Emio Greco | Pieter C Scholten

Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten created their first collaborative work in 1995; the solo Bianco, which became the first part of the trilogy Fra Cervello e Movimento (Between brain and movement). In these early solos, Greco expressed a curious, searching body and gave the impression of being surprised by what happens to his own movements, at how his muscles tense and relax. Their thoughts were summarised in a manifesto with 7 dance principles, The Seven Necessities (1996), and its influence on the body and the viewer. In 1996 they founded the dance company Emio Greco | PC. In 2009 Greco and Scholten merged all their activities into the International Choreographic Arts Centre (ICK Dans Amsterdam).

For their internationally successful dance productions, Emio Greco | Pieter C. Scholten twice received the Zwaan Most Impressive Dance Production: for La Divina Commedia: HELL (2006) and ROCCO (2011). In 2021 they received a third, Gouden Zwaan, from the hands of Minister van Engelshoven, in appreciation of their great contribution to Dutch dance.

After the internationally successful dance productions Greco and Scholten made between 1996 and 2001, they expanded their boundaries with their dance company to opera, music and film. For the Edinburgh International Festival, they directed two operas, Orfeo ed Euridice and The Assassin Tree. In collaboration with Toneelgroep Amsterdam, they created the performance Teorema. Several interdisciplinary projects led to the production of a triptych inspired by Dante's La Divina Commedia: HELL (2006), [purgatorio] (2008), you PARA|DISO (2010). More recent work is Le Corps du Ballet (in 2011 for Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo and in 2013 for the Dutch National Ballet) and ROCCO (2011).

With the location project Addio alla Fine during the Holland Festival 2012, the series 'Het Lichaam in Opstand' (The Body in Revolt) was launched, a project that was continued with L'Etranger/One Man without a Cause (2013/14) andDe Soprano's (2014, in collaboration with Opera Zuid). The series was completed with Extremalism in the Holland Festival 2015 and Kindertotenlieder (2017).

Parallel to The Body in Revolt, a second motif developed: Le Corps du Ballet (The Body of Ballet): here another body emerges from the confrontation of Greco's and Scholten's intuitive movement vocabulary with the precision and virtuosity of classical ballet. This project has been created and redesigned for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo (2011), the Dutch National Ballet (2013) and Ballet National de Marseille (2015). More constructive confrontations with ballet followed in works created for the ensemble of Ballet National de Marseille: Momentum (2016) and Les Cygnes et les autres (The Swans and the Others) (2018).

In 2018-2019 they presented their diptych Appearance-Disappearance which led them to supplement the essay The Body in Revolt (2.0) with what they called Rücksichtslos Idealisme, ruthless idealism. Blasphemy Rhapsody (2021) and the performances We Want It All (2021) and Shameless (2020) mark the start of a new period in which Greco and Scholten uncompromisingly surrender to the 'mobility of life' as the overarching motif.

7 Necessities

1. Il faut que je vous dise que mon corps est curieux de tout et moi: je suis mon corps
It is necessary for me to tell you that my body is curious about everything and I am my body

2. Il faut que je vous dise que je ne suis pas seul
It is necessary for me to tell you that I am not alone

3. Il faut que je vous dise que je peux contrôler mon corps et en même temps jouer avec lui
It is necessary for me to tell you that I can control my body and play with it at the same time

4. Il faut que je vous dise que mon corps m’échappe
It is necessary for me to tell you that my body is escaping

5. Il faut que je vous dise que je peux multiplier mon corps
It is necessary for me to tell you that I can multiply my body

6. Il faut que je vous dise qu’il faut que vous tourniez la tête
It is necessary for me to tell you that you have to turn your head

7. Il faut que je vous dise que je vous abandonne et que je vous laisse ma statue
It is necessary for me to tell you that I am leaving you and I am giving you my statue

These postulates, written from a certain wonder and curiosity about the body, marked the first attempt by choreographers Greco and Scholten to capture dance in words. In the manifesto they laid the basis for a dance vocabulary that returns to the inner necessities of the dancing body. To this day, the manifesto and its underlying principles – the curiosity for the body and its inner motives – form the basis of new creations, research initiatives and transfer and education projects.

Body in revolt

To ICK, the body is a curious and ground breaking body and in particular a social body that is sensitive to social changes such as globalization, digitalization and disintegration. ICK takes the continual changes as its point of departure and employs the body as a window on the world. Via the theme of the body in revolt, the choreographers, dancers and researchers that are linked to ICK make new connections with each other, with themselves (own body) and with society (other bodies).

Spectacle | Body | Wonder

Greco and Scholten have provided an insight into which three factors are essential to ICK in an performance. They sort the reasoning behind their own performances by three elements: spectacle – body – wonder. They recognise these three elements also in the work of the choreographers invited to and supported by ICK.

1. Spectacle
Rhe agitation, disturbance of the peace, visual spectacle and tumult. It is the tear in the canvas, the turning point in the performance. It is the revolt. The stimulant for the brain.

2. Body
The frame of reference by which to attach meaning to dance. It is the overall term for an artistic research into all the possible meanings that a body can express.

3 Wonder
That which cannot be grasped; the revelation: 'you don't get it, but you feel that it fits'. The mystique. The pure beauty that manifests itself in an interspace.

Video: fra cervello e movimento Bianco

Bianco (1996) Fragment from ICKamsterdam on Vimeo.

Video: fra cervello e movimento Rosso

Fra cervello e movimento: Rosso 5/7, door ICK Amsterdam, Emio Greco | PC (regie en concept) / Erik Lint (video), is gelicenseerd onder Creative Commons – Naamsvermelding-Niet-commercieel-Geen Afgeleide werken.

Video: fra cervello e movimento extra dry

Extra Dry - trailer from ICKamsterdam on Vimeo.

Dance movie: FRA (2000)

Director: Erik Lint
Producer: Hans de Wolf, Hans de Weers
Co-producer: Henk van der Meulen
Scenario: Erik Lint
Camera: Wouter Suyderhoud
Mixage: Wim Selles
Montage: Erik Lint
Actor: Emio Greco, Bertha Bermudez
Production company: Egmond Film and Television
TV company: NTR

Video - Podium Dans NPO ( 2017 )

PD: 3. Emio Greco & Pieter C.Scholten from Beat the Dutch on Vimeo.

Farewell to end

Article written by Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten, based on the ideas of their performance 'Addio Alla Fine' : Farewell to end

Awards

2021 - Gouden Zwaan awarded in recognition of their great contribution to Dutch Dance

2012 - ROCCO awarded with a VSCD ‘Zwaan’ for most impressive dance production 2011-2012, Maastricht (NL)

2011 - Dioraphte Dance Price frong strong international positioning, for you PARA | DISO

2011 - you PARA | DISO nominated for VSCD ‘Zwaan’ Award for most impressive dance production 2010-2011, Maastricht (NL)

2007 - HELL awarded with a VSCD ‘Zwaan’ Award for most impressive dance production 2006-2007, Maastricht (NL)

2006 - HELL - Meilleur spectacle de danse 2006, Syndicat professionnel de la Critique de Théâtre, Musique et Danse, Paris

2004 - Double Points: One & Two - Time Out Live Award, London

2003 - Premio Danza & Danza, Italy

2002 - Extra Dry - Teatro del Mundo Prize, Argentina

2002 - Nijinsky Award Nomination, Monaco

2001 - Double Points series - Sonia Gaskell Prize, Amsterdam

2001 - Double Points: One & Two - Herald Angel Award, Edinburgh

1999 - Philip Morris Arts Prize, Amsterdam

INSPIRATION: THE MULTIPLICITY OF DANCE

The book 'Inspiration: Emio Greco and Pieter Scholten - The multiplicity of dance' was written on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the collaboration of Greco and Scholten and offers both an academic dissertation and a playfully designed outline of important performances of their work, from Bianco (1996) until Extremalism (2015). Furthermore, with reference to the specific approach by Greco and Scholten, the book also addresses the current research into technique, style and vocabulary; principles of choreography; notation; and repertoire building in contemporary dance.