Despite the fact that many of the Covid-19 measures are still in force, Boston Gallacher, 2020 winner in the Dance category, has been working hard these past few months. “I’m lucky to be in one of those jobs which are able to go on as normal.”
NOTE: Because of Boston’s non-binary identity, Boston is referred to as they/their/them.
Because of the Covid-19 measures, the Piket Art Prizes awards ceremony in November of last year was somewhat out of the ordinary. But Boston, winner in the Dance category, thoroughly enjoyed it all. “It was a great solution. I had absolutely no idea of what was coming,” Boston says. Now, more than five months later, many of these measures are still part of our lives. “But I’m lucky to be in one of those jobs which are able to go on as normal. I still go to work every day, take class and rehearse every day. Regulations change all the time. I’ve been cast in a creation and we’re rehearsing in a bubble. Classes are smaller. We wear face masks in the corridors. And the office staff is not in the building, it’s just us dancers. They have been working from the home for a long time now and I think it’s increasingly difficult.”
As for the prize money, at the awards ceremony Boston mentioned they might have their teeth fixed. Did anything come of that? “Yes, I have braces now, and was able to pay for it!” They are candid about the vast amount of student debts they have been building up over the years. “I don’t think I will ever be able to make enough to catch up with that,” Boston says. “So when something like the Piket Art Prizes comes along, it allows you to breathe. I’m still extremely grateful.”
In December of last year Boston took part in the NDT I livestream I wonder where the dreams I don’t remember go, created by the French choreographer Yoann Bourgeois; in February of this year they could be seen in Shadow’s Whispers, performing in Baby don’t hurt me created by Marne and Imre van Opstal (Imre, incidentally, was nominated for the Piket Art Prize in the Dance category in 2014). Boston is currently engaged in another NDT film which is scheduled to be streamed in June. “We’ve been working on it for a long time, since the summer of last year actually,” Boston explains. Whereas many other performing artists are desperate to get back on stage, Boston thinks there are interesting creative sides to film and live stream, too. “It’s interesting and nice. It confronts me with the idea I have of myself as a live performer. It seems logical that when circumstances change, there is a change in routine. That’s a positive thing.”
In an earlier Piket interview, Boston mentioned that they would like to found an LGBTQIA dance company, enabling them to explore related issues in a respectful, relevant and inclusive manner. They are aware, however, that founding a company would immediately cast them as a leader. “I don’t see myself as a leader,” Boston says. “There is still so much to learn. I feel I have to live a bit more of my life in order to take this on. It’s something I’d like to build slowly.” They feel the same about being a choreographer – it’s still very much about learning and finding out. “I’m now taking a creative part working with others on a piece for the Origen Cultural Festival in Switzerland. I’m sure I’m going to learn a lot from that.” For this project, Boston is working with Mattia Papp, who was nominated for the Piket Art Prizes in the Painting category in 2017. “Mattia approached me about a project he is commissioning in October here in the Hague and I in turn am using one of his artworks as the set for my piece!”
Text: Anna Beerens
Photo: Janneke van Beek
