The English word Self has several meanings: oneself, the self, the same… In this field the Vizcaine dancer Matxalen Bilbao has been immersed in her last work. The theme of dance is identity and self-seeking. The ballerina has made a choreographic song in favor of loneliness, we are all different, although we all unite in the same space or in the same passage. They can be streets or cities, or, as in this case, on stage. Many times we know each other, then the losses and accomplishments themselves, the antennas and desires are more visible. That is why Matxalen Bilbao has proposed a duo rather than a single one, and for that he has had the help of the Australian dancer based in Bilbao Robert Jackson. At present, the dancer has reviewed the trends found in the mouthpiece in contemporary dance: hyperpassivity, contac, defragmentation or fragmentation of movement… It is an absolutely modern piece in choreography, and in terms of meaning, as he wants to respond to the chimera of always “Who am I?”.

Last weekend it premiered in the room La Foundry de la capital vizcaina. We talked to Bilbao about the work Self and told us the following:

Most of the time you've been alone. This time at the company.

Don’t think about it, in the last 10 years I’ve worked as a choreographer I’ve done everything, three and four… But it’s true that in this work and as the situation is, you can’t respond to large groups. In addition, my way of working takes many hours, as I do a great research job on the language of movement and not everyone accepts that way of working. On the other hand, I wanted to share it, both the process and the experience that you have offering “bolos”. I've felt so lonely working with myself. I'd like to work with big teams, but I'm not able, economically, to push through all of that. In this latest work, in addition to the lighting, there is not much on stage, we have raised it as a ring. Technically, I have encountered great difficulties in moving the work and, on this occasion, I wanted to do something transparent.

How did your last job come about?

It was born after three years of paron. When I started working with Robert, it was clear that this piece had to talk about our relationship, rather than something that's outside of us. The differences between us are great: age, experience, territory, gender, language, culture… But we join in the language of movement. Any excuse seemed good to me when considering the movement, and that's why I thought it was a good exercise to spread Robert's experience and knowledge. On the other hand, it seems to me that both Robert and I do not share the usual topics that they are dancing. That also makes us different, and those differences are absolutely replicable. As a result of globalization, we are becoming more and more like us, and that's why this piece honours the different. I've made them an excuse to build those differences.

What technique have you used in this work?

Basically, I've used choreographic techniques that are used in improvisation workshops. The theoretical area or the table work has been great, you have to fill the literary work in some way, with words and meanings so that then all that becomes movement. We've worked a lot on the division of movement, the defragmentation of the body, it's a complex thing. We have immersed ourselves in improvisation when it comes to creating, but that requires a lot of work. It's an honest piece, because the process itself has taken us to where we've come. There was also an idea to get the word in, but in the end we decided that language was dance, because we are, after all, dancers. Dance has a lot to do with the poetic world. But it's a movement.

He has been dancing for 10 years, what is the scene of Basque dance?

It's a difficult context. There are several dancers working here. But only private rooms like La Foundry offer the possibility to show the work. But what after that? In Euskal Herria, we have a large network of theaters, but most programmers don't take contemporary dance into account, thinking it's for a minority. But if the public doesn't get educated or get used to doing it, there's nothing to do.

Self. Matxalen Bilbao.
Discipline: Contemporary Dance Title: Self. Idea, choreography and direction: Matxalen Bilbao. Dancers: Matxalen Bilbao, Robert Jackson. Original music: Borja Ramos. Lighting: David Alkorta Special Assistant: Izaskun Santamaría.