Il progetto di Peter Mills, PETER, è un corpus articolato su un perno creativo che trasforma la produzione del sé in coreografia. Utilizza questo esercizio come punto di partenza critico per affrontare i più ampi fenomeni sociali, politici, filosofici e artistici che lo determinano.

Peter sta preparando un nuovo lavoro ed utilizzerà Raum come occasione in cui fare ricerca. PETER si ripromette qui di assumere un'autorità ma senza esprimerla, situandola tra punti di attenzione fluidi e privi di organizzazione gerarchica. In modo ironico, PETER utilizza il linguaggio e le convenzioni come medium di un moto continuo che lo porti a condensarsi in qualcos'altro. Intende dare vita ad una nuova lingua malleabile e dinamica, un transito che ci faccia superare il binomio incluso/escluso. Partendo da queste premesse, l’incontro con PETER -l’autore e l’opera-, avviene in uno spazio desacralizzato dove le esperienze dei singoli contribuiscono allo spostamento e alla ridefinizione del focus della performance. Una dinamica che intende offrire la possibilità di un respiro in più: la produzione del rumore inarticolato che l’espressione di disagio o di insicurezza rendono presenti come "vita nuda".

PETER, (6 minutes), ha debuttato nel retro-palco del Teatro dell'Opera di Stoccolma, come studio sullo sviamento dell'attenzione, muovendosi tra dimensione formale e informale in un flusso che mettesse in crisi la situazione. È questo spazio tra le due dimensioni che sarà esplorato nella residenza di Bologna per "decostruire l'esperienza della produzione di significato e della produzione culturale, così come nella cultura del mondo. PETER si apre alla specificità del luogo, del tempo, del pubblico e delle loro relazioni uniche, mettendo in dubbio la stessa esistenza di PETER".

PETER is a choreographer, a dance maker, a dance dance dance... maker, a dance, a dancer, a person, a bodies, a community, an activist, an anarchist, an artist, art, a child, a cleaner, a candidate, a biography, a list, a ex-, a non-ex-, a title, a name, a document, a history, a challenge, an author, a moment, a smart ass, an annoyance, a liar, not peter, alive, another, a promise, practice, problem, performance, place, position, parameter, predictable, pest, pretence, plan, pipe, pop, pfff...

PETER
coreografia/performance Peter Mills
collaborazione artistica Johan Sundén, Emin Durak
co
produzione Dance4 (UK), MDT (S), Xing/Raum (I), Tour de dance (S), Kunstvardo (UK)
residenza Raum 2017
col supporto di The Swedish Arts Grants Comittee

Peter is now preparing a new piece, that will be explored at Raum, for which he wishes that PETER, the title and author of the work, promises an authority but does not deliver, as the work moves between points of relevance and attention not allowing or promoting any one attribute as more important. In an almost ironic fashion PETER and its material use language, convention, and hierarchy as a means to keep moving and eventually gather around something else. Could the promise of instability of meaning provide a language so malleable, so dynamic and shifting that it would not get stuck in the binary of included and excluded. Nothing would become religious nor sacred, the gathering would amass around individuals' experiences, enabling the shift and redefinition of the focus of the performance, together with others. Could such a dynamic provide the possibility for a slight gasp, a unarticulated noise or expression of discomfort or insecurity to become present and relevant as "bare life"? In the first step of the project, PETER, 6 minutes, which premiered behind the curtains of Stockholm's Opera House stage, Peter used distraction to re-choreograph the audiences' attention and gaze, challenging their production of value and assumed meaning. The orchestration of the attention moved the performative mode between formal and informal, putting the situation into question, into flux. It is this space in between which he's interested to explore in his Bologna residency.
"In uncanny expressions, gaps are created and filled, connections made in unexperienced ways." This is the mood in which Peter delves his guests. "Deconstructing the experience of meaning production, and cultural manufacture. Doubting convention with the experiencing of other voices, and cultures yet to be. Emphasising accessibility in difference, and specificity rather than generalisations. Juxtaposing the performance itself with conventional performance which is static and reproducible. PETER opens up for specificity of location, time, audiences and their unique relations, by doubting the very existence of PETER."

PETER is a choreographer, a dance maker, a dance dance dance... maker, a dance, a dancer, a person, a bodies, a community, an activist, an anarchist, an artist, art, a child, a cleaner, a candidate, a biography, a list, a ex-, a non-ex-, a title, a name, a document, a history, a challenge, an author, a moment, a smart ass, an annoyance, a liar, not peter, alive, another, a promise, practice, problem, performance, place, position, parameter, predictable, pest, pretence, plan, pipe, pop, pfff...

No longer do I understand this as a description of PETER. To remember, recollect aspects components and trajectories of the performance PETER. As PETER is the very thing which attempts to define and understand PETER therefore the word PETER bests informs PETER on PETER and PETER's limits, paths, modes, ecologies, lives, content, placement and lalala's as PETER the word can include all variations of inclusion and exclusion which may occur whilst PETER is, will be and has been. But more over PETER provides PETER with a framework by which to be consequent for PETER. Using the ongoing reformulating notion of PETER, PETER can break, challenge and destroy all illegitimate hierarchies of PETER. Removing anything which represses, exploits or excludes. In other words to create PETER as a process, practice, engagement, expression and understanding which is safe, caring, loving, nice, motivating, enjoyable, expressive, flexible and fun.