The Cat Practice, a recurring performance, originated around 2012 and coincides with the rise of internet cat culture and a period when contemporary choreography sought inspiration beyond dance and theatre for novel production methods and alliances. Pettersson examines the potential for blending, accentuating, or playing with the feline characteristics inherent in humans, aiming to generate ruptures that give rise to new social dynamics. Cats can be described as time-hacking, pleasure-seeking, parkouring urban entities that exist close to humanity. They serve as companions, witnesses, or shadows to humans, existing as a social phenomenon and a body that is neither entirely human nor alien. This unique relationship fosters a distinctive curiosity and presence for the performer, as well as a reimagining of the gaze and the politics of attention, emphasising the power of the present moment not as an infinity but as a series of radical shifts in focus and intention.
Pontus Pettersson (b. 1983 in Oslo) is a Swedish visual artist and choreographer based in Stockholm, working at the intersection of contemporary dance, the expanded field of choreography and visual art. Pettersson’s unique style is always a mix of practices and genres, where text, sculptures and choreographic instructions are a part of the whole piece, creating what he likes to call ‘choreographic installations’, inviting both practitioners and audience to meet and gather around temporal and unique experiences. Applying movement into everything he does, his work goes from installation work and poetry to object making, cat practising and dancing.
Pontus has been a professional dancer since his graduation from The Danish National School of Performing Arts in 2007. He has had a diverse career working with renowned choreographers like Ohad Naharin and Deborah Hay. His recent work includes the choreographic installation Bodies of Water (2018) at Wanås Konst and his solo exhibition The Egg, the Cat and the Poem – Where the Surface Tears (2019) at Konsthall C. Throughout his career, Pontus has collaborated with other artists to better understand his work in a larger context and to promote inclusivity. Projects like The Poeticians (2015-2017), My Wild Flag (2017), and his latest workshop project Delta (2019) showcase his conceptual focus on hospitality as a choreographic principle for dance and art.
Performers:
Marius Gotbergas,
Viktorija Ambrazaitė,
Viktoras Fedorenko,
Elmyra Ragimova,
Aurelija Jakimavičiūtė,
Nikita Berezko,
Ugnė Lučauskaitė
Video by Vytautas Tinteris
Photos by Andrej Vasilenko
