more learnings from WI_FI Body

(the last of it...)

Green Papaya’s participation in the WI_FI Body: Independent Contemporary Dance at the Cultural Center of the Philippines was an opportune time to asses our position in the artistic community and wider cultural politics. From the beginning, Green Papaya was wary with our unique position as participant in the Festival. Unlike most of the participants, we were the only group who was not a company, neither do we formally represent any dance artists.

Green Papaya is an artist-run-initiative, it is both a physical space (venue in Quezon City) and an initiative (a proposal, strategy, an action, maybe a space in the head), a soft concept existing by virtue of artistic projects and events that we organize. Our association in the contemporary dance community has been influenced by two factors: (1) our orientation towards interdisciplinary and multimedia art practice and (2) my own artistic practice as a dancer. The relevance of this position in the current stream of Philippine contemporary dance practice, is due to the creative platform it has provided to young emerging independent dance artists as well as a venue promoting contemporary dance performances. Maybe this position and identity, makes our place in the festival a little worrisome and have created some confusion among audiences. Whereas the other programs in the festival clearly showcased a stylistic identity in dance, we were more rather concerned with exposing artistic process in dance and its intersection with other media, hence the immateriality of a single author for the work eventually even the blurring of dance with other genres.

While this particularity of position/identity could have offered a different articulation of the development of contemporary dance practice in the Philippines, CCP as a venue along with its market and cultivated community, and still WI_FI Body festival was not the proper venue for our initiatives and artistic agenda. However, this realization does not negate the fact the participating at the WI_FI Festival allowed us to develop and pursue our existing inquiries in contemporary art and artistic process in varied disciplines, of which we are very thankful for. This generosity and trust of the WDA Choreographers’ Network in the organization’s capability to deliver and mount a dance initiative has been very much appreciated and valued.

The WDA Choreographers’ Network is commendable for having organized this festival at such a scale with limited human resources and administrative infrastructure. WI_FI Body marks a significant point in almost of the artists who participated in the festival as it represents current and future aspirations of the Philippine contemporary dance. The range of programs shown at the festival did provide a complete picture of the state of Philippine contemporary dance. Despite initial worries and the hard work it entailed to mount the festival, it was a worthwhile endeavor to put out there in the ‘mainstream’ that contemporary dance is happening in the Philippines and may hopefully cultivate a new breed of audience and practitioners in dance. It's a pity that a lot of other dance practitioners who belong to the larger community of dance failed to catch and engage in historical relevance of this festival.

The tricky situation of indie going mainstream with WI_FI Body at the CCP should still be addressed and subject to continued discussions among members of the network. Acknowledging the resolve to engage and coerce the institution by coming in there with our own program, it still remains that in the end the strong patronage art system persists to control the independence gained by declaring independence from institutional agenda and policies. As visitors in CCP, we are but subject to their terms. The complexity of this artist-institution relationship must be further discussed among the network members so that firmer strategies of negotiation and engagement may be drawn up for future endeavors.

(whew! now that its out, we can all move on)