‘Alalazo’ from ἀλαλά is a force call of one and at the same time many voices entering a battle, screaming, cheering, resisting, giving birth to a moan of ecstatic joy. It is the voice that has to come out shamelessly, exceeding all the prejudices and muting processes it has undergone throughout history. It is the voice that convokes invoking. The female* voice in its most sentient edges explored as an exceeding force. A space of exploring other forms of listening and connection.
In ‘Alalazo’ I, Veza Fernández cast a bodily voice in visceral dialogue with the electronic landscape magic of the composer and producer Rana Farahani (aka Fauna) by dragging reverberation through space and climax until what touches palpitates within the you and me. My voice channels what this dialog brings to the surface of my skin. I become the product of such an encounter, stepping out of me, by bringing it all in. Did you know that listening is sounding what was not audible for the ear before? That the voice is a vehicle that dramatises the relation between the inner, the gut and the outer? Who decides what is in and out anyway. All are equally resonating surfaces: porous, translucent, hairy, dotted, sweated, sensitive like the skin. The instrument of the sentient voice.
In order for this to happen we need to come closer to each other. Before clicking play in order to see the video recording, think about how you can create proximity to the screen or to me. Maybe through using headphones or by softening your gaze, making breaks to look out of the window. Or maybe you need distance and you prefer to cook while you let the piece run by your side. Imagine it is a long video clip to revisit in different moments or you see it all at once. Watch it extremely alone or with your loved ones holding hands, searching for the frequency of goosebumps.
With thanks to outside eyes, mentors and ears: Lau Lukkarila, Jamila Johnson-Small, Raoni Muzho Saleh, Jule Flierl, Paula Montecinos Oliva, my peers and tutors from DAS Choreography.
With the support of Stadt Wien Kultur MA 7, Im_flieger, NadaLokal, YAA Young Artsupport Amsterdam, ACT OUT (initiated by IG Freie Theater, supported by BMEIA).
A co-production between brut Wien and Verein für Expressive Angelegenheiten.