Miscellaneous

The Teacher

Angélique Willkie

Angélique Willkie, you are performer, singer, dramaturge, pedagogue – and lecturer at Concordia University in Montreal. At Vienna’s ImpulsTanz festival, you will give two workshops, "Voice and movement" and "No Neutral Canvas: a personal dramaturgy". What do you understand by "personal dramaturgy"?
We talk about the dramaturgy of a performance as a process of meaning-making. But in contemporary performance, so much of that meaning relies on the performers and their contributions. And every performer comes into a process charged with lived experiences, histories, futures that inform their artistic input. This is the beginning of what I call a "personal dramaturgy".

You move in contemporary dance as well as in the field of circus. What is the fascination of this combination?
I’m actually a bad circus public! The physical exploit doesn’t really interest me so much. But as a dramaturg, I’m fascinated by the constraints in circus and how to make sense of them– the apparatus, the specificity of circus skills, the notion of failure … That’s where my real fascination lies.

How did you come into contact with circus in the first place?
By accident. I was sent to the circus school in Brussels by the unemployment service because artists always had to be looking for a permanent job and they hired me! I spent 8 years at ESAC (circus people will know it!) before moving to Montreal.

Does it feel different for you when you are on stage as a singer or as a dancer? What is the difference?
I’m really interested in a body that sounds and a voice that moves so I’m always trying to keep that agility alive. I have more training in dance than in voice so I have the impression that I can hide a bit more behind my dancing but singing leaves me totally exposed and I find that fascinating! I’m definitely happiest when I can actually feel my whole body informing my voice, even if I’m standing still behind a microphone!

In terms of art: what is of major importance in your workshops?
I think "authenticity". That’s a bit of a catch word but I’m really committed to being as sincere as I can be in what I propose, and to participants doing the same, whether they are amateurs or seasoned professionals. I think it’s also the best offering to creators and performers—how do we tap into that space that let’s us be our whole selves?

What would you like to convey to the participants?
That art is bigger than all of us. That it should bring us back to our humanity. Always.

Workshops in Vienna: "Voice & Movement," 13–17 July; "No Neutral Canvas: a personal dramaturgy," 20–24 July; www.impulstanz.com