Candela Capítan for '19762. Solos Y Conectados' / '19762. Alone and Connected.' Photography by Cesar Segarra. Courtesy of the Artist.
Candela Capítan is a dancer, choreographer and performance artist from the south of Spain. Born in the rural city of Cadiz, she and like many others born in the digital age have used social media as an extension of one’s self; an escape and a source of connection to what lies outside of their physical radius. She joins a new generation of artist-choreographers that emerged from Instagram and through the presence of the digital platform, she continues to construct her own theoretics to dance, merging technology, traditional theatre, performance and contemporary dance.
Her routines are daring, calling on the audience to question our preexisting understanding of performance and now, with the debut of her new performance 19762. Solo Y Conectados / 19762. Alone and Connected at Staatstheater Kassel, Candela Capítan speaks to SLEEK about the dynamics of the internet, finding her “family” and how “the system” controls us to be alone and connected.
'19762. Solos Y Conectados' / '19762. Alone and Connected' at Staatstheater Kassel. Photography by Corinna Rosteck. Courtesy of the Artist.
SLEEK: Your work often discusses the impacts of technology and despite the negative sides of social media, you’ve been able to build your work around it. It has even helped define your work. How do you see your relationship with it?
Candela Capitan: Social media is really important for my work because I’m from a super small city where nothing happens. So for me, I was able to live my life through social media and build my life on it. I think Instagram came out around 10 years ago and it became a place where I could post my work and find my ‘family.’ I think my work has and still is growing up with social media and that’s why a lot of what I talk about is surrounding this topic; the impacts of the internet on the contemporary society.
S: It sounds like it really is an extension of you, particularly, as you refer to your digital relationships as a family.
CC: We [the family] call ourselves the new La Movida Madrileña (a countercultural movement that emerged after the death of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco) because we’re building a ‘family’ that challenges the boundaries of not just contemporary dance, performance, art, but also the functions of society.
'19762. Solos Y Conectados' / '19762. Alone and Connected' at Staatstheater Kassel. Photography by Corinna Rosteck. Courtesy of the Artist.
S: I think you and other hybrid artists like Kiani del Valle are reshaping or actually, creating a new genre in dance. But I can imagine that “breaking the rules” can be upsetting for some. What’s been the general reaction for you?
CC: I love being a hybrid of choreographer, dancer, artist, and not closing the door on one. I think you can learn a lot from different areas and the places it takes you.
I worked a lot for fashion when I was younger because my sister is a photographer and because in dance there isn’t a lot of money, but a lot of people from the contemporary dance world have a problem with that. It’s caused a lot of trouble for me in the past because the dance world thinks their world shouldn’t mix with fashion. Likewise, the fashion world also doesn’t understand why I like to work more with the underground, but for me, I love to collaborate with different scenes. It brings new ideas.
S: That’s interesting that fashion is uncomfortable with the underground when so many of its inspirations come from various subcultures and your own choreography falls into a subcultural performance.
CC: I think all societies have their own rules and when you don’t abide by them, they’re unable to understand your vision — and this is also what my performance Alone and Connected is about.
Alone and Connected is set in a theatre but the piece follows a structure of performance from performance art but dramaturgy from traditional theatre and they are dancing so it’s to open up all the filters, to use every element you can to express exactly what you want.
'19762. Solos Y Conectados' / '19762. Alone and Connected' at Staatstheater Kassel. Photography by Corinna Rosteck. Courtesy of the Artist.
S: The technological themes of your performances take a physical place in your performances like the reiteration of your piece ‘The death at the club’ (2019) for Boiler Room. And again, in ‘19762. Alone and Connected,’ each dancer is connected to a “machine.” Can you tell us a bit more about the role of the machines?
CC: The bodies are connected to a super industrial machine, limiting your movement to a particular way, which creates a very distinctive, clear style of movement. The bodies can’t connect with each other but they are connected through the same system – the machine. So, in this system, you’re not alone but you’re controlled by it, the idea behind Alone and Connected.
When you see the performance, you’ll also see that that are other connections, there are many meanings behind the theme of connection. It makes you internally question what each movement means. Alone and Connected is related to the Covid time, speaking about our individuality during this time and the way we’re connected to the internet. We’ve become less about ‘community’ and more about ‘individuality.’
It’s exploring the goodness and badness in the world, the love of the machine and fighting the machine – it’s not to give a closing statement but to experience it as these changes are happening.
‘19762. SOLOS Y CONECTADOS’ is on at Staatstheater Kassel until 24 July.