We asked current resident dancer and choreographer Roberta Legros Štěpánková to tell us a bit more about her research, current questions, doubts and process of working during her Cluster Residency in the Castle. Here is what she shares with us.
Six questions for Cluster Resident Roberta Legros Štěpánková
Zuzana Žabková: What was the main topic of the research or the creation during your Residency?
Roberta Legros Štěpánková: The main focus of my work during the residency was to deepen my collaboration with my musician (Matthieu Legros), to find ways how the sound material produced by myself can be extended, played by him. Within this, we payed our attention to understanding and elaborating the characters/qualities that stand at the base of the inspiration for the piece – namely the myth of labyrinth.
ZZ: What for a method you have chosen for your research or your creation?
RLS: The work I did was training and creating/making of material (short pieces) with or without the musician, so that I could find out more about the eventual ways of our communication, co-existence, how can we work together so that it makes sense and creates something bigger. The material was video recorded, that still needs to be watched and analyzed.
ZZ: What for a body you have chosen? Were you working on the solo or group study or piece? In witch context? Are you interested in interdisciplinary collaboration?
RLS: It is a solo piece I am actually working on. Though, a musician is invited into the collaboration, I would still like to keep it as a solo piece. It is interesting, because it makes me think and reflect quite a lot about how our relationship can/will influence the dramaturgy and scenography of the piece. It is inspiring and enriching in any case.
ZZ: In which phase of the process you have entered this Residency?
RLS: I had been working on the piece since late 2018, but the work has taken place in limited periods of residencies (May 2019 one week at PAF France, august 2019 in collaboration with Melanie Venino in Marseille, October 2018 alone at Cloud/Danslab in The Hague Holland). I was very satisfied I was given this opportunity by SE.S.TA in the beginning of the 2020 to spend a couple of days in a historically and naturally very inspiring environment to re-center, see where the piece is now and what it needs from me.
ZZ: How did you like the work in the Castle, was the place inspiring for you?
RLS: Unintentionally, I have already responded. Oh, yes and very much!
ZZ: Was the frame of Cluster residency interesting from the networking perspective for you?
RLS: This time, the situation was very specific, I guess. From before, I expected a big group of artists, but we found ourselves in an oasis of intimate working environment, for which I was very grateful at that moment. To begin the year, to share my material and working process intimately and to perceive other artist´s work felt like a bliss and a real work enrichment. Also the way how the team members (Eva Dryjová and Zuzana Žabková) sensitively guided the work presentation at the end made sense to me and opened some new doorways.
