Darlane Litaay is a performer, choreographer, dancer, and dance producer. Drawing strength from West Papuan traditions and physical expression to ride the hybrid witch, that friendly magical phenomena of life.
Morning Star Dark Valley Concept: Shifting perceptions of human voices and dances from Papua” is the starting point of Darlane Litaay’s new creation. Traditionally in Papua, voice and movement always happen together, singing and dancing cannot be separated. In this work Darlane proposes to experience traditional papuan songs and dances as deconstructed entities, pointing at the intrinsic interconnectedness between the two as different forms of vibrations.
The movement language of this new work is based on traditional Papuan songs and dances characterised by intensive shaking and vibrating movements. We experience these Papuan forms from distinctive and different perspectives, challenging exotic and orientalist stereotypes that persist of Papua. Vibration thus becomes the material for questioning our connection to the other, to ourselves and to our environment. Europalia Indonesia invites Darlane Litaay to create this new work partly in residence in Europe.
Residency Statement “A residency in Europe is important in my development as an individual young artist from Papua. I would like to articulate further my creation process in the context of a European culture that is very different from my Papuan environment. I am eager to experience and to know more about contemporary art practice in Europe, dance as well as other disciplines.
I wish I could collaborate with a visual artist or architect to create an performance installation for this work. It would also be great to collaborate with a European electronic artist.” (Darlane Litaay)
