MEHMET SANDER

What has happened since we last met?
Many good things have happened but most importantly, I have been greatly honored by exhibiting my works as part of the Malevich Retrospective Exhibition at Tate Modern which is the most visited museum on the planet. There was tremendous contribution by the exhibition curator. They reserved the top floor of Tate Modern for me. All of the tickets were sold-out. “Sold out!”

I have seen the video of the workshop you made at Tate. It is impossible not to be affected by the dynamic and fiction you created. There are physical reactions! Since it is so strong. Ones that fall, collide and then moving on like nothing happened… How can one reach that state psychologically?
The dancers are all living objects. But, thank you for using that word. Psychological! Since my previous work was too physical, people were always talking about them. I assign numbers to every participant while working and let’s say you are my student and you are number 25. At the moment of impact, if you say “my breasts hurt”, I will say “Number 25, you are a living object, a line in space.”

Are they convinced when they hear this?
Being informed by the video, people know what kind of work they got in. I am a Darwinist. Natural selection is true. Only the strong survives. The survival instinct. I am open to anyone who wants to push and improve themselves physically, emotionally, mentally. There is no need to be a dancer. Everyone above 18 is welcome. There is no upper age limit. I restrict the number of participants with 20 people; I don’t want it to be more crowded.

So… The video you shared becomes a filter.
Yes, this is what I meant by saying natural selection. When I put “Single Space”- my main solo - on, people understand that it is a physical performance. What made me happy at Tate was that the participants from various jobs: Two nurses, a medical officer and a 73 year-old physiotherapist…  Where the notion of dancer disappears.

What are your rules? 
I have strict rules. For example, I do not allow using names.

Your reason?
When there are no names, what is left behind is “self”. I assign people numbers instead of names and it goes like this for the next 5 hours. The odd and even numbers, all do different things. It is actually a mathematical procedure.

Anything else?
Always comparing yourself with someone or something. This is unfortunately a disease that all humans suffer from. It might sound too naïve but, think of yourself on a prairie, violets do not try to look like daisies or grass does not try to take on trees; only we the humans are doing these. I am 1.70m tall. Number eight 1.75m, number eleven 2m etc. We have to embrace that fact until the day we die. That is why I say “give me one percent but make it completely from you”.

You wrote your dance manifesto at the age of 23…
Yes. I created a manifesto based on what I learned. I am a pragmatist. I was aware that I accumulate on every step I took. For instance, I do not like musicals but it would be a benefit to be part of it and get the technique. Although I didn’t like, I was taking jazz dance courses at the university. Who wants to excel in something, must do his homework. 

Since you wrote a manifesto, I am curious about your definition of dancing…
To put it briefly, it means space, time and motion.

Well, are you a choreographer?
I couldn’t say that for myself, I am not. As I said, I simplified the dance. I took out the extras. The exact translation of “choreographer” is writing moves in Greek. How bad it is, isn’t it? It is just another thing stuck on the dance, another ecole. So, I have created my own title. I call myself “The Action Architect”. Action is; laws of physics, the space in architecture. I feel myself more honest. Integrity and honesty are important for me. These are present in all of my work.

Another thing is, you do not associate music with dancing…
Yes. I think music is one of the greatest enemies of dancing. I have to ask you a couple of questions to explain: Have you ever been to a painting gallery? Were there any dancers running or dancing inside? Were there any performing musicians? No. You’ve been to a concert, were there any paintings on the wall? No, there weren’t. I realized that at the age of 23. All the art branches stand out on their own. Unfortunately, dancing always required support. From the music, the costumes, the decors… etc. You go to a modern dance performance, there should always be the music, right? So, I took them out from the dance one by one, omitted them. At the end, only the space and the figures were left.

Do you have any criteria on the auditions?
I use duct tape. I shape my own space when there isn’t any. You create your stage on the stage. Yet, there is always a set construction at festivals. We did the same thing with “Single Space” and then we did it at the summit of The Alps. Why do people perform on the theater stage? It is more affordable. When the performances are staged outside, they cost more; you must rent the lighting etc. but my desire is to perform outside.

During the performance, does the contact with audience concern you?  
Since it happens so fast, I do not have the time to notice the audience. Audience is not a criterion but they buy tickets, leave you a percentage thus it means earning. (I am saying half joke half truth) My biggest ambition is to take that form of art further.

So, who is the person that makes the last decision about the performances?
I always make the last decision. Yet, there are some important people whose ideas I respect and consult their opinions. For example, J.F Slater, who performed at Merce Cunningham for almost 20 years is very important. He trained me!

From which part of your soul your challenge about dancing and going beyond the ordinary pop out?
I call myself a challenger. It’s in my nature.

Is that valid for the animal rights, too?
Yes. Animal rights is the problem that overrules the others for me but the issues never end.

Who are your inspirers?
I should make a sub paragraph here. I have never been inspired by a choreographer, a dancer or a dance peace. There are 4 four names that inspired me: Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Mondrian and Kazimir Malevich

Do you have any work in Turkey?
There have been many and there is an upcoming one. I go where I get a reasonable offer. I got one from United Kingdom, so I went there. Now I received a nice offer from Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts with the initiative of Tuğce Tuna. What I like most is giving seminars and teaching courses. Courses are going to be at Mimar Sinan University on November 28-29-30. At the same dates, I will also be giving a conference speech about my life. After the courses, we are going to perform with the remaining participants “Action/Life”, one of my works, in spring at Mimar Sinan University.

You don’t believe in the auditions, do you?
Auditions are the least democratic way to choose. An hour might not be enough to select someone for our team. Maybe that 1 hour was not their finest hour or they were overexcited. Couldn’t it be? Isn’t that unfair?

You are so kind hearted.
Besides it is a realistic approach. Some quit attending.  Isn’t that a more natural selection?

What is important to cooperate?
Being fearless as a person is important. I can be a good teacher but I cannot teach being fearless to someone. I cannot say to someone “you have to like taking risks”.

Pushing yourself to the limit with great discipline… It’s not something everyone can do. How much do you think that you pushed yourself to the limit?
I would say 80%

You are not dancing physically any more. How does it feel?
Previously I had to record everything because I was in it too. What I like now is that I can observe and watch the performance from different perspectives. You don’t miss anything while standing in front of it and that makes me so happy.

What do you see when you look at it, then?
I can fix it more easily.