Between created world and reality - We close the year 2022 with a new premiere! 

The Central European Dance Theatre closes the year with the latest performance of its K-Arcok series. This exceptional professional initiative has so far produced eight successful productions, in which the solo genre transforms the joint work of two creative entities into a single caricature or portrait. We talked to the choreographer of the piece, Erika Vasas, about the upcoming premiere.

"For me, the most important thing is relevance, that everything happens here and now, and that it is always true for me."

On 7 December at the Bethlen Téri Theatre, you can see the already talkative, ONLife The presentation. What inspired the concept of the play, the idea of exploring the virtual and the real world? Did it come from your own experiences?

Basically, it was the actuality of the world dynamics that inspired me. This is not my personal story or my personal involvement. In performance, virtual space is a platform where people can distort reality. That's what got me interested, in this process of distortion, where is the moment when one feels the difference between what is communicated and what is actually happening. Is there even a difference between the two? Of course I don't want to stereotype. The line of interest is between the frill-free reality and the corrected, cosmeticised, outward-looking image that has emerged as a result of social pressures and trends in the way the present day works.

I didn't want this piece to be about the internet. This is very important. We have chosen the virtual space because it is a "nice" way to show this two-faced phenomenon - otherwise the platform can be anything. There is a face that is shown outwards, the question is when the moment comes when we lose control of it. But, there is also the alternative that one is aware of this phenomenon all along, that one's life is played out on two stages. This also comes up in the play, when we want to keep ourselves in an artificial situation, to keep ourselves looking and acting, because this fictional world is more comfortable because of its immaculacy. And the conflict really lies in the collision, when the two worlds are unmistakably at odds, and the carefully constructed house of cards collapses.

The performer of the piece is Lídia Sinka. Are we seeing her on stage as herself, or is she the personification of several characters? In the description of the play there is also mention of an online persona as a threatening force.

Very good question. I don't think it's necessarily the job of art to tell his or my personal stories, although it certainly draws on them. I was very interested in what Lydia thought about this subject, I didn't want to impose my own. There was a concept that we started from, but I mostly built from her point of view, from her character. I experienced this process as a partner, and we were able to work together very well from the first moment.

How to comment on the ONLife the trends in today's society?

No commentary is a very important feature of the piece. Humour is a very important element of the play, when you can smile. But it is not about parody, caricature or stereotypes. That is far from me. I am more interested in being able to go to extremes, showing character and contrasts of situations. The play is more about raising questions and offering freedom of association.

Was it different for you to do a performance for Lydia than if you had done it yourself?

Absolutely. And I have to thank you for inviting me, because this will be a life-changing and defining experience for me. You gain a lot of experience in your career and you often get instructions from the creators that you only really understand when you have to pass on a feeling or an idea to another person. When I create a solo for myself, these processes have already taken place within me. Now I'm inspired to keep an openness towards each other, where we can both add our personalities to each other and to the piece.

Can the virtual self and the real self live side by side in harmony, or is it more of a constant "battle"?

That is what the presentation asks, and that is what I ask. We are towards the end of the rehearsal process, the premiere is approaching, but even now the face of the play, its energy, its structure, is changing day by day. It's hard to predict now what it will stir in the audience when it comes together as a whole. But I hope we will reach a state where the viewer can connect.

What do you think the audience takes away from the performance?

I really believe that when we go to the theatre, read a book or listen to music, we do it to meet ourselves. I'm interested in having an opinion on that. But there is another side to it. People who live a digital existence are under a lot of attack. But you don't need to be an influencer to do that. It's enough to post about yourself on a daily basis on a particular platform. There is a great deal of controversy and a very extreme social perception of this phenomenon. That is why the piece does not necessarily seek to answer all the questions that arise. Instead, it shows possible alternatives through the story of one man.

Do you think that during the creation process you find answers to the questions you had at the beginning? Or have you already got them?

It is more of a perspective. There is no exact answer. What is important is that there is an idea that we put on stage performance after performance. With the energies that are constantly being valued during the creation. Alongside it, I consider the energies of the audience to be essential, because Lydia will respond to that, even if they don't know her personally. That's why the most important thing for me is actuality, that everything happens here and now, and that it always has truth for me. Whether on the level of dance art or on the level of content.

The interview was conducted by Kristóf Farkas.

The performance can be seen on 7 December at 19.00 at the Bethlen Téri Theatre