A choreographic extract remodelled by the group Accords perdus, Danse en Seine (Paris), as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme (2014) (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing).

The groups
Exceptionally, the revival of Gueule de loup is the work of two groups united under the auspices of the Maison des pratiques artistiques amateurs on a long-term project (a large extract shown in 2013, the complete work the following year). Three of the dancers hail from Accords perdus, a collective that comes together from time to time to lead specific projects. Six others are from Danse en Seine, which describes itself as a company, comprising several advanced-level pre-professionals dedicated to creations by emerging choreographers. Although working on a volunteer basis, it has a second activity of raising awareness to dance practices alongside and with impeded publics (Gueule de loup has the same aim).

The project
Gueule de loup was originally created for five interpreters, before being changed to a format for three. The current redeployment for nine provides an opportunity to introduce stimulating variants, particularly since, instead of extracts, we can now talk of a global reshuffle, with a view to recreating the progression of a continuous story. The choreographer leads the project personally, putting into it the methods he uses for a professional company: first physical and responsive warming-up exercises, already imbued with the spirit of the piece, then a reinforcement by improvisation. The aim is to restore an equilibrium in which movement, potentially very physical, paves the way for the creation of a character who is extremely committed emotionally. 

The choreographer
Christine Bastin’s dance is emblematic of the rich tones of the Nouvelle Danse Française of the 1980s. The works she composes are thus of great dramatic intensity, very attentive to the creation of characters committed to a very strong stage presence. These works oscillate between a sophisticated grace and the burning of a raw archaism. Her great creative avidity is nurtured by multiple musical, pictorial and literary references. In 1992, Gueule de loup is thus an evocation of Spain, which draws from the writing of José Cela. She recreates a world in which material poverty rubs off on the roughness of souls: the very difficulty of expressing oneself in the world gives way to the expression of rustic and burning ardours.

Creation for October 2nd and 3rd 1992 at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Lyon, commissioned for the Biennale de danse de Lyon

Christine Bastin’s dance is emblematic of the rich tones of the Nouvelle Danse Française of the 1980s. The works she composes are thus of great dramatic intensity, very attentive to the creation of characters committed to a very strong presence on stage. These works oscillate between a sophisticated grace and the burning of a raw archaism. Her great creative avidity is nurtured by multiple musical, pictorial and literary references. In 1992, Gueule de loup is thus an evocation of Spain, which draws from the writing of José Cela. She recreates a world in which material poverty rubs off on the roughness of souls: the very difficulty of expressing oneself in the world gives way to the expression of rustic and burning ardours. 

From live stage images to life in images, the  director and video artist Karim Zeriahen seems to have found the  shortest way. Since the beginning of the 90s, when he worked in close  relationship with choreographer Philippe Decouflé, he learned how to put  the art of stage in motion, contemporary dance most of the time. Karim  Zeriahen then starts a fruitful collaboration with Montpellier based  choreographer Mathilde Monnier. Stop, Videlilah, day of night, short  films adapted from her stage creations. Each time, Karim Zeriahen's   camera takes over the place with movement, the body language is not  frozen but magnified. Choreographer Herman Diephuis also joins this  gallery of dancing portraits. Documentaries on figures such like Albert  Maysles or Hubert de Givenchy and from Joe Dalessandro to Paul  Morrissey, he sets a signature, a camera always in action with  confidence.

Today the director goes further with a new  project and tracks the subtle movements of the body language beyond the  physical appearance. A collection of living portraits as unique pièces  reminding us of the master portraitists of renaissance. These living  natures consists in filming the subject in a certain amount of time,  almost still, with signs of respiration, eye blinks, as if it were  posing for a painting. They are then displayed on a flat screen with a  memory card. With this collection starting, Karim Zeriahen, with his  documentary and artist vision, interrogates himself about the virtual  world filled with images. By taking a pause, and his models with him, he  questions the way we look at things, the way we look at life.

Source: Philippe Noisette 

En savoir plus: www.karimzeriahen.com

Amateur Dance and Repertory is a companion program to amateur practice beyond the dance class and the technical learning phase. Intended for groups of amateur dancers, it opens a space of sharing for those who wish to deepen a practice and a knowledge of the dance in relation to its history.

Laurent Barré
 Head of Research and Choreographic Directories
Anne-Christine Waibel
 Research Assistant and Choreographic Directories
 +33 (0)1 41 83 43 96
danse-amateur-repertoire@cnd.fr

Source: CN D

More information: https://www.cnd.fr/en/page/323-danse-en-amateur-et-repertoire-grant-programme