It's been a while since our last artist interview! But we're returning with a powerful one :-)
This time we sat down with Amanda Donato — a Canadian movement artist with an upcoming series of performances just a stones throw away from our HUNDHUND home at Ufer Studios in Wedding, Berlin.
We were introduced to Amanda by old friend of the studio, Yu Bai — another great artist of dance who we interviewed back in 2022 (read the full piece here!). It was a pleasure to sit down with Amanda to learn a bit about the extremely personal contexts explored in her movement, how she sees dance evolving as a medium in the years to come, and what people can expect from her upcoming performance series "A WAKE" (premiering Thursday Sept. 5th, running til Sunday 8th).
I first wondered how Amanda would define her artistic practice.
"My style of work is physical, intuitive and existential. Often exploring themes of psychological states and patterns, my movement language is an integration of controlled and chaotic expression. It reflects my fluid way of seeing the world and my undying reverence for the art of dance."
What is the journey that’s led you to where you are today? I asked.
"I was enrolled in ballet class at age 3, so dance was always part of my life. The dance studio was where I faced myself and formed my core values… The journey convenes endless questions, conversations, and a fearless abandoning of expectations and rationalities. I see all of my mentors, teachers, colleagues plus the art, literature and places that radically shifted my perspectives."
I was then curious, of course, to learn more about this upcoming project at Ufer Studios.
"'A WAKE' is a solo work that honours and commemorates my grandmother and her legacy. She is currently living with advanced Alzheimer’s disease, and it has been a complicated grieving journey."
"This work is a 45-60 minute piece that navigates the hard truth of aging and decay, the fears and diseases we inherit from our ancestors, and the regenerative and immortalizing power of art. It is an interdisciplinary work that combines an original low-frequency-sound-heavy score by Stefanie Egedy, lighting by MXM, and an act involving dough. “A WAKE” is a gift to my grandmother’s soul before she completes her journey, and the best way to remember her dynamic and adversarial life."
"I loathe ageism and the absence of death and decay in the common discourse. Creating this work for my grandmother is a way of crystallizing the importance of her life. Her sacrifices are the reason I have the privilege of creating art. I have the intuitive sense that I am making art for the silenced women before me."
I wondered if there were any questions she felt she was asking with this conceptual work.
"I am asking many questions I might never get the answers to, and existing in a territory of things I will never understand."
Is there anything you would like to achieve throughout the narrative of your career?
"I am moving away from attempting to “achieve” anything with my work, but if it affects people, leads them to reflection, or makes them feel seen… I am honoured."
As a parting question, for someone who clearly thinks with depth about many things, I wondered what Amanda's perspective is on the future of dance and how it will evolve?
"I see an expansion and advancement with technology. I see dance continuing to act as a vital bridge of connection across disciplines and borders."
Thank you to Amanda. You can find her links below, including tickets to the performance :-)
Interview by Ewan Waddell.
Team:
- Direction, Choreography, Performance: Amanda Donato
- Creative Production: Yu Bai
- Dramaturgy: Rubén Nsue, Juan Paulo “JP” Deapera,
- Alvin Collantes
- Original Sound Score: Stefanie Egedy
- Lighting Design: MXM
- Costume Design: Maximilian Franz-Josef Melzel
- Creative Design: Darlene Huynh
- Promotional Photography: Isabelle Östlund
- Promotional Photography Makeup: Rafa Delgado
"A WAKE is an extension of research conducted in 2023 with assistance from funding bodies: NEUSTART KULTUR & Dachverband Tanz Deutschland DIS-TANZ-SOLO 5, Performing Arts/Dance Work and Research Grant from the Berlin Senate Department for Culture and Social Cohesion."
