Kaspar Hauser “first saw the light of day” in Nuremberg in May 1828. He was 17. Up to then sequestered in a dungeon, he could barely speak or walk and had the behaviour of a very young child. His case made big headlines at that time and, since, has never ceased to fascinate scientists and inspire poets. In 1998, François Verret also dedicated a work to him, of which this film is the adaptation.

 Based on the observations published at that time by the president of the Court of Appeal of Bavaria, Verret showed less interest in the secret of the origins of Kaspar Hauser than in the conditions of his sequestration, that “crime against the human soul” and in his learning process and confrontation with human society. Faithful to a recurring concern in his work, the choreographer highlights the violence exerted by this society in its overriding desire for normalisation and, thus, the exclusion that the non-normal subject undergoes, turned into a guinea pig or a freak to be exhibited in fairs. Filmed using light cameras that place the spectator at the heart of the arrangement designed by Claudine Brahem and immerse it in the mental universe of a Kaspar superbly interpreted by Mathurin Bolze, Kaspar Konzert highlights the qualities specific to the writing of François Verret – a non-narrative and fragmented writing, at the crossroads of the performing arts and where music plays a decisive role.

Source : Myriam Bloedé

A trained architect, he discovered dance in 1975 with Karine Saporta for whom he also performed. He continued his training with Susan Buirge and Jacques Patarozzi, whilst pursuing research with a variety of partners. After spending a year with Hideyuki Yano and Elia Wolliaston, he founded his own group in 1979. A prize-winner at the Bagnolet International Choreographic Contest in 1980, he rather quickly distanced himself from institutional production and dissemination channels and developed partnerships with various artists, on the fringe: actors, musicians, dancers, visual artists, lighting designers. In 1994, he settled in the suburbs of Paris and opened his own place, the Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers, a hub for research and creation which he directed until 2000.

In 2002 he was awarded the Chorégraphie prize by the SACD; the same year he became an associate artist at the Théâtre national de Bretagne.

In 2014, he took up a residency at L'Apostrophe, scène nationale in Cergy (Val-d'Oise), where he proposed a four-year long-term project: Chantiers 2014-2018. As part of this project, which he then developed in several cities (Strasbourg, Le Mans, Nîmes, Tarbes), he created Rhapsodie Démente (2015), Le Pari (2017) and 1000 jours qui ébranlèrent le monde (creation in 2018/2019). 

Whilst building on great literary works (from Goethe to Péguy, Kafka, Melville, Musil and Faulkner), he remains committed to the idea of “choreographing reality” by questioning space and gestures, and privileges experimentation, processes. His works are metaphorical and question social and political aspects or explore the value of work and memory, human enigma. Although his work queries public space and reflects a strong ethical standpoint, his poetics, akin to Kafka’s world, lead him to imagine performances whose structures are complex, where bodies and machines fall prey to incredible disruption. His highly-unusual creations walk the high-wire of derision and re-examine the relationship with the public.

Source : Irène Filiberti, Myriam Blœdé, Dictionnaire de la danse (dir. Philippe Le Moal), Larousse, 2008

ParisArt, Wikipedia

 Architecte de formation, il découvre la danse en 1975 avec Karine Saporta chez qui il est aussi interprète. Il poursuit sa formation auprès de Susan Buirge et Jacques Patarozzi, tout en commençant ses recherches avec divers partenaires. Après avoir rejoint un an Hideyuki Yano et Elia Wolliaston, il fonde son propre groupe en 1979. Primé à Bagnolet en 1980, il prend très vite ses distances avec les circuits institutionnels de productions et de diffusion pour développer, en marge, des collaborations avec divers artistes : comédiens, musiciens, danseurs, plasticiens, éclairagistes. En 1994, il s'installe dans la banlieue parisienne et ouvre son propre lieu, Les Laboratoires d'Aubervilliers, lieu de recherche et de création qu'il dirige jusqu'en 2000.
Tout en s'appuyant sur de grands textes littéraires (de Goethe à Péguy, Kafka, Melville, Musil ou Faulkner), il reste attaché à l'idée de « chorégraphier le réel » en interrogeant l'espace et les gestes, et privilégie l'expérimentation, les processus. Métaphoriques, ses pièces questionnent le social, le politique ou explore la valeur du travail et la mémoire, l'énigme humaine. Si son travail interroge l'espace public et témoigne d'un fort souci éthique, sa poétique proche de l'univers de Kafka, le porte à concevoir des spectacles aux rouages complexes où corps et machines sont la proie des plus grands dérèglements. Insolites, ses pièces jouent sur le fil de la dérision et réinterrogent la relation au public.
Source : Irène Filiberti, Myriam Blœdé, Dictionnaire de la danse, sous la direction de Philippe Le Moal, Larousse, 2008
En savoir plus :
http://www.compagniefrancoisverret.com/