DANCING, WITHOUT HEARING

Michikazu Matsune unleashes a "Sign Storm" at brut Vienna


by Sabina Holzer

The theatre is a public meeting place. As such it offers the possibility for issues to arise and to be reflected on which usually find little or no space in the mainstream media. As with the new project, Zeichensturm, by Vienna-based Japanese choreographer Michikazu Matsune, which was presented at Vienna’s brut im Künstlerhaus, bringing communication through sign language to the fore.

Sign language consists of combined signs, which are primarily formed by the hands, in connection with facial expressions and mouth movements (silently spoken words or syllables) and in relation to the respective posture. An independent, visually perceivable natural language is called a sign language. In contrast to artificial languages (e.g. programming languages), natural languages use gestures, facial expressions and tone of voice or speech melody for the modulation of communication. Particularly deaf and hard of hearing people use sign language as a means of communication. It is part of the group of minority languages.

One can also say that sign language is a complex, dense choreographic system, within which signs and intensities circulate, thus appearing as dynamic, reflexive conditions. A system like this, sign language opens up different possibilities of accessing it – depending on what the expectations are: whether this be the desire to get clear information from this system or rather examples of the correlations and connections stored within.

Dream, hope and concept

With Zeichensturm, Matsune, the brilliant performers and the artistic team have not only succeeded in bringing out these two aspects. As a cross-generational group of deaf and speaking people, they have furthermore also given a voice to an impressive diversity. Since this community included people of different skin colour – without raising issue like nationality or enthnicity – one cold speak of “multiculturalism” in the best sense of the word, or simply of the inclusion of an essential, contemporary phenomenon which is rarely accomodated so naturally in performances.

In a constant back and forth between signs as written language, as gestures, as sound and as spoken language, different well-known media formats are presented. Three video screens, suspended from the top third of the stage, serve as translation surfaces: So when, for example, at the beginning of the piece the performers show terms like "dream", "hope", "concept", "regret" and "tears" in sign language, written “subtitles” appear on the monitors. By dividing the language into different word groups, such as nouns, names or terms for different dishes, the spectators are introduced to the system of sign language. Switching between live performance and recordings of experience reports, news reports (in the style of the Vienna-based internet channel for the deaf, "signtime TV "), interpretations of pop songs, dancing in front of and with others, listening to and making music as well as a talk show, Matsune manages to bring different systems simultaneously to the stage. Pop culture is used here to playfully deal with differences and to subvert possible prejudices (against deaf people, but also against women, men, black Africans, Asians or Austrians).

The choreographer uses signs as body language, as inherent, performative material which he connects to systems of perception, in a subtle way educating the audience about the subject matter. In small and big stories from everyday life, the fact that deafness was, and still is, often wrongly associated with mental disability comes up for discussion. We hear about the experiences of older deaf people during the NS regime, but also about the wrong assumption that deaf people cannot dance because they allegedly don’t perceive music. The pop songs (including Michael Jackson: "Black or White", or Sha: "Scheiß Scheiß Baby ") in Zeichensturm are partly played at full volume and with heavy bass, demonstrating that it is also possible to perceive music through vibrations.

Zeichensturm is light and entertaining, neither cynical nor sentimental. It is a smart and very considerate work. The evening gives the audience, which incidentally was just as diverse as the group of performers, insights without exposing them. You see the others, you see yourself. And know that you are part of this story, and know of the validity claim (which, according to Habermas, is the basis of every speech act) that permeates this story. Namely, that different existences and their condition and demands are valid, and that this validity must be considered. Because diversity is the actual majority of our society.


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Published in corpusweb on 22 February 2011
Translated from German by Martina Gimplinger