Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux continue their research on the subject of “otherness,” a question which has been part of their journey since its inception. Otherness is defined here as a state, the quality of that which is perceived as other, different, exterior to the “self,” exterior to our referenced reality … 

For this creation, they have conceived seven bio-morphic, human-sized sculptures, inspired by Hans Arp’s Winged Entity.

They have called them « oscyls* », in part because of their ability to oscillate.

Surrounded by these intriguing presences and with the support of their creative team, they are creating a new experiential space to examine the mysterious, unexpected, even harsh interconnections which constitute the dynamics of otherness, beyond all presupposition, assignation or prejudice …

Is this not one of the principal issues facing our world, a world in crisis?

Ten shapes create a landscape. They come to life, revealing two radically distinct but related populations. The first group is human, and as always with Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux, diverse: their skins, their wear-and-tear, their differing morphologies and journeys fill up the space, forming a mass of humanity. Next to them, theoscylswait, immobile for a few seconds or is it several centuries; only an exterior energy can bring them to life. If man is generous, offering him his breath, they will be able to tumble, pace and whirl. Are they abstract puppets, giant Weebles, or organisms inspired by the work of the sculptor Hans Arp? They have neither foundation nor base; their anchoring is also their mobility. 

The dancers seek out contact, trying to invent a language via the medium of touch. Each signal, each impulse or approach calls for a reaction which will then trigger a dialogue. Are the oscylstheir partners, their mirrors or their alter egos? Embrace, side steps, a skimming touch: by transmitting his or her energy, each dancer imprints on his or her OSCYL a certain singularity. What exactly is happening between them: is it a pas de deux, training or manipulation? We can no longer see who is the cause and who the effect, the relationship is so strange and new.

Perhaps they are a little like marionnettes, reacting to the manipulations of their human “masters,” amplifying it, transforming it, thwarting it and prolonging it. But whereas a marionnette answers precisely the intentions of its “manipulator,” the oscyls, once launched, takes on its own strange autonomy. 

The mystery continues : once launched, they are able to compress and dilate time, pulling the dancers into reactive dances ranging from great delicacy to jubilatory exhilaration. 

The oscyls, by their very unpredictability, have both a force and a secret to transmit: if they tip in one direction so far as to hit the ground, they always tip back up, ready to go again!

Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux founded the Compagnie FATTOUMI/ LAMOUREUX in 1988. Their first work Husaïs was awarded the prize for best first piece at the Bagnolet International Choreographic Competition in 1990, then their trio Après-midi  received the “New Talents” prize from the SACD in 1991. These two  pieces placed them as leaders of the new generation of contemporary  choreographers and brought them international renown.

A space for research whose source is the intermingling of their individual features.
  From piece to piece, they mine the intrinsic intelligence of the body,  its power to reveal meaning, which can also be thought as a part of  movement.
  Several other important pieces were created in the same vein as Husaïs: Si loin que l’on aille (at the Théâtre de la Bastille and the Théâtre de la Ville, 1992); Fiesta (commissioned by the Avignon Festival, 1992); Asile Poétique (at the Théâtre de la Ville, 2000) based on texts by the poet Antonio Ramos Rosa; Wasla, ce qui relie… (at the Lyon Dance Biennial, 1998); Vita Nova (at the Grande Halle de la Villette, 2000) with the 11th graduating class of the National Center for Circus Arts.
  These pieces show choreographic work linked to the ideas of mastery/  nonmastery, strength/ fragility, minimalism/ performance, a dance whose  expressive weight is charged by a “graphic energy.”

They were appointed directors of the CCN of Caen/  Basse-Normandie in 2004, where they continued their work with pieces  focusing on societal issues.
  These works were La Madâ’a (at the Arsenal in Metz, 2004) with the Joubran brothers, Palestinian virtuosi on the oud; Pièze (a “pressure measurement”) and La danse de Pièze  (at the Festival Dialogue de corps, Ouagadougou, 2006 and the Théâtre  de la Bastille), about the idea of “homosensuality” in the Arab-Muslim  world; Just to dance… (the Espace des Arts in Chalon-sur-Saône, 2010), a piece about the idea of “creolization” developed by Édouard Glissant; MANTA,  a solo created at the Montpellier Festival in 2009 and performed on  tour (Tokyo, Séoul, Berlin, Tunis, Brussels, Stockholm, Oslo), based on  the problem inherent in wearing the niqab; Lost in burqa, (at  the Festival danse d’ailleurs, 2011) a performance for 8 dancers, based  on the “clothing-sculptures” by the Moroccan plastician Majida Khattari;  Masculines (at the Arsenal de Metz, 2013) and on the representations of the feminine on both sides of the Mediterranean.

They are reactivating a choreographic research recharging itself with the expressive and poetic potential of dance.
Une douce imprudence co-signed with Thierry Thieû Niang (at the  Festival Ardanthé 2013, and the Théâtre National de Chaillot, 2014) on  the idea of “Care”; Waves, a commission for the Swedish opera  company NorrlandsOperan and its symphony orchestra, under the auspices  of Umeå 2014, European cultural capital, for which they are associated  with the Swedish singer and composer Peter von Poehl.

They also chose to step outside theatres to work in situ in other reactive contexts.
  In February 2009, they created the performance Stèles as part of a special “Nocturne”, a commission from the Louvre Museum.
  In 2008 they created Promenade at the Grand Palais, imagining a dialogue with the monumental sculptures of Richard Serra.
  In January 2012 they created Circle, inviting the audience into  the center of a circular structure where dance goes wild with the  massed collective energy of 26 professional and amateur dancers.
  In 2013, as part of the Normandy Impressionist Festival they stepped  inside the exhibition “Summer at the water’s edge” at the Beaux-Arts  Museum of Caen for a choreographic Flânerie (wandering).

Creation of the Festival Danse d’Ailleurs (Dance from Elsewhere) (2005)
  Beginning in 2005, they founded the Festival Danse d’Ailleurs whose  vocation is to put back into perspective the idea of universalism while  questioning referent frameworks for modernity in art, relating to  cultural horizons.
  The first four editions focused on artists from the vast, diverse  African continent and brought international recognition to the event,  and the following editions opened as far as Asia, linking with the Hot  Summer Festival in Kyoto, Japan.

Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux are fully committed to the promotion and the defense of choreographic art.
  From 2001 to 2004, Héla Fattoumi was the dance vice president of the  SACD (Société des Auteurs Compositeurs Dramatiques). She was also in  charge of programming the section called ”Vif du sujet” at the Avignon  Festival.
  From 2006 – 2008, she was the President of the ACCN (Association of the  National Choreographic Centers). From 2010 – 2013 Éric Lamoureux took  over the Presidency; he is now the vice president.
  From 2013 to 2015, Héla Fattoumi has been the president delegated to long-term planning at the SYNDEAC.

In March 2015 Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux were named  Directors of the Centre chorégraphique national de Franche-Comté in  Belfort, for which they are developing their VIADANSE project.

Stéphane Pauvret – visual artist / scenographer

Stéphane Pauvret is a multi-disciplinary artist. A graduate from the École des arts décoratifs de Strasbourg (HEAR), the École d’architecture de Nantes (DPEA), and Sciences-Po in arts and politics, he approaches performing arts as a scenographer for the stage and cultural living spaces, artistic collaborator and documentarian for theater, dance and opera. 

Since 2007, he has collaborated with Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux in all of their productions, contributing to stage theory in the broad sense of the term. His scenographic work has been frequently presented in Centres dramatiques, Centres chorégraphiques and Scènes nationales. As a visual artist, he has extensively exhibited his work a taken part to a great number of workshops, residencies and conferences in France and abroad. 

to follow

The Centre Chorégraphique National de Franche-Comté in Belfort (CCNFCB) is a space dedicated to contemporary creation. The French CCN label (National Choreographic Center) was established in 1984.

Currently there are 19 of these National Choreographic Centers in France.

Since March 2015, the Centre chorégraphique national de Franche-Comté in Belfort has been directed by Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux, for which they created the project VIADANSE. 

Their project VIADANSE is laid in the prospect of a 3rd generation choregraphic center, revolving around a dynamic concept highlighting the circulation of projects and the building of networks, from Franche-Comté to Burgundy ; from the Grand Est to Switzerland and Europe.