Hidden Creators, Silent Authors

Abstract

To be interpreter and at the same time creator seems to be the rule in contemporary dance. It is expected of the dancer to contribute to the making of the piece in which he will appear. Similarly, the choreographer's assistant (also referred as rehearsal assistant) has an active role in the process of creating a dance piece. This paper proposes an analysis of a creative process in which the question of authorship emerges—in our point of view—as the main issue. The onomastic pieces of French choreographer Jérôme Bel will serve as the basis of our analysis, and especially the piece called Isabel Torres, in which the interpreter and the choreographer's assistant had a much more important role in the creation than the choreographer himself. Premiered in 2005, Isabel Torres was supposed to be a Brazilian version of Véronique Doisneau (created in 2004, for the Paris Opera). The creative work made by the dancer and the rehearsal assistant made of it more than a mere version: Isabel Torres is an autonomous piece—so autonomous that Bel offered it to both dancer and assistant, to present it wherever they wished. Who signs Isabel Torres? In which terms is it presented in programs? Do dancer and assistant consider themselves as authors? How does the choreographer deal with it? The absence of the choreographer, the people involved in it, and the kind of work developed in the creative process makes us question the notion of authorship in contemporary dance pieces.