Handwerk

‘Handwerk’ is an artwork by instruction, its stage a ballet-like studio, in which the horinzontal bar has been moved to its center and turned vertical into a pole for pole dancing. The following is an excerpt of a text by Ann Demeester:

«Bachzetsis indirectly explores this kind of phenomenon in the piece that you are currently experiencing: ‘Handwerk’ – an artwork by instruction. The Swiss-Greek choreographer analyses and deconstructs a pole-dancing session and turns it into a series of instructions. In order to achieve that, Bachzetsis does not use annotation systems and methods inherent to (modern) dance such as Laban but she employs strategies that were launched by the conceptual avant-garde.

Bachzetsis and her co-performer aim for conceptual cleanliness, technicality and avoid the grace of a ballerina and the raunchy posturings of a striptease queen. After the vernissage the ‘set’ or ‘stage’ is left empty and the viewer can solely read this very text, the legal contract that defines the exact nature of the piece (what does the artwork in fact consist of) and a series of ‘drawn’ directions of how to perform the pole-dance act as formulated by Bachzetsis.

The directions for physical action Bachzetsis gives are clear, straightforward and far from obscure. Through her drawings – which have no intention of being aesthetic but are purely functional – she limits the freedom of execution and tries to eliminate variation and the notion of chance. She tries to restrain the material realization of the piece as much as possible. The viewer basically looks at the ‘idea of a choreography’, a three-dimensional dance score. He or she sees an empty stage set and a set of instruction diagrams, all is ready for action but there is no calling for participation. The spectator is not invited to be interactive and perform but rather to look at the incompleteness of the whole and imagine. All seems to shout: Don’t do it.»