This film by Luc Riolon traces the project of the choreographer Jackie Taffanel at L’espal, the Cultual Center of Le Mans, as part of a dance mission contract.

Primary and secondary schoolchildren and amateurs participated in the creation of the show La Peau de l'air: an encounter or a deeper exploration of dance, to which testify the sensory experience workshops led by Isabelle Richez and the rehearsals of the creation. Teaching tomorrow’s publics through awareness actions: this vital dynamics of contemporary dance is taken up by choreographers and dancers, without necessarily involving institutions such as national choreographic centres (CCN). Rather it relies on agreements between places, public authorities and artists wishing to pass on their art, knowledge and sensitivity. 

As this project progressed, the revelation of the participants’ uneasiness with their identity is what most marked Jackie Taffanel. “We realise their suffering, their difficulty in stating their identity. I think that we have to rebuild ties together, and dance is the ideal place for self-expression.”

Source : Fabienne Arvers

Jackie Taffanel studied under Karin Waehner, Ingrid Metzig, Myriam Berns and Jacques Patarozzi. She presented a dissertation on aesthetics and philosophy where she studied the regard involved within the creative process. In 1982, she presented Solo-un and Duo in Montpellier and in Avignon with Denis Taffanel, her “travelling companion”. In 1983, Neuf Portes was honoured at the Bagnolet International Choreographic Contest and, invited to the American Dance Festival, she went on to create the “Groupe Incliné”. Provided with a permanent studio in Montpellier (for 17 years) and support from local authorities and the French Ministry for Culture, she was able to carry out research. Jackie Taffanel would forge a reputation in “jeune danse” (young French dance): the fluidity of style, everything was in focus here, through relentless questioning, with the humility of the emerging scene and the indiscretion of intenseness.

Source : Compagnie Taffanel

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www.compagnietaffanel.com