A few months from his 70e anniversary, the dancer and choreographer Margie Gillis goes back on stage one last time for a long format. For more than an hour, the artist, who has 50 years of career, reveals himself in a body “filled with challenge, pain, but always pleasure” in this new solo, Old. A tribute to the beauty and wisdom that old age brings.
” OH YES ! asks Margie Gillis, more than enthusiastic, when she answers the question “At your age, do you still manage to have fun dancing?” “. Indeed, the 69-year-old artist is preparing in a few days to drive back the stage, solo, for four performances of nearly 70 minutes. “I had operations on my knees, they are fragile. Floor work is more complicated now, I get up more slowly and I can’t jump like before. When I was younger, I loved jumping against walls. Now it’s more risky. It’s different, yes, but the desire and the pleasure of movement are still there,” she says.
For 50 years, Margie Gillis has indeed never left the scene, here as internationally. She does not remember a few highlights, because she did “too many shows”, but each performance in front of the public. “Every time, whatever the show, the depth of existence that I can seek by being on stage and the connection created with the audience are the two things that have marked my entire career,” she says.
However, in its early days, Mme Gillis did not think of going on stage. “I found it unnecessary to reveal my movements and my body on stage. I thought people weren’t going to understand. And finally, I was surprised to see that it touched people. They are the ones who convinced me to continue,” she continues.
Through her experiences as a dancer and choreographer, Margie Gillis has become a mentor for many artists. A posture that took him several decades before completely embodying it. “When I was young, I thought that honesty required a lot of psychology, a lot of reflection, and that I could achieve it on myself, but not with others,” she says. Finally, I understood that I was able to help others to find for themselves the way to concretize postures, rituals. I knew how to transmit, to help others find their vision. For several years, she has also been delivering her way of creating, “completely new and unprecedented at [son] era”, and its pedagogy. “The world also wants to know my performance techniques, how to be intimate with an audience,” she adds.
For Margie Gillis, age is therefore far from being a problem. On the contrary, according to her, it is an “experience to live”. “I know it’s difficult, that the body, the energy, the health, the way of moving, of eating… everything changes! But we are nature, and I trust it and the cycle of life. I was looking forward to exploring the wisdom that awaits me, this new experience. Where to find beauty? Where is the joy in that? she asks herself.
stay curious
Margie Gillis sees aging as “a journey.” “You have to learn to play with the things of life. Growing up, getting old, is part of it. It’s important to keep a curiosity,” she says. Thus, for ten years, she observes herself, watches her body change, her habits evolve. And to keep track of her introspective research, she wrote about twenty chapters, the starting point of her research for her work. Old. “I was interested in the systems in the body, in the functioning of the brain, in energy, in fear, in envy, but also in connecting that to social problems… I worked on pain, how it can be an interesting quality, how to move with it, how to explore further. »
In addition, the choreographer talked a lot with friends of her own age, and sometimes older, to find out about their realities. “I worked a lot with Thomas Atum O’Kane, a spiritual master. In the morning he gave a lesson, in the afternoon I tried to put his ideas into motion. We were talking about experiential wisdom,” she recalls.
You have to learn to play with the things of life. Growing up, getting old, is part of it. It is important to keep a curiosity.
Choreographically, Margie Gillis has developed several specific sections, but she also leaves room for improvisation. “I change the choreography a little each time, to be authentic with the energy of the moment and also keep the curiosity alive,” she explains.
With Old, Margie Gillis wishes to share her thoughts on old age. “I hope that the viewer will find their own sensitivity, and for the youngest who will be there, I want to be honest, to show how this experience transforms me, how I live it,” she describes.
When asked how she feels about her last long performances on stage, Margie Gillis evokes a “combination of emotions”. “We will see what the future offers us. We contemporary dancers can find room if we want to continue, but I’ve been thinking about quitting for several years. Despite that, I still have ideas, inspiration, so we’ll see, she concludes. If there is a place for my proposals, so much the better. If not, maybe the trees in the forest will be my last audience. We’ll see. »