Intertwining Artists

This past week, an amazing hybridization of art took place in Long Island City. Austrian dancer Melanie Maar teamed up with Japanese musician Kenta Nagai to produce “Space and Bones.” The project intended to display characteristics of both distinct cultures. Because their backgrounds and styles of art are so different, one would think that building such a collaboration would be difficult and challenging. Surprisingly, Maar admits, it was not.

“We are meeting as a dancer and a musician, but we’re changing and playing with these assumptions or preset roles that we come in with,” the dancer stated. “I am not thinking of myself as a dancer necessarily—I’m thinking of myself as a performer who’s moving and my body is an instrument. Kenta has similar ideas about his performance.”

The pair’s intent of blending artistic fields is not new. Rather, this is one of the many examples of how ambiguous art has become. Many artists – now more than ever – are combining styles in order to explore different forms of expression. Performers and creationists constantly strive for originality, and this is a common method to which they resort.

This experimental distinction is not the only characteristic that makes the performance special. To display the piece’s Japanese element, Kenta plays the traditional shamisen. Although the instrument is beautiful and has an enticing sound, the shamisen is difficult to perform because the instrumentalist must play it while on his/her knees. Kenta enjoys performing because of this pain, however; he believes that the effort it takes to tolerate the discomfort is balanced with the incredible music that can result. Maar completely understands this kind of mutual exchange between pain and pleasure as a dancer. Perhaps this is why the two artists connect so well.

To give you an idea of what this traditional Japanese instrument sounds and looks like, here is a demonstrative video:

The article about “Space and Bones” can be read here.