Aline Derderian: ‘Defining My Roots Is Both Simple and Difficult’

My Armenian heritage has a major impact on what I guess can be defined as my artistic aesthetic. It started quite early on at Central Saint Martins, while creating “L’antigonie” and sort of increased since. I am yet not entirely sure whether my social and cultural concerns influenced that fact but it definitely became conscious while studying at Trinity Laban where Tony Thatcher, my research supervisor, subtly made me realize how present it was in what I was saying, the way I looked, my influences and what I was choreographically experimenting with at the time.

Your choreographic tribute to “The Prophetess by Anna Halprin,” the recently-deceased American postmodern choreographer, is entitled “Hayastan Dancer. But we hear an Armenian song at the end, while most of the choreography reminds one of the movements of whirling dervishes. So where is Hayastan?

This tribute to Anna Halprin was made while looking at how can a dance heritage be celebrated without visual traces of the original work. “The Prophetess” is one of Halprin’s first solos she created in 1947 on a music by Alan Hovhaness, “Mihr” (Ancient Armenian Fire God). It only has a few pictures and a 30-second footage shown in Ruedi Gerber’s biopic “Breath Made Visible” as visual documentation. These resources actually show her performing a whirling Sufi dance that encapsulates her wish to connect the sacred and the earth through movement. Also this particular technic resonates in me, and my dance in many ways.  Halprin explained on numerous occasions how spirituality was at the core of her practice and how the memories of watching her grandfather at the synagogue inspired her to become a dancer. My tribute was performed with a particular interview she gave about faith, what it meant to her and how this intertwined with her art as a soundscape mixed with Hovhaness’s piano. I gave it the title “Hayastan Dancer” for that; the solo concluded a bigger project that was “Karmir Arév (Or the sun reddens at night)” and that had to do with Armenianness and identity quest. I wanted to make clear that it was not a trial to recreate a piece I missed fragments of, but a result of what I have imagined could be the content of that solo filled with my own imagery, references and beliefs.

Last year you organized a digital colloquium entitled “Dancing Beyond Memories: Armenian Women, Cultural Heritage and Corporeality (South Caucasian approaches creative practices).” How did it go?

The colloquium was a very long process. It was intended to take place at the University of Chicago Center in Paris who supported my project, mixing performances, film screening and research communications. The sanitary crisis made us decide to go for a digital format that eventually gave us the opportunity to gather panelists from Armenian heritage or with an interest in Armenianness across six different time zones. This would have otherwise been impossible. I was so moved by the quality and generosity of the artists, scholars as well as the coordinating team. This event gave us the chance to reflect on the differences and similarities between diasporic and extra-western artistic problematics whilst celebrating Armenian historical, literary, artistic references that inspired some of our works. I was and still am very much attached to the fact that this colloquium could be the starting point for a female collective bridging choreographers, dancers, artists and theorists around the topics of South Caucasian heritage, corporeality and the different ways these parameters can be addressed through visual and performing arts.

Becoming a dancer and musician  is often a family tradition. Does this apply to you?

Absolutely not. None of my parents, grandparents or siblings has anything to do with an artistic field. It is going to sound tacky, though I strongly believe that this has forced me to work as hard as I could to fight for my dreams. For example, I understood very early on that I was going to have to move from Marseilles after my A-levels if I wanted to open up professional perspectives, as the city did not offer much opportunities culturally speaking back in the days.  I also was very lucky to cross path with amazingly inspiring lecturers and course leaders when I moved to London, and these people became a sort of artistic family whom I am still in touch with and that I can reach out to whenever I need advice or expertise.

You once wrote: “I now believe in the idea that we as people cannot contrive our true essence or fragility: they are both things you cannot learn: the roots.” Please tell us about your roots.

I was born in Aubagne (southern France) to an Armenian father and a French mother. I have always been very attached to the Armenian side of my family spread across France, Armenia and California. France to me is very much connected to childhood. Defining my roots is both simple and difficult since I believe that the family you belong to and the one you choose are key to whatever you decide to undertake and the choices you make. When my grandfather Kevork passed away 10 years ago, I felt he left me without knowing everything I should and this sort of created my wish to deepen up my understanding of Armenianness. On the other hand, spending 10 years of my life in the United Kingdom had most definitely influenced me in numerous ways either artistically, culturally and as a mixed-heritage woman.

Always being inspired by your Armenian heritage, I think it is time to initiate a project in Armenia, where we have a proper soil for innovative choreography.

I actually did in October 2015, on the occasion of the Yerevan Performing High Fest. We were performing “L’antigonie” with Consensus at the National Chamber State Theatre. I got to spend several weeks in the city and this only made me want to come back as soon as possible and create site specific work. It also was the idea behind the wish to connect with Armenian artists and scholars while curating Dancing Beyond Memories colloquium last year. I digitally met Hasmik Tangyan who played an essential role in introducing me to other choreographers and I am forever thankful we managed to make this happen despite the sanitary situation. So I would most definitely love to initiate a creative project in Armenia and everything seems to point in that direction for the next two coming years, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.