The dance film Ascension is a cinematographic construction by a choreographer, Alain Michard, based on a work of choreography, Aatt enen tionon, by another choreographer—Boris Charmatz. The structure of the film is developed based on different periods of shooting in Belfort, Grenoble, and Montpellier, allowing us to see the vertical installation of the choreographic project both indoors and outdoors. For the opening sequences of the film, Alain Michard has also preserved the music of PJ Harvey, played as the audience was being seated, and turned off as the performance was about to start in order to make room for the sounds of bodies. Alain Michard further proposes vocal incursions—spoken deconstructions of the title, scattered throughout the film sequences—along with shots from angles normally inaccessible to the audience. The montage of the film is characterized by a distinct rhythm which offers a singular vision of this “triple solo”.
It is important to note that, as with any work of cinema, the conditions in which the object is viewed are essential to the appreciation of the work. Although the whole version is shown here, it is in small format, and should be viewed for research purposes only.
 

Source : Boris Charmatz

More information :
http://www.borischarmatz.org/

www.alainmichard.org/

Aatt enen tionon is among Boris Charmatz's foundational pieces addressing the conventions of representation and of the performative in the field of choreography. Created in 1996, the piece appears as a vertical analysis of dance, created for a three-level space, setting each of the dancers along a different line of vision. The angles of gaze multiply: the bodies are observed from below, from above, up close and from a distance. Nudity, paradoxically overexposed due to the white t-shirts worn as the only piece of clothing, challenges the audience's perception and problematizes the essence of its own presence: does nudity overexpose the dancing body or, on the contrary, render it illegible, encrypted by our reading of the intimate sphere which hierarchizes our gaze?   Luc Riolon's film offers a structured perspective on this trio, or “triple solo,” as a result of select angles and of the rhythm of the film shot during the performances at the Centre Pompidou, on the occasion of the 1996 Festival d'automne. The place creates a potent, concrete architectural dimension which is something to consider at each performance.

Source : Site de Boris Charmatz

More information :
http://www.borischarmatz.org/

Born on January 3rd 1973, in Chambéry, France

Dancer, choreographer, and director of  Terrain, Boris Charmatz subjects dance to formal constraints which  redraw the field of possibilities. The stage is a notepad where to draft  concentrated, organic concepts in order to observe the chemical  reactions, intensities, and tensions engendered by their encounter.

During 2009 - 2018 he is the director of Musée de la danse / Centre chorégraphique national de Rennes et de Bretagne.
He is the author of a series of landmark shows, from Aatt enen tionon (1996) to 10000 gestes  (2017), in addition to his activity as a performer and improviser (in  collaboration with Médéric Collignon, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, and  Tino Sehgal).
As an associate artist of the 2011 edition of the Avignon Theatre Festival, Boris Charmatz created enfant.  Performed at the Cour d’Honneur at the Palais des Papes, the piece  involved 26 children and 9 adult dancers. It was restaged at the  Volksbühne in 2018 with a group of Berlin children. Invited to the MoMA  in 2013, Boris Charmatz staged Musée de la danse: Three Collective Gestures,  a three-part program performed at the museum over the course of three  weeks. Following an invitation in 2012, Boris Charmatz was once again  hosted by Tate Modern in London in 2015, where he presented If Tate Modern was Musée de la danse? The show included alternate versions of the choreographic projects À bras-le-corps; Levée des conflits; manger; Roman Photo; expo zéro; and 20 Dancers for the XX Century. That same year, Boris Charmatz opened the dance season at the National Opera in Paris with 20 Dancers for the XX Century,  and invited 20 dancers from the Ballet to perform twentieth-century  solo parts in public spaces at the Palais Garnier. In May 2015 he  premieres Fous de danse, an invitation to live dance in all its  forms from noon until midnight. Further editions of this choreographic  assembly bringing together professional dancers and amateurs, take place  in Rennes in 2016 and 2018; Brest, Berlin and Paris (Festival  d’Automne) follow in 2017.
During 2017-2018 Boris Charmatz is associate artiste of Volksbühne Berlin where he presents danse de nuit  (2016), 10000 gestes (2017), A Dancer’s Day  (2017) and enfant (2018).

End of 2018 Boris Charmatz leaves Musée de la danse / Centre  chorégraphique national de Rennes et de Bretagne and for the occasion  creates La Ruée at Théâtre National de Bretagne, a collective performance inspired by the book Histoire mondiale de la France,  written under the direction of Patrick Boucheron.
In January 2019 he launches Terrain, association established in the  Region Hauts-de-France and in partnership with the phénix, scène  nationale of Valenciennes, Opéra de Lille and Maison de la Culture  d’Amiens. Boris Charmatz is also associate artist of Charleroi danse  (Belgium) for three years (2018-2021).
In the summer of 2019 Zürcher Theater Spektakel gives Boris Charmatz carte blanche to take over the festival site on the lake. terrain | Boris Charmatz : Un essai à ciel ouvert. Ein Tanzgrund für Zürich   becomes the first test of his project Terrain : a green choreographic  site without roof and walls, an architecture of bodies during three  weeks, every day and under the open sky, including public warm-ups,  workshops for children, amateur and professional dancers, performances  and a symposium.
In 2020, the Festival d’Automne à Paris proposes the Portrait Boris Charmatz with works from his repertoire and new projects : La Ruée  (2018), (sans titre)  (2000) by Tino Sehgal, La Fabrique (2020), Aatt enen tionon (1996), 20 danseurs pour le XXe siècle et plus encore  (2012, 2020), boléro 2 (1996) & étrangler le temps (2009) and 10000 gestes (2017). In this framework he creates La Ronde   for the closing event of Grand Palais, collective performance of 12  hours and subject of a film and a documentary for France Télévisions.
In June 21, he orchestrates the groupe performance Happening Tempête for the opening of Grand Palais Éphémère. In July, he opens the Manchester International Festival with Sea Change,  a dance piece with 150 amateurs and professional dancers. In November  he creates and interprets the entirely whistled solo SOMNOLE.
In September 2022, Boris Charmatz will be the new director of  Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, to launch, with Terrain, a new  project between France and Germany. Since August 2022, Boris Charmatz is  the new director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, to launch, with  Terrain, a new project between France and Germany. In September 2023, he  creates with Tanztheater Wuppertal Ensemble his new piece Liberté Cathédrale.

Charmatz is the author of several books, including Entretenir: à propos d’une danse contemporaine (Centre national de la danse / Les presses du reel, 2003), co-authored with Isabelle Launay; “Je suis une école” (Editions les Prairies Ordinaires, 2009), a work that retraces the adventure with Bocal; and Emails 2009–2010  (Les presses du réel, in partnership with the Musée de danse, 2013),  co-authored with Jérôme Bel. In 2017, MoMa New York as part of its  series Modern Dance, publishes the monography Boris Charmatz,  directed by Janevski and with contributions by Gilles Amalvi, Bojana  Cvejić, Tim Etchells, Adrian Heathfield, Catherine Wood...
His projects initiate various cinematographic realisations, among them Les Disparates  (2000), directed by César Vayssié ; Horace-Bénédict (2001), by Dimitri Chamblas et Aldo Lee ; Une lente introduction (2007) by Boris Charmatz et Aldo Lee ; Levée (2014) by Boris Charmatz et César Vayssié ; Daytime Movements (2016), by Boris Charmatz et Aernout Mik ; TANZGRUND (2021), by César Vayssié ; étrangler le temps (2021) by Boris Charmatz and Aldo Lee.

Source and more information: https://www.borischarmatz.org/

Alain Michard is a choreographer and visual artist. Starting with dance  as his ‘roots’, his work today involves leading a wide range of  different artistic projects, using a variety of artistic media (music,  film, photography, writing).
Alain Michard collaborates regularly with other artists. He also invites  local people and non-professionals to participate in the work he  creates.
 

A common thread in his work is the theme of wandering and journeys, and  the search for a community: BING, based on texts by Beckett, Parkinson  (2007-2013). Some pieces are designed for public spaces, and explore  perception, and the imaginary essence of towns and landscapes:  Promenades blanches (2006-2016), Se fondre (2012), Caravane, ...
Another important focus of his work is research on the notion of a  collective history of art, based on living memory and documents: École  ouverte, J’ai tout donné, Mon Histoire avec la danse, La carpe et le  lapin,...
 

His films include documentaries and fiction, some of which are based on  his relationship with dance (Ascension, Carton, Encore chaud ...).  Recently, he has made two fictional films: ON AIR in 2010, and  Clandestine (a feature length film) in 2014.
 

Alain Michard supports and produces other artists (Theo Kooijman,  Laurent Pichaud, Mickaël Phelippeau, Alice Gautier ...), in his role as  artistic director of different festivals, residencies and events, such  as À domicile in Guissény (2007-2009).
His role as producer allows him to support young artists at the  beginning of their careers. The passing on of knowledge is important for  him, and his pedagogical work is an integral part of, and articulates  with, his creative work, which is open to artists, students and  non-professionals.
 

His work has led him to a diversity of places and countries :
IN FRANCE : Paris (Théâtre de la Cité Internationale, Centre National de  la Danse, Labos d’Aubervilliers, Centre Pompidou, Grande Halle La  Villette, ...), Rennes (PHAKT, Biennale, Triangle, Musée de la danse),  Brest, Nantes (Théâtre Universitaire), Marseille (Théâtre du Merlan,  Marseille Objectif Danse), Bordeaux (TNT, Novart), Avignon (Hivernales),  Marne-la-Vallée (Ferme du Buisson), ...
ABROAD: Italy (Musée Pan-Naples, Osservatorio Nomade-Cursi), Japan  (Kyoto, Tokyo, Yokohama, Matsuyama), Canada (Escales  improbables-Montréal), Turkey (Istanbul, Eskisehir, Ankara), Portugal  (Fondation Serralves-Porto,), UK (Portsmouth), Germany (Berlin), Belgium  (Brussels, Antwerp), Switzerland (Geneva), Ireland (DTI-Dublin)…
 

As a performer he has worked principally for Odile Duboc, Marco  Berrettini, Boris Charmatz, Xavier Marchand (theatre) and Judith Cahen  (cinema).
He has collaborated on various different projects with other artists,  including: Nicolas Floc’h, Mathias Poisson, Jocelyn Cottencin, Stalker,  and choreographers Mustafa Kaplan, Loïc Touzé...
He has received awards from the Villa Kujoyama-Kyoto (2001) and the Villa Médicis Hors les murs-Istanbul (2009).

Source : Alain Michard

More information : 

www.alainmichard.org/

At the bounds of the museum, place of conservation, dance, art of  movement, and choreographic center, place of production and residence, le Musée de la danse is a space to think, practice and expand the boundaries of the dance. If it's registered in Rennes, it's also a nomadic idea. Directed by the choreographer Boris Charmatz, this laboratory-institution explores the possibilities of crossing between exhibition, performative  gesture and articulation of a speech. Workshops, debates, shows, residencies of artists and researchers; offbeat proposals and fantasy collections are born directly from a reflection on what could be this playful and hybrid museum.

The  CCN of Rennes and Brittany, renamed the Museum of Dance by Boris  Charmatz, was directed by Gigi Caciuleanu until 1993, by Catherine  Diverrès and Bernardo Montet until 1996, then by Catherine Diverrès  alone until 2008. Since 2009, Boris Charmatz ensures his direction. From January 2019, the collective FAIR[E] will take over. The  collective is composed of Bouside Aït-Atmane, Iffra Dia, Johanna Faye, Céline Gallet, Linda Hayford, Saïdo Lehlouh, Marion Poupinet and Ousmane Sy.

The  Museum of Dance / National Choreographic Center of Rennes and Brittany  is an association subsidized by the Ministry of Culture and  Communication (DRAC Bretagne), the City of Rennes, the Regional Council  of Brittany and the County Council of Ille et-Vilaine.
The Dance Museum is part of the Association of National Choreographic Centers.

More information : www.museedeladanse.org