Bis.N.S. (as usual)
by Mandafounis
Based on the encore (« Bis ») of Nina Simone’s concert at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1979, Ioannis Mandafounis creates a piece that intends to bridge the gap between the staged expression of an artist and their true personality that can come up in flickering moments of intimacy.
The piece will start as a traditional live performance, with a frontal address to the audience. Then, the dancers will manipulate some elements of the set, progressively revealing in front of the spectators’ eyes the wings of the stage, as if suddenly the theatre seats had been shifted to the side of the stage. The show will now continue on two levels, which will suggest a double dramaturgy.
In the foreground, the audience will watch the backstage life of the performers. They will rehearse their movements, correct themselves and have intimate dialogues as if nobody was watching them.
In the background, the « normal show » will continue as if nothing had happened, apart from a change of perspective (the new front of the stage being now stage right).
In her recording, one can clearly hear Nina Simone opening up to the audience, expressing some of her personal stories and inner wishes, before going back to the performance of her songs. In Bis.N.S (as usual) the use of the space, and the resultant game of perspectives and performative levels, is what mirrors the equivocal dichotomy between the inner and outer personality of the artist. It’s an invitation to see and feel through the voice of one of the greatest artists of our times the emotional world of the dancers.