SamyMolcho isoneof themost renownedmimeartists
of the20thcentury.Hehas
performedonstagesacross theworld. Thesedays, however, hespendshis timesharinghis
in-depthknowledgeof thescopeof expressionof thehumanbodywithabroadpublic.
trends inautomationmetwithSamyMolcho inViennaandgaineda fascinating insight into
theworldof body language.
About theperson
ProfessorSamyMolcho
SamyMolchowasborn in1936 inTelAviv, Israel.Hegraduated
fromdramaschool andstudied classic,modernandOriental
danceaswell as the techniqueofmime in Israel. In1957, he
gavehisfirst solomimeperformance.Hisfirst performance
inEuropewas in1961. From thenon, he trod theboardsof
someof themost famous theatres in theworlduntil his
farewell tour of 1987. In1977, hewasmadea college
professor and in2001auniversityprofessor at theUniversity
ofMusicandPerformingArtsat theMaxReinhardt Seminar in
Vienna, Austria (givenemeritusstatus in2004).
SamyMolchowasalready consideredan international expert
in thefieldofbody languageasearlyas the1980s. Inaddition
tohisworkasapersonal coach, hecontinues tohost
successful seminarsandgive talksacross theworld.He is the
best sellingauthor of several books that havebeen translated
intomanydifferent languages. At themoment he isworking
onanewbookon the topicof territorial behaviour. Samy
Molcho isanAustrian citizenand father of four sons.He lives
withhiswifeHaya inVienna.
Movement is life
Interview
trends inautomation:
Prof.Molcho, youhavestudied theatre,
danceand theart ofmime. Your first performance inEuropewas
in1961andsince thenyouhaveperformed inover 50 countries
on four continents.Thatalonesoundsquite literally likea life lived
inmovement.What doesmovementmean toyou?
SamyMolcho :
Forme,movement is life. Thatwhichdoesn’t
move, doesn’t live. Thatwhichdoesn’tmove, doesn’t react. That
whichdoesn’t react isnot connected to theoutsideworld; there
isno interaction. There isno lifewithoutmovement. Forme
personally, themost importantmovement is innermovement.We
areprimarilymovedby feelings. This is captured reallywell in
theword“emotion”.Here themovement ormotion isalready
contained in theword.Movementor restraint is triggeredby
feelings; this isalsonecessary for survival. Let’s just takehunger,
thirst and fear for example. This informationabout our feelings
movesus towardsasourceof nourishment or away fromaplace
of danger.
For decades, youperformedasamimeonstages
all around theworld.Whatwassospecial toyouabout
expression throughmovement?
Molcho:
Quitesimply: lifewithall itsdiversity. Yousuddenly
discover that there ismuchmore inyou thanyouactuallyuse.
In the theatre, youexpandyour ownperson. By that Imeanyou
put yourself intoanother character structure. For example, you
have to thinkabout howyour bodywould react inaspecific
situationwhich ithasneveractuallyexperienced. Ingeneral,of
course, all peoplehave thesameanatomical characteristics.
Whatmakesusdifferent, however, is thevocabularyof our own
physicalmovements. Theseare influenced, for instance, by
