We asked Museum of Human Emotion’s choreographers to answer a few questions from a personal point of view.
Here are Aina Alegre’s answers.
. What is your favourite word in your mother tongue? Why? What does it mean?
ÀNIMA. Soul. This word comes from the Latin word spiritus, which derives from the verb “spirare” which is probably an onomatopoeia referring to the sound we make when we breathe. It also means “blowing,” “sighing,” and the ability to breathe. Related to the ability to breathe arises the “vital force”.
. Is there a word in your mother tongue that is untranslatable in English to describe a particular emotion that you would like to share?
Rauxa
is a catalan old word, which is difficult to translate… There are possible translations, such as: Sudden determination, capricious thinking, cramp, impulse.
But that’s not quite it, it’s an energy word that’s hard to describe. There is a mystery about this word.
. Could you share a memory of a time where you were overwhelmed by a particular emotion while dancing or in front of a dance piece? What happened?
I think over and over again of a piece in which there is rain throughout the show and the setting gradually crumbles under the force of the rain. There is a dancer alone on the stage, who walks around and does a series of actions in this space.
I remember very well a mixture of emotions as a spectator… I was overcome by a very strong feeling of melancholy.
. What puts you in motion these days?
Rhythm and space
. Can you describe your most memorable place and how you spend (or spent) your time in the place?
To be in front of the sea. Just watching and just listening.
Because it becomes easy to do nothing, to just be there, in presence.
. How would you describe the dance of the city you live in?
It is a hybrid dance, made up of several almost opposing gestures and physicalities.
It is very influenced by the different energies of the day world and the night world. It is shrill and electric.
MERCI!
aina
