“It means abandoning being a poet, abandoning your careerism, abandoning even the idea of writing any poetry, really abandoning, giving up as hopeless—abandoning the possibility of really expressing yourself to the nations of the world. Abandoning the idea of being a prophet with honor and dignity, and abandoning the glory of poetry and just settling down in the muck of your own mind…You really have to make a resolution just to write for yourself…, in the sense of not writing to impress yourself, but just writing what your self is saying.”
Jack Kerouac – Quoted from The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World by Lewis Hyde
Whilst on the cusp of completing an ensemble piece, called Brocade, in-between finishing and igniting new projects, and coming from the UK alone, Roberta will spend some time reflecting on the kind of work she makes, the process through which it is made and the supporting structures around it, what impact funding bodies, art, heritage, culture and the commercial industry have upon hers and other dance practitioners portfolios.
As well as developing and completing Brocades overall concept, she will enter into a daily practice with the aim of making a resolution to just dance for herself à la Jack Kerouac and to face the present à la Rosemary Butcher.
Residency exchange partner Dance4 is an internationally recognised centre for the development of extraordinary 21st century dance, with a unique voice in the UK dance sector. Dance4 works with artists from a philosophy of risk, curiosity and doubt, commissioning and producing work that challenges perceptions of dance, blurs the disciplinary boundaries and that explores current and future choreographic practices. Based in Nottingham (UK) Dance4 is producer of Nottdance Festival.
Brocade by Roberta Jean. Photo: Emil Bendixen