Helga Wretman
The Body’s Place In the ConfusionHelga Wretman makes body art. Born in Stockholm, Sweden, she’s lived in Berlin for several years. After earning a degree in contemporary dance at the Royal Swedish Ballet School, she now explores the free and creative sides of performance.Reiko Underwater: How did you begin your personal research in terms of performance?Helga Wretman: The fact that I was just a dancer and didn’t take part at all in the decision-making process really bored me. I was a performer on projects I didn’t feel very strongly about. So I initiated my own projects by beginning to experiment with video and performance. I still work with other people as a performer but, from here on in, I’ll only involve myself in projects I find exciting!It goes without saying that performance is a collaboration with the body. From my point of view, your way of working with your body has something extreme about it that I’d compare to the work of a contortionist. You’re able to play with every part of your body, to do whatever you want with it.I don’t really see myself as a contortionist. I’ve trained my body to the point that I’m able to do what I want with it. I love the realm of movement on several levels. I love working with movement in extreme situations because visually that can create a surreal sensation.Nudity also seems to play an important part in your work. Is there a political point of view behind all that or is it more instinctive?Nudity is a way of getting rid of any situation that clothing brings to the body. On stage, clothing always defines temporality and character. The nude body has a surprising quality to it, because it’s somehow erotic and because it’s something we don’t reveal to everyone in our daily lives. But I think a body clothed simply in underwear, for example, is much more sexual. The nude doesn’t need accessories and there’s nothing to hide. And that’s the best way to create a certain atmosphere.It seems to me that the body language in your work positions itself between circus act (the body’s place within confusion) and ballet (as physical beauty and perfection). Do you like to play with those two notions? And what does the circus mean to you?To me, the circus is about creating illusions and being able to do things that the audience can’t imagine are possible. Ballet is a form of circus in the sense that it produces what other people can’t do. The circus, as performance, doesn’t interest me that much. In the circus, I don’t think there’s any place for the confusion of the body. It’s about precision and perfect timing, just as ballet is. That’s what makes it fantastic. I don’t try to be beautiful when I perform and I sometimes use a language of movement that’s completely unbridled, but that doesn’t mean I lose control of what I’m doing.How do you work when you choreograph something like “A Network of Love,” which you collaborated on with Aids-3D and Donna Huanca*?That performance in particular was a kind of improvisation. Some things had to happen in a certain order and a certain atmosphere, but otherwise the movements were all improvised. I only work that way when I’m the only performer. Otherwise, yes, I work on the choreography with the help of other dancers. Each project has a process that’s a little different. That’s what’s motivating.You also worked with Peaches on the “Relax” music video. Could you talk a bit about that?Peaches and the director, Fubbi Katlsson, came to me with the concept of a mad scientist (Peaches) who is trying to create an army of perfect women and a kind of Frankenstein character who goes awry. Things turn bad and the monster kills her in the end. They contacted me, then Peaches and I worked on the choreography together. It all went very quickly. It was really a lot of fun to do.I’m very curious about your work as a stuntwoman in films. How did you get into that kind of work?I’m really a novice at stunt work and I like it a lot. Creating illusions and intense situations on film is really something. I work with the Buff Connection stunt crew in Berlin as a stunt double for children and small women. It’s really interesting and fun to be transformed into another person, who herself has been transformed. The idea came to me after I did a combat performance on stage that had some body stunts. So I thought it would be cool to do that in films. You can’t compare some of the things that happen on stage to what they do in the movies. It’s much more extensive and the situations are very different. I still have a lot to learn and I’m really throwing myself into it. I have to get in a place where I totally trust my crew. And one day, once I’ve done more training, I hope I can offer them a certain amount of security, too. The wildest thing I’ve done was doubling for a 5-year-old girl. I had to slip at the edge of a huge waterfall and get rescued. I was totally safe, thanks to the ropes and harnesses, but it was really an incredible experience.What projects do you have in the works?I’m choreographing a performance for Art Basel Miami, called G.S.M. (Global Short Message). The piece will be performed by the Miami Gay Men’s Choir and the 60 members of the Miami Roxy Theater Company. I’m staying in the wings on that one!(*) A performance at the Exit Art gallery in New York.
