The beauty of the gesture
As an artist-in-residence at the University of Montpellier, Leonardo Montecchia captures our everyday movements. An interview with a unique observer of the body in motion.
“I have a hard time with the word ‘choreographer,’” he warns. “I see myself more as a thinker of the body—a body in relation to its environment.”
This reluctance to be confined—even by a definition—is undoubtedly what made Leonardo Montecchia the eternal traveler who lived on three continents before the age of 30, roaming the streets of London, Buenos Aires, New York, and Paris. And more than just a dancer or a choreographer, he is a creator devoted to movement…
In Search of the Pointless Gesture
One day in 2001, Leonardo“ended up in Montpellier.” He’s still there, sometimes a little surprised that he hasn’t left yet. An artist-in-residence at the University of Montpellier until April, he has come to do what he loves: explore new paths in this“city within a city”with its 45,000 students and 4,500 staff members.
For several months, Leonardo and his performers will live among these inhabitants of the university world: rubbing shoulders with them, observing them. Studying them.“Questioning everyday gestures,” he explains, “those of students, teachers, researchers, and staff. Gestures of transmission, of work, but also of reflection, of impatience…”
What he comes to track down more specifically in lecture halls, labs, classrooms, and libraries is the useless gesture. A futility that he immediately places within the realm of life. Of the priceless.
In today’s hyper-productive society, what place is there for actions that “serve no purpose”? In the realm of learning, what space is there for the useless? Is it the space of inaction? Or of reflection?
A different perspective on her daily life
In the academic world, Leonardo is in his element. There, he brings his ongoing exploration of contemporary art that draws inspiration from everyday life and speaks to everyone. His quest for“another possible body: a body to be imagined. Art helps us see reality in a new light. To build a different world.”
A project particularly well-suited to a university setting:“This is where we shape the future! The university is, at its core, an artistic space: a place of learning and research, but also of questioning and raising awareness. It is a space for creation, deeply connected to the imagination.”
The artist-in-residence program will culminate in April with a performance open to all. A choreographed work featuring five performers and divided into several walking-tour segments, where students, staff, and visitors to the university will be led from place to place across multiple UM sites.“The artist residency invites everyone to take a fresh look at their daily lives. It should also allow the public to step into the heart of the university and discover it for what it is: a space open to the world and to society,” explains Marta Cases Bobadilla of the Art & Culture Department.