getting ready for re-performing 'Sokrates' : the dance/r is present & 24-uur cultuur

While reviewing the videos for the presentations at Mirta Demare International Visual Art​, titled the dance/r is present | de dans/er is aanwezig, Aug 29th - Sept4th, I came to think of Gertrude Stein​'s Tender Buttons, written in 1914. This work had fascinated me since my 20s, not in the least because I understood that they were a turning point in Stein's writing and a historical moment, comparable to Arnold Schönberg's 6 Little Pieces for Piano, op. 19 (1913) which preceded his 12-tone composition works. Stein wrote portraits of objects, food, and concluded with a very long piece called 'Rooms'. The dance Sokrates, in a way, makes similar portraits in dance, out of the moment, as fully as possible, in an ongoing stream-of consciousness, or, as Stein put it, in a continuous present. Just like the recognizable ways in which Stein dealt with words, my partner correctly remarked that as the days wore, on he could notice that I had recognizable patterns in my movements, how I dealt with the information of the various moments.

When I went for a short walk to Heemraadsplein yesterday, for a moment I sat and enjoyed watching the passers-by who crossed the plaza, which had been my initial inspiration for Kruisingen-Heemraadsplein (Dutch meaning 'crossings') After having seen and evaluated myself from the Venice-videos, my perception felt more sensitive than what I believe I could process back then. I wonder how much I will be able to reflect this deeper sensitivity in the coming performances August 29th and 30th, as well as September 12th, at 24 uur cultuur, the Rotterdam 24-hour cultural festival where local art institutions manifest themselves.