Anna Garafeeva works at the boundary of theater, dance, and poetry. She is developing her own genre, «the choreography of the unconscious, ” which brings together dance and psychoanalysis.
In her two most recent major works, Breath (with Dina Husein, 2020–2022; created for Brusfest and Territoriya in response to socio-economic changes immediately before and after the pandemic) and Rock Garden (June 2022, as part of the residency In Their Own Words at GES-2 House of Culture, Moscow), Anna discovered succinct physical metaphors in order to express the reaction to cataclysms through dance and movement.
«After the events of February 2022, I decided to move to France, and now I live between Moscow and Paris. Existing in a transitory, liminal space, which I have named «here and there» and «not here and not there, ” I am inventorizing my work. Like two-headed Janus, I am simultaneously looking to the past, to review what I did, and to the future, the features of which are still barely defined, ” says the artist. And, like many of the artists in the 42 series of meetings, she is seeking support in her own experience. «Turning my gaze back, I return to my dance roots, which are immersed in Japanese butoh dance. My dance is nourished by the connection with the earth, both literally and metaphorically. Looking to the future, I explore questions of living with my own corporeality at a time of global conflict. I want to construct the conversation/reflection at Garage on «the splits» between past and future.»
