Simone Forti on Improvisation, Collaboration, and the Dance State

In a 2016 interview with Bryony Gillard and Louis Hartnoll, Simone Forti discusses her wide-ranging influences, from animal studies at the zoo to collaborations with composer Charlemagne Palestine. Forti reflects on returning to the 1971 work 'Illuminations' for her solo exhibition 'Here it Comes' at Vleeshal in Middelburg, noting that despite her Parkinson's diagnosis, the work remains intact. She describes her improvisational practice as rigorous research, akin to the dynamics of conversation. Forti also details the nonlinear chronology of her book 'Handbook in Motion' (1974), published by Kasper König for the Nova Scotia Series, and her approach to drawing as an expression of difficult emotions, including a series of frame rubbings shown at The Box. The interview, conducted on 2 April 2016, included participation from artist Sarah Boulton and Vleeshal director Roos Gortzak. Forti's contributions to postmodern dance are widely acknowledged, but her role in 1960s minimalism and conceptualism is often overlooked, though recent acquisitions by MoMA and a 2014 retrospective at Museum der Moderne, Salzburg have prompted reassessment.