Simone Forti: Huddle / Le Mouvement, Biel/Bienne

Simone Forti (b. 1935) is considered as one of the key figures of what is known as “post-modern”. She is known for a style of dancing that is based on basic everyday movements, such as children’s playground activities, and improvisation. Currently, her work is shown in a retrospective exhibition at Museum der Moderne in Salzburg. For the 12th Swiss Sculpture Exhibition, Le Mouvement, in Biel/Bienne, she presents her historic work Huddle (1961). In this piece, a group of dancers is made to form a closely-knit mass, hugging one another in a huddle. Members break off from the group, and climb over the mass. It’s a temporary, sculptural monument to working together.

Simone Forti: Huddle. Le Mouvement, 12th Swiss Sculpture Exhibition 2014, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Performance, August 30, 2014.

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Exhibition text:
The Italian-born, Los Angeles-based choreographer Simone Forti (b. 1935) is one of the key figures of what is known as “post-modern” and one of its most radical forms: improvisation. For Le Mouvement, she presents her historic work Huddle (1961). In this basic improvisational masterpiece piece, a group of dancers is made to form a closely-knit mass, hugging one another in a huddle, members taken turns breaking off from the group, and climbing over the mass, which supports him or her. As much about community as it as about the hard fact of the body (imagine a knee in your back), this performance enacts what it represents: a temporary, sculptural monument to working together.

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