Amala Dianor has thought for a long time about how to teach/ transmit  his solo, “Man Rec,” which he created in 2014 and which has toured ever  since, including more than a hundred performances around the world in  2020. It channels all Dianor’s technical influences and techniques,  including hip hop, contemporary and African dance — and is a sort of  intimate manifesto for the choreographer. Here he lays out his hybrid,  unique movement vocabulary, deceptively simple yet complex, abstract yet  driven, energetic yet quiet.

It was his encounter with Nangaline Gomis in 2018 which inspired him  to create “Wo-Man.” She was studtying at the prestigious CNSM in Lyon,  and asked the choreographer if she could learn an excerpt of “Man Rec”  as part of her study program. They had two days in the studio together,  and she received high marks for the work on her exam – then each of them  returned to her and his artistic journey. But he could not stop  thinking about a longer period of transmission of the work, and the  memory of this extraordinary young woman, Franco-Senegalese like him –  stayed with him.

So in 2020, instead of teaching her the entire solo, Dianor decided  to create for her a prolongation of his original choreography, a  re-creation n the body of this young woman. Nangaline’s pulsating,  propulsive energy offered Dianor the opportunity to transpose his  movement into another body, reconstructing, revisiting, reinventing and  re-recording the work. This solo is a continuation, another perspective,  offering a different tonicity, vitality and the drive of a committed  young dancer. “Man” means “me” in Wolof. “Man Rec” means “only me”.  “Wo-Man” would be the feminine version of this choral “me,” filled with  diverse influences and cultures.

Source: Amala Dianor

More information: amaladianor.com

A hip hop dancer, Amala Dianor trained at the CNDC in 2000. Working as a performer in many diverse productions (from hip hop to neo-classical, contemporary and afro-contemporary dance), he quickly acquired undeniable recognition in the dancing community.

During these years, Amala perfected his writing: he masterfully went from one technique to another, but truly thrived through building bridges through these worlds. With the company C dans C, he choreographed (or co-choreographed) and performed in his first shows.

In 2012 he created “Crossroads” (winner of the Second and Third Awards at the Concours Renaissance), as well as his own company, the Amala Dianor Company, with which he developed his work as a choreographer.

The following year, he created “Parallèle”, a feminine dancing quartet at the Centre National de la Danse. In 2014, he choreographed the Extension duo alongside Bboy Junior, a surprising encounter between two esteemed performers of the French hip hop scene. That same year, he created and performed in his first solo show, Man Rec, which premiered in the Avignon festival.

In 2015, the company launched a regional project called “A Wink of Time” putting in the spotlight 18 amateur dancers on their way to becoming professionals. This project led to the creation of “Overflow”, co-signed with Mickael Le Mer, Pierre Bolo and Annabelle Loiseau. Amala also became the artist in residence at the Théâtre Louis Aragon in Tremblay-en-France, on a two-year contract.

In 2016 he created “Di(s)generation”, bringing together several generations of hip hop dancers, and showcased “New School”, a trio from “Di(s)generation” inspired by Abstract dance.

The 2016-2017 season marks Amala Dianor’s first of three years as an Associate Artist for the CDC Pôle Sud in Strasbourg, as well as for the 104 in Paris, and the Scènes de Pays dans les Mauges (Maine et Loire), France.

Source : The Amala Dianor Company 's website

More information : amaladianor.com

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