverse cultural backgrounds and age groups, allowing the project to function beyond linguistic boundaries. Instead of relying primarily on spoken language, the work emphasizes embodied communication through movement, image, sound, and gesture.

The research explores multiple layers of interpretation, including visual, sonic, symbolic, semiotic, and playful or infantile dimensions. Particular attention is given to accessibility and direct engagement with audiences in public environments such as courtyards, streets, and urban communal spaces.

Through these encounters, the project seeks to activate universal narrative structures and forms of cultural participation, situating puppetry as a tool for social dialogue and cultural activism.

Methodology and Artistic Approach

The research process consists of practical experimentation with the puppets of the Theatre of Details collective. This includes exploring how the dancer’s body interacts with the puppet’s body, how control is distributed between performer and object, and how choreographic structures emerge through this relationship.

A key methodological aspect of the research is the development of a personal approach to puppetry informed by dance practice. By engaging deeply with the techniques and traditions of puppet theatre, while simultaneously applying contemporary choreographic thinking, the research aims to generate new forms of movement and performance.

The project also investigates possibilities for audience interaction and participatory performance, particularly in public space. In this context, the research engages with the anthropological roots of puppet theatre as a communal storytelling practice while combining these traditions with contemporary elements such as dance, sound composition, visual scenography, and urban social dynamics.

During this process, I collect narratives, observations, and experiences that emerge through what I call the Dance of Control—a performative situation in which bodies, objects, and audiences continuously renegotiate relationships of agency and influence.

Research Questions

The research is guided by several central questions:

  • What are the limits of the human body, and what are the limits of the puppet as a performative body?

  • Can dance function as a form of liberation from systems of control and as a bridge toward freedom of expression?

  • Is it possible to identify a universal language of movement that transcends cultural and linguistic boundaries?

  • How can the relationship between puppeteer and puppet be understood in relation to the dialectic of master and slave described by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel?

  • Does the constant renegotiation of control between puppeteer and puppet reflect broader power dynamics present in everyday social life?

Conclusion

Through the intersection of dance, puppetry, and public performance, Dance Under Control seeks to investigate how artistic practice can illuminate the complex relationships between body, object, agency, and power. By transforming manipulation into choreography and control into dialogue, the project opens new possibilities for understanding puppetry not only as a theatrical technique but also as a philosophical and social metaphor.

 

The research of 3 months was just enough for touching all topics mention in the project Research application.

 

Some images of the research result:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    

 

 

 

 

                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more Pictures of the Karneval Für Die Zukunft: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?vanity=artistaniaEV&set=a.262673609684350

 

 

Funded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media in the program NEUSTART KULTUR ( aid program DIS-TANZEN ) of the Dachverband Dance Germany. 2023