A German dance explores issues of free will and predetermination through visualizations of the relationship between physiology and the outer space.

We think we have free will and thereby have the freedom to respond accordingly to any situation handed to us. Reality has shown, however, that our free will is severely limited by external factors such as nature and socio-political situations beyond our control.

Today, so many people are fearful about the growing political turbulences around the world, with violence flourishing everywhere. Climate change has caused terrifying natural disasters and illnesses, and we are afraid because we are not capable of changing bigger-than-life external factors. Furthermore, is it true that we are basically machines who are at the mercy of our own physiological processes?

These issues come to mind after watching a dance called Der Bau (The Burrow), choreographed by German artists Isabelle Schad and Laurent Goldring, and performed solo by Schad on Sept. 29 and 30 at the Salihara cultural center in South Jakarta.

The dance was inspired by an eponymous unfinished novella by Franz Kafka. The story centers around an animal that stays inside a burrow made up of a complex system of tunnels that it created throughout its life — true to Kafkaesque themes of space and transformation. Its choreographers use the interaction between the human body and space as a metaphor for the agency and predetermination debate.

“We [wonder] how the inner processes of the body can be expressed in a performance, so that it can be made visible, while exploring its relations with the outer space,” Schad said, adding that she dances nude to achieve this artistic goal.

During the first phase of the dance, the audience can see her muscles spasm, showcasing the intricate details of her small tendons. Her whole body bows to adjust to the spasms, radiating a sense of pain that was almost palpable.

Here, she seems to suggest that human beings were at the mercy of our own bodily functions.

In the second phase of the performance, Schad starts to dance while holding a long piece of fabric, creating a unique sequence caused by inertia. Sometimes she pushes the piece of cloth forward and it gets blown off her face in response. Meanwhile, sounds of thunder and storms can be heard rumbling through the studio.

“The sound corresponds with Kafka’s character, who was always fearful. These overwhelming sounds are coming from several directions and you don’t know where they’re coming from; you don’t know what it is. Is it coming from the inside or the outside, or is it the enemy coming?” said Peter Böhm, who composed the music for the dance.

Schad said the dancer’s movements seek to symbolize a person’s struggle in the face of harsh social realities and, thereby, always expecting the enemy to come and attack unexpectedly. It becomes clear that “the enemy” here can be interpreted freely as either natural disasters or dangerous socio-political conflicts.

Let us take the worst possible scenario. Say you are suffering from an ailment while a terrible gale rages on outside. This is presented in the final phase of the dance, during which Schad curls up on the floor and covers her entire body with the cloth, forming what looks like a big ball before rolling around uncontrollably, while dreadful sounds from Böhm’s music continues to terrorize her and the audience.

You are invaded, both from the inside and the outside. Will you give up yet? The dance shows us that we do not have absolute free will over our destinies, but we can still negotiate our space and transform in response to adverse situations, and this is how we survive.

This idea of resilience seems to be evoked in all three parts of the dance in how the dancer moves accordingly in response to her own muscle spasms, how the dancer and the fabric she holds moves backward and forward in response to one another, and how the dancer rolls around practically being blindfolded while still managing not to hit a wall.

Therefore, the core component mediating the question of agency and predetermination here is our survival instinct. We survive each and every day of our lives, through good and tough times, by responding accordingly to our circumstances and negotiating our space.

We will continue to do so until our attempts become futile as we become overpowered by our internal and external “enemies,” and finally draw our last breath.

— Photos courtesy of Laurent Goldring

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