galerijatenm

The efforts of a person trying to deal with the physical limits of creating his/her own dance within a small space can be seen as a physical representation of the evolution of man on many different levels: individual, collective, as well as universal.

Man’s evolution towards freedom starts from a natural state in which man is similar to an animal, governed by instincts that cannot be consciously controlled. On the individual level, this state corresponds to childhood, when impulses are followed naturally and consciousness is not yet fully developed. In this first state, the sub-conscious is still predominant, linking the human being to nature as integrating part of it and guiding the person in his/her actions and movements.

But this first natural, instinctive and impulsive dance is limited by obstacles: the gallery walls bring the natural flowing of movements to a stop, the presence of others- their physical presence inside as well as the looks from outside- limits our possibilities of expression.

This corresponds to the formation of society, which brings man to follow certain rules to be able to live collectively with others. Individually, man has now reached adolescence, when consciousness develops and must confront itself with the outside limitations and rules. The personality tries to affirm itself by rebelling and has a hard time dealing with given structures and adapting to the outside world. On a universal level, here man is separating from nature and from his fellow human beings. His consciousness and individuality develop enabling him to live within the material world, governed by separation and the laws of time and space.

The dancers fight with the limitations of the space trying different solutions to integrate the outside structure within their own personal dance, adapting their movements to the obstacles, and finding a balance between their individual, impulsive dance and the outside limitations.

Adulthood is thus reached, the individual finds a way to live with the limits and rules of the world he lives in, adapting to them, but also using them as best he can. Collectively, the social being is established, and universally, consciousness and individuality are fully developed, dominating the sub-conscious and separating man from his natural self and from nature as a whole.

The next phase in the evolution of humanity towards freedom is the development of the individual of his/her own rules, his/her own space, in which it is the inner world rather than the outside which determines action and movement, leading to a deeper, inner freedom. Here the outside limitations disappear, the separation between the objects of the material world cease to exist and man is reunited with the original whole. A balance is reached between consciousness and the sub-conscious which allows man to feel once again part of the whole he came from and to transcend physical and mental boundaries to create his own world and his own dance.

Delivered from the limitations of time, space and material reality, the blind dancers move within their own, inner world, freely creating their own space and movement, expressing their true self.

Implicitly, the question is raised whether humanity is stuck in its evolution in one of these phases…