The Question... Gregory Selinger on Body Slam

An Escape From Thinking... Nope

by Estelle Rosen

Gregory "Krypto" Selinger's physical feats and eclectic style have made him a staple of the breaking scene for over a decade. His explorations of the largely unexplored possibilities of bboy vocabulary continue with exponential velocity. In 2008, he was invited to Brussels by Wim Vandekybus to train and dance with Ultima Vez in research for a new creation, and lived in Los Angeles with breakdance legend Jacob ‘Kujo’ Lyons. He has performed in numerous Cirque du Soleil projects, and has shared stages with music artists such as The Roots, K-Os, and The Flaming Lips. In 2009, Gregory choreographed Still Milking the New Sacred Cow under the mentorship of Victor Quijada, Artistic Director of Rubberbandance, and presented at Place-des-Arts. Since 2009, he interpreted for Solid State Breakdance's Breakdance for Solo Cello, a unique fusion with Bach’s intimate Suites for Unaccompanied Cello, highlighting  beauty and fluidity of the breakdance body. His duet ‘Vague’, co-created with Gélymar Sanchez, won the Studio 303 Flexi-Prix in 2010. His solo creation A Piece of: My Heart (Breaking), has been critically acclaimed, and has been presented in Quebec, Ontario, Germany, and Mexico. In January 2011, The Montreal Mirror selected him for their annual Noisemakers edition, recommending that Montrealers follow this emerging artist. He is the founder of Body Slam, an interdisciplinary improvisation collective which began at the Montreal Fringe Festival in 2011. Body Slam won two Fringe awards, before going on to perform in the 2011 Les Escales Improbables festival.    

CHARPO: Your press release indicates Body Slam is an interdisciplinary exploration into  human nature. Tall order! Tell us how you go about making this happen, and how has it changed since its beginning in 2011?

SELINGER: Thanks for asking. For me, this idea of “exploring human nature” through performance, is one of the only reasons why I think that preparing a show is actually worthwhile. It takes so much time and effort to organize, promote, practice, and even just to show up and perform, that I really want to give and to gain something profound when I perform; I rarely feel satisfied by simply entertaining, these days. People often talk about dance as being so wonderful because it’s a kind of escape from thinking; I don’t really think that this is true. At least it’s not the whole truth.