Modernity’s imaginary

Through a personal and embodied account, Fabián Barba reflects on modernity’s seductive technologies, carried out on European theatrical traditions. Situating its own dance history, context and artistic process, Fabián touches in a transparently painful manner and with sharp humour, on the colonial performance of genius, authorship-authority, stardom, individual success and arrogance.

Modernity’s imagination is a personal account of the ways in which modernity can seduce us into trying to work according to its logic. It tells the story of how modernity can welcome (some of) us, at the price of persuasively guiding us into a rather well-defined path. These reflections take place within the world of contemporary dance.

• Since 2020, Fabián Barba, Cecilia Lisa Eliceche, Moya Michael, Sujata Goel, Jolie Reymond Ngemi and Carlos Maria Romero aka Atabey Mamasita have been coming together to write, work and converse as Dancing at the Crossroads (as we walk). They are a group of non-European, migrant dance professionals who have studied in, lived in or are based in Flanders. Their collective work seeks to unveil and confront colonialism and racism in the established international dance networks of western Europe. For the past two years, they have been supported by workspacebrussels as resident artists. After a period of slow and patient labour they will be sharing their process during the Open Studios. The five-day programme consists of text readings, performances and conversations.