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Lightning Dance

Cecilia Bengolea

àngels ​barcelona​, Barcelona

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Title
Lightning Dance
Gallery
àngels ​barcelona​, Barcelona
Year
2018
Duration
6 min 3 s
Format & Technical

B/W video

"Lightning Dance" investigates the influence of electric weather on bodily imagination.

It features several young Jamaicans who, in company of the artist, perform solo and group dance routines while heavy rain falls. As the dancers take center stage, their movements refer to popular Jamaican Dancehall, a highly sexualized dance style, which Cecilia Bengolea sees as infused with magical healing powers. The unapologetically rough setting of the piece in combination with its illuminating effect —reinforced by the black-and-white aesthetics—highlight the dynamic gestures of the performers captivating the gaze of the viewer, whilst the sounds of thunderstorm become the beats to which the choreography is synched. The only trace left of Dancehall music is the low-frequency base in the background, amplified by the intensity of the choreography. By dissolving the boundaries between the nature and the human Lightning Dance captivates the viewer to the point of channelling life through movement and light.

Stills

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Cecilia Bengolea

Artist, Participant

1979, Buenos Aires

Cecilia Bengolea

Cecilia Bengolea (Buenos Aires, 1979), works on a range of media including performance, video and sculpture. Using dance as a tool and a medium for radical empathy and emotional exchange. Infused with the symbolic energies found within nature and relationships, her compositions are formed around ideas of the body – both individually and collectively – as a medium. Bengolea develops a broad artistry where she sees movement, dance and performance as animated sculpture.

Bengolea has collaborated with dancehall artists such as Craig Black Eagle, Bombom DHQ, Damion BG, and with artists Dominique Gonzalez Forster and Jeremy Deller. Her collaborative work with French choreographer François Chaignaud, Pâquerette (2005-2008) and Sylphides (2009), have earned several awards such as the Award de la Critique de Paris in 2010 and the Young Artist Prize at the Gwangju Biennial in 2014. They have also co-created dance pieces for their dance company as well as for the Ballet de Lyon (2013), the Ballet de Lorraine (2014) and Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wuppertal.

Cecilia Bengolea’s work is a part of numerous public and private collections including TBA21 Accademy, Mire Fond Cantonal de La Ville de Geneve, The Vinyl Factory, Le CNAP, Le Consortium, Peter Handschin and Martin Hatebur, Fiorucci Arts and Trusts, Tank Shanghai, Fundacion Arco, Jimena Blazquez Bonte,  Fernando Arriola.