Choreography, set design, costumes christian rizzo
Performed by julie guibert

For "b.c, janvier 1545, fontainebleau.", Christian Rizzo has reunited with his favorite cohorts, Caty Olive who creates the lighting environment of the piece, and Gerome Nox who creates its sound score – all focusing on a singular project. The choreographer also reprises his talent as a model maker, creating a specific universe, shaped, custom-fit to Julie Guibert, a classical dancer he met at the Lyon Opéra Ballet when he created ni fleurs, ni ford mustang there in 2004. Ms. Guibert has danced with many companies, ranging from the Ballet du Nord to the Ballet Cullberg, where she worked for several years, and more recently the companies of Russell Maliphant and Yves-Noël Genod. She has experienced the creative universes of many different choreographers, among them Maguy Marin, Trisha Brown, William Forsythe, Mats Ek and Philippe Decouflé. Rizzo is both fascinated by what he calls her “incredible intelligence onstage,” and inspired by her personality. He decided to continue working on the connection he felt to Ms. Guibert in creating this solo, in which he asks himself, “how do we look at a woman alone on stage, outside her own community?” He imagines a dance projected into space, nocturnal, carved by the lighting to “delve into the idea of slowness, shaping the calligraphic dimension of the movement.” In the background we intuit the questions revealed by these enigmatic images, of the links between memory and vision, of the ritual dimension of performance, and what it means to write, to create for another person.

Irène Filiberti

Credits

choreography, set design, costumes christian rizzo
performed by julie guibert
light installation caty olive
live music gerome nox
stage manager jean-michel hugo
production lʼassociation fragile
co-production le Festival Montpellier Danse, le Centre National de la Danse de Pantin (création en résidence)
with the support of La Passerelle Scène nationale de Saint-Brieuc

Video direction : Charles Picq
Production : Maison de la Danse

length 1h

Updating : february 2012

Christian rizzo was born in 1965 in Cannes. His artistic career began in Toulouse, where he started a rock band and designed a line of clothing, after which he studied fine arts at the Villa d'Arson in Nice, then unexpectedly branched out into dance. 

In the 90s he performed with a number of contemporary choreographers including mathilde monnier, herve robbe, mark tompkins and georges appaix, and sometimes created soundtracks and costumes for them as well. 

He also worked with choreographers with a different artistic approach, such as vera mantero, catherine contour, emmanuelle huynh and rachid ouramdane.

In 1996 he founded l'association fragile and began presenting events, dancing objects, solos and group pieces, as well as various projects and commissioned work in fashion and the visual arts. 

Since then, over thirty projects have borne fruit, not counting his pedagogical activities. Christian rizzo teaches on a regular basis in art schools in France and abroad, as well as in establishments devoted to contemporary dance. 

On January 1st, 2015, Christian Rizzo takes the lead of the National Choreographic Center of Montpellier. Now called ICI (International Choreographic Institute), the CCN offers a transversal vision of creation, training, artistic education and openness to the public. 

Source : Website of ICI, CCN of Montpellier

More information : 

http://ici-ccn.com/

http://www.lassociationfragile.com/