I have worked with quite a few choreographers. Usually you start by going to the studio where dancers are already rehearsing the raw sketch of a new piece. After the rehearsal they all sit down together and a long discussion develops from which you understand nothing. The dancers leave. You, the choreographer, plus the dramaturg or partner have another long incomprehensible talk. After that you go home to your studio and try to come up with some ideas or structures for what you saw and experienced. You try to catch up with the process that has already began without you.

Kenzo Kusuda, works differently. We have collaborated on quite a few pieces, from “Muse on Screw”, “Hypnos and the Lococomotion”, “Invisitors’ Vista”, “Fever in my Shadow” to “Honey Crypto”. Not just the titles are mysterious and poetic. But we start from a soundworld. Kenzo usually comes in the evening and starts strumming on a guitar. We record Kumi playing violin in the shower, and by accident the neighbour starts drilling in the same pitch. He wants me to record things like a piece of paper floating through my studio. And we listen to field recordings of drums in Mexico City and cicadas in Spain. He wants me to filter and reverse sounds so they start to live a different life. I have to add a lot of echo to get a “golden” feeling. Never can it be digital or tight, the sounds have to live and breath. This goes on for many nights, and we start carving out a lot of drafts and structures that I burn on cd’s so Kenzo can listen to them at home. I am never sure if Kenzo really knows what he is looking for, but we go on a journey together and that is an exciting way of working for me. Below are a few excerpts of this collaboration.