MOVING EASTMAN
Elaine Mitchener
The dance and sonic performance ‘MOVING EASTMAN’, inspired by the intersectional life of the black American composer Julius Eastman, sparks a discussion on how art and music history narratives are controlled and who possesses the authority to tell their stories. The project is led by British Afro-Caribbeanartist Elaine Mitchener together with director and choreographer Dam Van Huynh. Mitchener, whose projects operate at the interface between the Afro-Caribbean diaspora and the European avant-garde, challenges the expressive possibilities of the body and voice with powerful performances, thus radically expanding the possibilities of music and movement.
Julius Eastman, who died in 1990 at the age of just 49, is now recognised as a key figure in American music of the late 20th century but was marginalised during his lifetime. A black, gay, contemporary music composer, he lived every aspect of his identity to its fullest. His attitude was a total assault on the status quo.
The piece embodies Eastman’s unconventional approach to making art across genres and disciplines in a quest for artistic freedom. Elaine is accompanied by her long-time collaborators The Rolling Calf: Jason Yarde, Neil Charles, Xhosa Cole. The staging, based on a carefully curated collection of archival materials – including images, notes, interviews, sounds, texts and quotations – creates a space in which Eastman’s collective works are presented in a new, unified context.
Before the concert, there will be an introduction by Bastian Zimmermann (author, dramaturg, curator and editor of POSITIONEN – Texte zur aktuellen Musik), in which he will discuss the status, transformation and perspectives of music theatre, based on the recently published February issue of POSITIONEN.
Duration: ca. 1 h
Little dialog
19:00 h Introduction to the work with Bastian Zimmermann (German)
21:30 h Audience discussion following the concert with Elaine Mitchener, Dam Van Huynh & Bastian Zimmermann (English)
Triggerwarnung
Stroboscopic light effects will be used during the event and there will be moments of elevated sound levels especially at the beginning of the concert. This can lead to physical discomfort in sensitive people.
Born in East London as the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Elaine Mitchener began her musical career in gospel groups and later studied classical singing at the Trinity Laban Conservatory of Music and Dance. She has been active as a performer since the 2000s and has created numerous works that deal with themes such as the transatlantic slave trade and the memory of historical injustices. Among her most notable works are ‘Sweet Tooth’, which deals with the legacy of the sugar trade, and ‘The Then + The Now = Now Time’, which takes up Walter Benjamin’s concept of memory as a civic responsibility.
UK-based dancer and choreographer Dam Van Huynh is originally from South Vietnam. As a child, his family fled the war with him and settled in the USA, where he grew up. In 2008, he founded his own company: the Van Huynh Company. Van Huynh was appointed artistic director of the arts and cultural center Centre 151 in London in 2016. He is deputy director of the international dance biennial Dance Bridges in Kolkata. He currently works between the UK and Hong Kong, where he is Head of Contemporary Dance at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
The Rolling Calf is a black power trio featuring vocalist Elaine Mitchener, saxophonist Jason Yarde and bassist Neil Charles. The Rolling Calf performances combine texts by revolutionary African-Disaporic thinkers with collective electroacoustic improvisation to strike a new bridgehead for the black British avant garde.
Elaine Mitchener: vocals, movement and music direction
Dam Van Huynh: concept, choreography and direction
The Rolling Calf:
Jason Yarde: saxophone, electronics
Neil Charles: bass, electronics
Xhosa Cole: saxophone, percussion
Mike Picknett: sound
Production: BARBICAN London, supported by public funding from Arts Council England
A production of The Barbican London in co-operation with the DresdnerTage der zeitgenössischen Musik. Moving Eastman is commissioned by “Deep Time”, the “Fruitmarket” festival for new music, with the support of Barbican, Dresdner Tage der zeitgenössischen Musik (DTzM), Musical Utopias – Den Haag, Britten Pears Arts, Centre 151 and EMProjects.
