Omer Backley-Astrachan and Jana Castillo present the North American premiere of their work Common Place on Nov. 20, as part of this year’s Chutzpah! Festival. (photo by Wendell Levi Teodoro)
Intoxicating, moving, compelling, exhilarating – these are just some of the words that have been used to describe Common Place by Australian dancers and choreographers Omer Backley-Astrachan and Jana Castillo, which premiered in March at Riverside Theatres in Sydney. The work will have its North American premiere on Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m., at the Rothstein Theatre, as part of this year’s Chutzpah! Festival.
Common Place is described as “a physical exploration of belonging and togetherness, delving into shared action, collaboration and transcendent synchronization.” It is the first work that Backley-Astrachan and Castillo have created together.
In an interview with The Scoop arts review website, Backley-Astrachan explained, “We started by not knowing what the work was going to be about. We just danced together and, through that process, found the essence of what it means to find common ground.
“Jana and I could have spent time talking about our histories and our backgrounds,” he said. “Instead, we just created the work with movement at the centre and tried to find moments where we clicked together.”
He pointed out the title of the piece also invokes that which is commonplace, or ordinary.
“We tried to find a sense of exhilaration or a profound experience through very simple, very commonplace beginnings,” he told The Scoop. “So, rather than trying to create something complicated and highly technical, we took on a sensibility, almost inspired by folk, where it is something that anyone could do.”
“What we tried to avoid is creating the story first and then moulding ourselves into a preexisting narrative,” Backley-Astrachan told the Independent. “Instead, we wanted to stay curious and let the story unfold through the meeting between the bodies. It was important to us not to obey structured archetypes, rather to allow our shared physicality to weave the drama and the intimacy.”
“Common Place, for me, is the coming together of two people,” said Castillo. “It’s feeling the ease, frustration and joy of a shared existence. The audience could be witnessing a single day of a relationship, or a lifetime of reflection.”
The dancers met at a colleague’s birthday party, Backley-Astrachan said. “Jana flipped me off from across the room, giving me the finger, which obviously caught my attention – little did I know about Jana’s Tourette’s at the time. Jana immediately explained and apologized, which turned into the funniest and most endearing friendship.”
The two share a philosophy of movement and artistic practice. When Backley-Astrachan saw Castillo perform live with the Australian company Force Majeure, he said he “vowed to work with this incredible dancer, which came true.”
“Jana and I are both the same age and have had similar career journeys, which led us to a similar idea of what we are looking for in dance and dance-making – a sense of maturity, an interest in truth-making through physical storytelling,” he explained. “Working with a like-minded collaborator is non-negotiable. It’s about being able to commit wholly to the process without getting distracted by ambition.”
The creation of Common Place took a few years. The need to get the work stage-ready by its March premiere helped drive its completion.
“But I know that, if we had more time, we would probably continue to change and evolve the work, so it’s good we were limited,” acknowledged Backley-Astrachan. “That said, we made sure the work follows an emotional structure that makes tonal sense and goes through the full life cycle during the duration of the work. That said, choreography is a living thing that starts and ends again and again every time we do it.”
“This piece was quite unique because we had a lot of space in between development phases to allow the qualities of the movement to be digested into the body,” Castillo said. “It became clear very early on – this piece is about a relationship between two people. The premise of the work was to bring our whole selves. So, naturally, our outside experiences influenced what we brought into the space. We weren’t dictated by a creative brief, which can be terrifying as a creator because there are too many options. Just like in a relationship, you figure it out, but it takes time. You learn … when to rein it in and when to trust and let go.”
“I truly believe in the ability of dance and physical language to transcend an ordinary sense of meaning,” said Backley-Astrachan. “I have had the pleasure of being left speechless at the end of works by [Israeli choreographer] Ohad Naharin – his work changed my life in a deep way. I try in my own work to allow a certain state where several, sometimes opposing, forces can be true at the same time. Dance as a medium can give space for interpretation and, within that, there is also clarity and detail.”
In addition to the Nov. 20 performance, Backley-Astrachan and Castillo will lead a masterclass for dancers on Nov. 21, at 10 a.m.
This year’s Chutzpah! Festival runs Nov. 12-23, opening with Modi at the Vogue Theatre, where Chutzpah! is the community partner of MRG Live for the comedian’s Pause for Laughter Tour, and closing with the Golden Thread Septet’s Yiddish Songs of Social Change at the Rothstein Theatre.
Most single tickets for Chutzpah! are offered at a pay-what-you-will price, with the levels at $18, $36, $52 and $70 (+ gst/sc). I’m Not a Comedian … I’m Lenny Bruce is $40 (students/seniors), $54 (general) and $72 (VIP) (+gst/sc). ChutzPacks are also available: see four different regular-price shows of your choice for $136. Tickets for Modi can be purchased through admitone.com/events. All tickets can be purchased at chutzpahfestival.com or 604-257-5145.