The Wedding [extract 1]
2009 - Director : Carlès, James
Choreographer(s) : Carlès, James (France) Primus, Pearl (United States)
Present in collection(s): Maison de la Danse de Lyon , Compagnie James Carlès Danse & Co - Œuvres majeures du patrimoine chorégraphique ( Danses noires, danses modernes, danses contemporaines, danses urbaines, etc...)
Video producer : James Carlès
The Wedding [extract 1]
2009 - Director : Carlès, James
Choreographer(s) : Carlès, James (France) Primus, Pearl (United States)
Present in collection(s): Maison de la Danse de Lyon , Compagnie James Carlès Danse & Co - Œuvres majeures du patrimoine chorégraphique ( Danses noires, danses modernes, danses contemporaines, danses urbaines, etc...)
Video producer : James Carlès
The Wedding
Pearl Primus produced this piece following her research in what was then Zaire. 'The Wedding' was backed by the New York Times journalist Anna Kisselgoff, who wrote: “[This piece] is not a modernized stylized representation of an African ritual. This is authentic. The authenticity is adapted and translated into an acceptable theatrical language. Miss Primus was able to reproduce this particular form with brilliance worthy of the greatest scenographers.”
Credits
Creation 1960
Choregraphy : Pearl Primus
Transmission : Mary Waithe
Rerun by : James Carlès
Duration : 20 mn
Interpreters :12 dancers, 3 musicians et 1 singer
Carlès, James
James Carles is a choreographer, researcher and lecturer. He received initial training in dance and music of Africa and its Diaspora and then trained with the great names of modern dance in New York and London mainly. Since 1992, he hired an artistic and analytical approach that explores the “places junctions” between the dances, rhythms and philosophies of Africa and its Diaspora with technical and western thoughts frames. To date, his company’s directory contains more than fifty pieces of his own creation and authors like Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, Talley Beatty, Asadata Dafora, Geraldine Armstrong, Rick Odums, Wayne Barbaste, Carolyn Carlson, Robyn Orlin, etc.
Dancer soloist and outstanding performer, James Carles was performer and artistic collaborator for not only numerous “all music” ranging from Baroque to contemporary music, through jazz; but also choreographers such as Carolyn Carlson, Robyn Orlin, Rui Horta, Myriam Naisy, etc.
Artist associated with Astrada- Jazz In Marciac 2012-2014, research associate in the laboratory of the University LLA Créatis Jean Jaures Toulouse, James Carles is particularly invests in heritage projects for diversity and diffusion of choreographic culture. He is also founder and artistic director of the festival “Dances and Black Continents”.
Primus, Pearl
(1919-1994)
Pearl Primus was born in Trinidad and grew up in New York. An artist dedicated to African heritage, she combined anthropology and choreography to help break down the terrible racial barriers that were on her path. In 1941, she was granted a scholarship for the New Dance Group’s Interracial Dance School. Two years later, she launched her professional career with her first solo dance recital.
Pearl Primus frequently stigmatized racism in her choreographies. 'Strange Fruit' (1943) dealt with lynching. 'Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore' (1979) was a response to the 1963 racist bomb attack against the Baptist Church on the 16th Street which killed four young Afro-American girls. Among her other notable works, 'The Negro Speaks of Rivers' (1943) and 'African Ceremonial' (1944) are well worth mentioning. Pearl Primus also created choreographies on Broadway, in particular for 'Caribbean Carnival' (1947) and 'The Emperor Jones' (1947).
In 1948, she obtained a grant to make an important research trip to Africa to study the traditional dances of the African continent. Upon her return to New York, she opened the Pearl Primus School of Primal Dance. At the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s, she lived in Africa. Hand-in-hand with her husband, Percival Borde, she founded the Konoma Kende Centre in Liberia, the first traditional performance arts centre in Africa.
Upon their return to the United States, Pearl Primus and Percival Borde opened the Primus-Borde School of Dance. Pearl Primus graduated with a Doctorate in Philosophy from New York University in 1978 and set up the Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute the same year. She also taught in several post-secondary institutions, in particular Howard University, New York University and the Five College Consortium in Massachusetts.
Source : Arts Alive National Arts Centre
More information
Carlès, James
Since 2016, James Carlès has made the choice to make available to the public a selection of its videos.
The Wedding
Choreography : Création 1960 - Chorégraphe : Pearl Primus - Passeur : Mary Waithe - Reprise James Carlès
Interpretation : 12 danseurs, 3 musiciens et 1 chanteuse
Live music : chants et percussions traditionnels africains
les ballets C de la B et l'esthétique du réel
Exposition virtuelle
les ballets C de la B et l'esthétique du réel
Exposition virtuelle
Découvrez les ballets C de la B à travers cette exposition, réalisée par un groupe d'étudiants de l'Université de Lyon 2 issus du Master Arts de la scène et du spectacle vivant (théâtre et danse), en collaboration avec la Biennale de la danse - édition 2021 et Numeridanse.
COLLECTION BAGOUET
Exposition virtuelle
COLLECTION BAGOUET
Exposition virtuelle
La collection Dominique Bagouet sur Numeridanse présente les œuvres les plus emblématiques de son répertoire et s’enrichit au fur et à mesure de films liés à la transmission de son répertoire grâce au travail mené par l’association Les Carnets Bagouet.
Black Dance
Webdoc
Black Dance
Webdoc
Why do I dance ?
Webdoc
Why do I dance ?
Webdoc
40 ans de rock et danse
Exposition virtuelle
40 ans de rock et danse
Exposition virtuelle
Chic planète, dansons dessus, oh oh oh
Chic planète, dansons dessus, oh oh oh
Chic planète, dansons dessus...
Et mettons-nous tous nus
> Chanson de l’Affaire Louis Trio (1987)
Artistic Collaborations
Parcours
Artistic Collaborations
Parcours
Panorama of different artistic collaborations, from « couples » of choreographers to creations involving musicians or plasticians
Dance and music
Parcours
Dance and music
Parcours
The relationship between music and choreographic works varies throught dance history.
Dance and percussion
Parcours
Dance and percussion
Parcours
Découvrez de quelles manières ont collaboré chorégraphes et éléments percussifs.
La Maison de la Danse de Lyon
Exposition virtuelle
La Maison de la Danse de Lyon
Exposition virtuelle
Créée à Lyon en 1980, la Maison de la Danse fut le premier théâtre en Europe dédié exclusivement la danse. Avec plus de 150 000 spectateurs par saison et près de 200 levers de rideaux, la Maison de la Danse rassemble aujourd’hui un large public de spectacles très fédérateurs mais aussi d’œuvres innovantes et de recherche. Théâtre de diffusion mais aussi pôle européen de création et d’innovations numériques, la Maison de la Danse vous ouvre ses portes et vous dévoile ses projets.
Les racines de la diversité en danse contemporaine
Exposition virtuelle
Les racines de la diversité en danse contemporaine
Exposition virtuelle
La danse contemporaine désigne des courants artistiques succédant à la danse moderne. Mais il est difficile de cerner précisément cette expression, tant elle inclus différentes pratiques et esthétiques. Aujourd’hui, le mot « contemporain » intègre des danses actuelles, urbaines, théâtrales, de différentes origines géographiques ou «culturelles». Une exposition virtuelle signée par la Compagnie James Carlès Danse &Co.
Genres and styles
Parcours
Genres and styles
Parcours
Dance is a rather vast term, which covers a myriad of specificities. These depend on the culture of a country, on a period, on a place. This Journey proposes a visit through dance genres and styles.
Female / male
Parcours
Female / male
Parcours
A walk between different conceptions and receptions of genres in different styles and eras of dance.
Do you mean Folklores?
Parcours
Do you mean Folklores?
Parcours
Presentation of how choreographers are revisiting Folklore in contemporary creations.
Genesis of work
Parcours
Genesis of work
Parcours
A dance show is created in multiples steps between the enunciation of an initial desire which launch the project and the first representation. This parcours presents diff
The contemporary Belgian dance
Parcours
The contemporary Belgian dance
Parcours
This Parcours presents different Belgian choreographers who have marked history and participated in the creation of a "Belgian" style.
Dance in Quebec: Collectivities in motion
Parcours
Dance in Quebec: Collectivities in motion
Parcours
This Parcours introduces several extracts of works by contemporary Quebecois choreographers, situating them in an anthropological perspective.