Created by German choreographer Reinhild Hoffmann in 1983, this dance-theater piece combining dance and acting, was directly inspired by the work of the soprano Maria Callas. Firstly, through its performances, since the ballet is accompanied by arias from famous operas performed by Maria Callas, from Macbeth to Lakmé and Carmen. Then through his career, the eight paintings that make up the ballet all reflecting a facet of his career: the rigor of his work, the stage, his relationship with the public, with men too. Until the end of his career and his life, dark and lonely.  

Source: letemps.ch

 The works she created there were disturbing because they were difficult to classify, as they differed from traditional narrative ballet as well as from classical modern expressive dance. It was no longer choreographies in the usual sense, the translation of a given narrative into the language of dance, but actually "pieces", own compositions of movement, space and sound, which brought about the topic they tell in the first place.  Her solo works do not rely on an already existing vocabulary, they repeatedly research the language of their own body by radically restricting its expressive potential - through immobile or bulky objects, through massive or extremely reduced objects. In pieces like these, the examination of the visual arts comes to the fore. She, too, determined Reinhild Hoffmann's work from the start.  The plays, which Reinhild Hoffmann first worked on at the Bremen Theater (1978-1986) and then at the Schauspielhaus Bochum (1986-1995), have been shown at many international guest performances and have received numerous awards; three plays - Könige und Königinnen (1983), Callas (1984) and Föhn (1986) - were invited to the Berlin Theatertreffen for the outstanding productions of a season. 

Source: Program LA FILLE DE L'ÉTRANGER. Théâtre National Mannheim / Opera, 2005

More information: www.reinhildhoffmann.de

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.

His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).

Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon