As part of the Dance Insights Online series, 2020 Artist in Residence Johnny Autin curated a programme of artistic inspiration, offering audiences a unique insight into his creative influences and practice.
Dance Insights Online was a curated online programme of performances, discussions, events, provocations and creative resources. Each edition was available online for two weeks, inviting audiences to explore the ideas, processes and inspirations behind the work of different artists.
Johnny’s programme featured a selection of films and music that had inspired his artistic practice, alongside a presentation of Autin Dance Theatre’s A Posi+tive Life. Audiences also took part in a live Q&A with members of the cast and creative team, offering further insight into the making of the work.
The programme continued with an Instagram takeover, where Johnny shared his experiences of creating during lockdown, and concluded with a Facebook Live conversation between Johnny and independent artistic director Orit Azaz, exploring creativity, artistic practice and the wider dance sector.
about johnny autin
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Autin Dance Theatre
An established Dance Artist & Choreographer based in Birmingham (UK), working internationally as a performer and choreographer. I am the Creative Director of award-winning Autin Dance Theatre (est. 2013) a collaborative and project-based organisation producing engaging artistic performances that provide an extensive learning and participation programme. My choreographic process is always influenced by socio-political statements and engaged towards positive, empowering and inspiring messages to our audiences.
What will you be working on as part of your residency?
“I am interested in researching and developing an ambitious site-specific piece with a large puppet operated by 5 puppeteers and one dancer. The idea is to choreograph a larger–than–life ‘pas de deux’ and to choreograph this duet as if they were both real-life contemporary dancers.”
inspire
Johnny shares his most influential albums and inspiring films, all available to listen/watch online during quarantine.
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Kidd Pivot is an award-winning contemporary dance theatre company based in Vancouver, Canada. The company is led by its founder and artistic director, Crystal Pite.
Crystal Pite has choreographed over 50 works, many of which have been nominated for and won several awards. Currently, she is also an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells in London, an Associate Choreographer with Nederlands Dans Theatre, and an Associate Dance Artist of Canada’s National Arts Centre.
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Ólafur Arnalds is an Icelandic multi-instrumentalist and producer from Mosfellsbær, Iceland. He mixes strings and piano with loops and beats, a sound ranging from ambient/electronic to atmospheric pop. He is also the former drummer for hardcore / metal bands Fighting Shit, Celestine, and others.
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Trisha Brown’s Set and Reset, a collaboration with Robert Rauschenberg and Laurie Anderson had its US premiere as part of BAM’s inaugural Next Wave Festival in 1983. The piece marked a transitional moment in Brown’s career – creating more and large scale works for the proscenium stage. The seductively fluid quality of the movement in this Trisha Brown masterpiece, juxtaposed with the unpredictable geometric style has become the hallmark of Ms. Brown’s work. Performed to a driving score by Laurie Anderson, the exploration of visibility and invisibility is reflected in the translucent costumes and set by Robert Rauschenberg.
Choreographer and dancer Stephen Petronio—who performed in the world premiere of Set and Reset at BAM—reflects on the Trisha Brown Dance Company’s 50th anniversary with Aaron Mattocks, director of programming at the Joyce Theater.
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Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man’s World. The gay male world today is characterized by seductive beauty, artful creativity, flamboyant sexuality, and, encouragingly, unprecedented acceptability in society. Yet despite the progress of the recent past, gay men still find themselves asking, “Are we really better off?” The inevitable byproduct of growing up gay in a straight world continues to be the internalization of shame. Drawing on contemporary psychological research, the author’s own journey to be free of anger and of shame, as well as the stories of many of his friends and clients, The Velvet Rage outlines the three distinct stages to emotional well-being for gay men. The Velvet Rage is an empowering book that will influence the public discourse on gay culture, and positively change the lives of gay men who read it.
Alan Downs, Ph.D. is a coach, clinical psychologist and the bestselling author of seven books. His work is acclaimed internationally and has been published in over 27 languages. He is a sought-after conference speaker, workshop leader, and frequent media commentator on the psychology of gay men.
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Marina Abramović is a Serbian American performance artist, philanthropist and art filmmaker. Her work explores body art, endurance art and feminist art, the relationship between performer and audience, the limits of the body, and the possibilities of the mind. Being active for over four decades, Abramović refers to herself as the “grandmother of performance art”. She pioneered a new notion of identity by bringing in the participation of observers, focusing on “confronting pain, blood, and physical limits of the body”.
A documentary follows the Serbian performance artist as she prepares for a retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (2012)