Nathan de Wouters

"Echo"

Section MS11, Mhamad Safa

Keywords: bodies, sound music

The ā€œmirror stageā€ theory of Jacques Lacan reveals that newborns between the ages of 6 and 18 months become aware of the "self" through the objectification of their body, an experience possible only through confrontation with their reflection. Up until then, they live in the immediate experience. Since he is not yet aware of being a separate being from others and his universe, everything around him brings him his existence. Afterwards, self-knowledge implies the birth of narcissism. We understand that we live through a body that will forever be our mediator.

We use our bodies to distribute a desired image on our path. Out of fear of revealing ourselves, we sometimes give the body the difficult task of pleasing, seducing and being accepted by the other. Through performance, I propose an image of harmony formed by the repetition of the same body that expresses itself in various ways. It is a non-orchestrated dance performed several times freely over the same song. Music is used as a medium to support the bodyā€™s expression. I strongly believe it's a powerful tool to disinhibit ourselves. Therefore, the dances have in common the deep expression of the same person despite her contradictory movements. Taken together in one video shot, they constitute a harmonious unity to suggest that it is the spectrum of our contradictions that defines us. In this way, I believe I am revealing a more accurate expression of the dancer. To express this, in the last scene of the video, the costume turns blue, the colour of the echos she distributes on her path.