After L’Anoure in 1995, Snow White in 2008 and Siddharta  in 2010, Angelin Preljocaj is continuing his exploration of fairy tales  by choosing, as he likes to do, a direction so far unexplored in his  work, that of the traditional tales of Asia which are, as we know, rich  sources of great poetic power. Thus The Painting on the Wall,  plunges the reader into the fantastical world of Chinese tales and  reveals the ‘supernatural’ power of the art of painting. If different  readings are possible, the ideas of illusion and transcendence are  omnipresent in the work.Angelin Preljocaj has chosen to immerse himself  in the heart of this unusual world. Without literally telling its story,  he retains the Chinese tale as the source of a more contemporary  adaptation. Angelin Preljocaj harnesses the power of his imagination to  transpose the story’s plot into a space at the crossing of cultures. He  will, of course, preserve the essence of the fairy tale and the  symbolism that it evokes.

«Might there be a secret passage that allows us to access the essence  of a picture that fascinates us? Did Francis I, one day in Amboise,  search for the path that would lead him to Mona Lisa? Did the Prince of  Liechtenstein, when he acquired a canvas dating from the 16th century,  believe that, if he looked at it assiduously, his imagination would  acquire the power to teleport his body to Cranach’s Venus?

The Painting on the Wall, inspired by the famous eponymous Chinese  story, tells us about this journey into another dimension where the  picture becomes a place of transcendence and physical being enters into a  relationship with the picture. This question of the picture is at the  heart of our investigation. It also evokes Plato’s cave and its shadows,  which question our existence. The ballet seeks to explore the  mysterious relations between representation and reality, sites at which  the dance creates the bonds that link the fixed image and movement,  instantaneity and duration, the live and the inert. This metaphor  running through the Chinese tale raises the question of representation  in our civilisation. It speaks to us of the place of art in today’s  society.»

Angelin Preljocaj

Born in 1957 in the Paris region, Angelin Preljocaj began studying classical dance before turning to contemporary dance with Karin Waehner, Zena Rommett, Merce Cunningham, then Viola Farber and Quentin Rouillier. He then joined Dominique Bagouet until he founded his own company in December 1984. Since then he has choreographed 60 pieces, ranging from solos to large-scale works, and regularly works with other artists in a variety of fields, including music (Goran Vejvoda, Air, Laurent Garnier, Granular Synthesis, Karlheinz Stockhausen), the visual arts (Claude Lévêque, Subodh Gupta, Adel Abdessemed), design (Constance Guisset), fashion (Jean Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaïa), drawing (Enki Bilal), literature (Pascal Quignard, Laurent Mauvignier) and animated film (Boris Labbé)...

His creations have been performed throughout the world and included in the repertoires of numerous companies, from which he has also received commissions, including the New York City Ballet, the Berlin Staatsoper and the Ballet de l'Opéra national de Paris. He also makes short films and films featuring his choreography. He has received several awards including the ‘Grand Prix National de la danse’ (1992), the ‘Benois de la danse’ (1995), the ‘Bessie Award’ (1997), ‘Les Victoires de la musique’ (1997), the ‘Globe de Cristal’ (2009) and the ‘Samuel H. Scripps Award’ from the American Dance Festival for his body of work (2014). His first feature film, Polina, danser sa vie, directed with Valérie Müller and adapted from the comic strip by Bastien Vivès, was released in cinemas in November 2016.

In April 2019, he was appointed to the Académie des Beaux-Arts in the new choreography section. In the same year, he created Winterreise for La Scala in Milan, as well as Soul Kitchen with inmates from the Baumettes Prison Centre in Marseille, the results of four months of workshops held within the prison. The same year saw the release of the documentary Danser sa peine, directed by Valérie Müller, an intimate look at this creative process in a prison environment. The film won first prize at Fipadoc in 2020.

After Swan Lake in 2020 and Deleuze / Hendrix in 2021, he will choreograph and direct Lully's opera Atys for the Grand Théâtre de Genève in 2022. At the same time, he devised a short choreography for the ‘Danse Europe!’ application, a participatory project open to all. For Dior, he created the choreography and film Roman Night with the dancers of the Rome Opera Ballet as part of International Dance Day. He also took part in the television series Irma Vep by Olivier Assayas, as an actor and choreographer.

In July 2022, he presented his creation Mythologies for the dancers of the Ballet Preljocaj and the Ballet de l'Opéra de Bordeaux to original orchestral music by Thomas Bangalter. In February 2023 he created Birthday Party for senior dancers at the Théâtre National de Chaillot, commissioned by Aterballetto, and Torpeur in June 2023 at the Festival Montpellier Danse. His latest creation, Requiem(s), saw the light of day in May 2024.

The Ballet Preljocaj now has 30 permanent dancers and performs an average of 120 dates a year throughout the world.

More information

preljocaj.org

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc).
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr

Artistic direction: Angelin Preljocaj
Creation: 1985

Created in December 1984, the Preljocaj company became the National Choreographic Centre of Champigny-sur-Marne and Val-de-Marne in 1989. In 1996, the ballet was welcomed at the Cité du Livre in Aix-en-Provence and became the Ballet Preljocaj – National Choreographic Centre of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Region, the Bouches-du-Rhône Department, the Pays d’Aix Community and the City of Aix-en-Provence. Since founding his company, now composed of 26 dancers, Angelin Preljocaj has created 45 choreographic works, ranging from solo to larger formations. The Ballet performs about 100 dates per year on tour, in France and abroad.

Angelin Preljocaj has multiplied his collaborations with other artists like Enki Bilal (« Roméo et Juliette », 1990), Air (« Near Life Experience », 2003) etc. Beyond the repertory performances, the Ballet Preljocaj has been multiplying its local actions in Aix-en-Provence and neighbouring communities, in order to share its passion for dance with a broader public: lectures on dance interpretation through video, public rehearsals, contemporary-dance classes and workshops, and dance interventions in urban public space - all means of viewing and understanding dance from different perspectives.

The Ballet Preljocaj is now settled into its new home, designed by the architect Rudy Ricciotti in Aix-en-Provence. The Pavillon Noir is the first production centre built for dance, where artists will be able to go through the entire creative process, from workshops and rehearsals to staging and performance. The Pavillon Noir opened its doors on October 20, 2006. Angelin Preljocaj is the artistic director. Performances are programmed all year round, Angelin Preljocaj’s creations and also invited companies.

Source: Ballet Preljocaj 's website

More information: preljocaj.org