The choreography of Máté Mészáros titled Mechanics of Distance took another form during the time of the pandemic. It started off as a plan B to be able to share the work while spaces are closed, gatherings are prohibited, while preserving the physical experience of arts. He developed a participative walk to enact nine stages of the choreography. The series of movements and constellations of the piece have been translated into nine pictograms, drawn by a Hungarian visual artist.

The participants can follow a route – on their own or together – and can recreate the movements, become dancers themselves, get familiar with the collaboration of moving bodies – thus stepping into a quasi-performative role from that of a viewer. While proceeding along the panes or using the booklet the participants get the chance to piece together the choreography of the performance into a whole, to have a physical sensation of the changing proximity of the bodies in the space – in this case in the street.

The participative, performative walk of Mechanics of Distance was realized in Budapest in June 2021 within the framework of PLACCC Festival. The participants joined the choreographer for a 60-minute walk in the streets pf Budapest The panes with the pictograms will remain on the walls of for viewers and participants on the long run. This allows the citizens and visitors of the given place to experience the route individually.

The walk can happen two different ways depending on the choice or possibility of the hosting presenter – either exhibiting the nine panes in the public space allowing passers-by to re-enact the choreography, or having one or several group walks led by the choreographer, Máté Mészáros, who explains the movements, enters into a game with the people either using the panes fixed on the walls or the booklet created for the project.

Choreography and concept: Máté MÉSZÁROS
Graphics: Balázs FISCHER
Booklet design: Anna KOROLOVSZKY
Producer: SÍN Art Centre
Co-production partner: PLACCC Festival