Jan Kopp and I had a meeting of minds over Honoré de Balzac’s essay Théorie de la démarche, in which Balzac, as an observer of the social sciences, taxonomically codified and classified the subject of walking. The impertinent dandy made an inventory of appearances and examined walking as a natural function. He then amusingly showed that this so-called natural function was concealed by cultural practices to such an extent that it actually disappeared. In doing so, Balzac unknowingly foreshadowed the thinking behind the anthropology of urban, everyday life that was to develop in the second half of the 20th century. Rather than using the entire text, we use certain fragments as jumping-off points for partitions. The procedure for Dé-marche is a choreographic installation in two parts. Initially, the elements that make up the piece (record players, sound sensors, visual triggers, etc.) are left in a space for the visitors-audience to explore, and their movements will bring about certain events. The piece is, in fact, produced by the audience’s involvement and without their actions there is no piece. The artist no longer produces the movements, the public does. Secondly, we recompose the elements with their sound and video potentials and we restructure the space. This part involves the use of all the sound and video elements collected during the walk and the way they work as social, political and sexual revealers. In the piece, we see walking as a way of presenting oneself, a sort of self-portrait, playing on the elements collected and the way they split and disappear. This approach also shows that these movements and this device can be reiterated and multiplied to infinity. Dé-marche welcomes potential audience participation as an integral part of the piece. The audience acts and exposes itself as much as the performers who even go as far as to use the events they have produced. The device only has meaning when it is in use, by which we mean the use of art and the conditions in which it is received, the use of oneself as a spectator/producer. 

Alain Buffard [November 2001] 

Alain Buffard starts dancing in 1978 with Alwin Nikolaïs at the Centre national de danse contemporaine in Angers. He dances in several productions from Brigitte Farges and Daniel Larrieu, as well as Régine Chopinot, Philippe Decouflé. He realizes a choreography for two plays with Marie-Christine Georghiu, accompanied by the Rita Mitsuko rock group, a first solo "Bleu nuit" in 1988, and Wagner's Master singers of Nuremberg staged by Claude Régy in 1989.

While carrying on his career of dancer, he works as an assistant in Anne de Villepoix 's Gallery for exhibitions on R. Zaugg, Fischli & Weiss, Chris Burden and V. Acconci. At the same time, he is a correspondent for two Norwegian daily papers, for which he covers visual arts events in France. He stops dancing between 1991 and 1996. In 1996 he makes two decisive meetings : one with Yvonne Rainer on the occasion of the updating of her play Continuous Project ­ Altered Daily by the Albrecht KNUST Quatuor, and another one with Anna Haplrin, with whom he is working as the winner of the "Villa Medicis - hors les murs" prize.

In January 1998 he creates "Good boy", his second solo, and then makes in 1999 two trios INtime / EXtime and MORE et encore. "Tout va bien" is premiered in June 2010 at Festival Montpellier Danse and his last piece "Baron Samedi" is created in April 2012 at the Théâtre de Nîmes where he was an associated artist for both seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.

He also realized "My lunch with Anna", a film with Anna Halprin in California with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France and le Fresnoy national studio for contemporary arts, where he was associated artist during the season 2004-2005.

Source: Alain Buffard 's website

1960-2013.
 

Alain Buffard starts dancing in 1978 with Alwin Nikolaïs at the Centre national de danse contemporaine in Angers. He dances in several productions from Brigitte Farges and Daniel Larrieu, as well as Régine Chopinot, Philippe Decouflé. He realizes a choreography for two plays with Marie-Christine Georghiu, accompanied by the Rita Mitsuko rock group, a first solo "Bleu nuit" in 1988, and Wagner's Master singers of Nuremberg staged by Claude Régy in 1989.
 

While carrying on his career of dancer, he works as an assistant in Anne de Villepoix 's Gallery for exhibitions on R. Zaugg, Fischli & Weiss, Chris Burden and V. Acconci. At the same time, he is a correspondent for two Norwegian daily papers, for which he covers visual arts events in France. He stops dancing between 1991 and 1996. In 1996 he makes two decisive meetings : one with Yvonne Rainer on the occasion of the updating of her play Continuous Project ­ Altered Daily by the Albrecht KNUST Quatuor, and another one with Anna Haplrin, with whom he is working as the winner of the "Villa Medicis - hors les murs" prize.
 

In January 1998 he creates "Good boy", his second solo, and then makes in 1999 two trios INtime / EXtime and MORE et encore. "Tout va bien" is premiered in June 2010 at Festival Montpellier Danse and his last piece "Baron Samedi" is created in April 2012 at the Théâtre de Nîmes where he was an associated artist for both seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.
 

He also realized "My lunch with Anna", a film with Anna Halprin in California with the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in France and le Fresnoy national studio for contemporary arts, where he was associated artist during the season 2004-2005.

Source: Alain Buffard 's website