Traversing the history of sound and listening, it was the sounds of a primary forest, from which human mankind evolved. The idea of the performance serial FOREST I SOUND I BODY is to explore this ancient connection to the forest.
FOREST I SOUND I BODY is based on sound recordings, taken in primary forests around the globe, interpreted by a team of dancers.
The project intends to shift back the focus to the act of listening and to trace the initial point from where sonic landscapes shaped and transformed the human body. The dancers take on the role of mediators. They explore individually and as a group, how those sounds reveal personal and collective memories and translate them into dance movements.
FOREST I SOUND I BODY addresses an aspect, which is often forgotten in discussions about fading primary forests: that the worldwide continuous reduction of primary forests means not only the loss of precious habitats, but with the quieting of its sounds, humans loose gradually one of their oldest collective memory.
TRACING HUMAN EVOLUTION THROUGH LISTENING
Biophony, a collection of sounds of animals in one specific location, provides complex and in-depth information about the diversity of species in one area. It is an imprint of a specific location at a specific time.
It is an interesting fact, that the sonic landscape of a primary forest is evolutionary linked to processes, out of which human cultures developed. From these sounds, humans started to generate their own sounds in order to connect with each other and from there language was created.
Sound still remains an important source in human relations, but throughout history, there have been dramatic shifts in soundscapes and in the relevance of listening. Sound was a key sense in human evolution to get orientated in different environments, it was a key sense for survival.
Sound is associated with feeling and sensing, while the visual sense goes in affinity with thinking and decision making.
THE SHARAWADJI EFFECT
is a sensation of plentitude, created by the contemplation of a complex soundscape whose beauty is inexplicable”
- Waterman and Harley
Concept: Katia Engel