“MONUMENT 0.4: Lores & Praxes. Rituals of Transformation” by Eszter Salamon (Kunstenfestivaldesarts)

Sometimes a production over-sells itself as political but on other times – and this is so much more preferred – it sets a rather narrower purpose than the performance actually conveys. “MONUMENT 0.4: Lores & Praxes” is an example of the latter. Bringing war dances to the gallery, giving them a position as art, is said to be the aim of this durational peace that lasts for six hours. But it is so much more! Yes, there has been a wave of (dance)performances staged in galleries lately (but they mostly become no more than illustrations of the visual art exhibited in the gallery) but “MONUMENT 0.4: Lores & Praxes” still feels fresh (also because it takes place in an empty gallery). The war dances performed do become art-works but since they are exhibited out of the context, they're also intriguingly misplaced – as if telling us that we have lost the ability to really protect ourselves, that we've made the standing up for one's beliefs a safe modus of (artistic) self-expression. It's a daunting conclusion. Also, the diverse cast of ten dancers rule the rooms of the gallery with a matter-of-fact confidence (and not arrogance), allowing each one of them to be at the same time part of the community and an individual (the latter is most evident in the stories they tell to the selected members of the audience). Unfortunately I could only stay for two and a half hours (downside of the festivals and my willingness to see as much as possible) but it seemed that “MONUMENT 0.4: Lores & Praxes” does follow a dramaturgically evolving path rather than repeating the same sequences, adding (pseudo)personal stories of the dancers to the historical dances. So I guess my only critique is this: the production should not be presented as a durational peace where the audience can walk in and out but as a performance that lasts for six hours (no intermission).