Le son d'Elsa
2013
Choreographer(s) : Wolliaston, Elsa (France)
Present in collection(s): Ministère de la Culture , CNC - Images de la culture
Video producer : Les Films de Belacqua
Le son d'Elsa
2013
Choreographer(s) : Wolliaston, Elsa (France)
Present in collection(s): Ministère de la Culture , CNC - Images de la culture
Video producer : Les Films de Belacqua
Le son d'Elsa
In Paris where she settled at the end of the 1960s, the American choreographer Elsa Wolliaston, the pioneer of African dance in Europe, teaches her art. Immersion into her studio One Step, where, seated opposite some thirty dancers, she is assisted by the percussionist Jean-Yves Colson. In the course of the exchanges and improvisations, the elements emerge that are vital for the letting go that the practice of her art requires.
“Take your time/Give way/Force nothing/Energy is at your disposal/Your body will speak”. Retranscribed on the screen towards the end of the film, the recommendations given by Elsa Wolliaston throughout her classes reveal a pedagogy anchored in the listening to the body and the release of its energy. Patient and softly spoken, her expressive face lit up by a huge smile, she works with dancers on a one-to-one basis or in groups, leading them to consider their body as an instrument: “The body is an orchestra: it contains all the instruments!” Behind the closed doors of the studio, which we will only leave on the occasion of a few images from archives inserted into the film, Elsa’s invitations to relax and let go, in silence, will soon give way to music and rhythms. Inspired by her teaching, the entire group will be swept up into an explosive hunting dance where Yves Coméliau’s camera is at the heart of the trance.
Source : Damien Truchot
Wolliaston, Elsa
Elsa Wolliaston moved to Paris in 1969 and worked with Jerome Andrews and Lilian Arlen. She continued her training during a stay in Africa, and researched ancestral rites. From 1970 onwards, she performed in various African countries and Niger in particular, where she danced “La Fleuve” in 1974. In Paris in 1975, she founded the company Ma Danse Rituel Théâtre with Yano Hideyuki. They choreographed and performed numerous pieces together. She has also composed music and dance duets with the saxophonist Steve Lacy. She choreographs regularly for the theatre and opera, trains actors in movement at the Theaterhaus Interkurst and Theatertreffin in Berlin, and teaches African-inspired contemporary dance throughout the world.
Further information
Digital resource - Médiathèque du Centre national de la danse
http://mediatheque.cnd.fr/spip.php?page=mediatheque-numerique-ressource&id=PHO00003898
Updating: November 2010
Le son d'Elsa
Choreography : Elsa Wolliaston
Production / Coproduction of the video work : Yves Coméliau réalisation, Les Films de Belacqua production
Duration : 70'
Filmer le son
À corps et à cris
Exposition virtuelle
À corps et à cris
Exposition virtuelle
"Comme nous le savons, l’une des plus importantes limitations du corps dans le ballet est qu’il danse sans voix, planant et défiant les lois de la gravité sans bruit.’’
(Bojana Kunst)
QUDUS ONIKEKU : Se réapproprier une mémoire oubliée
Exposition virtuelle
QUDUS ONIKEKU : Se réapproprier une mémoire oubliée
Exposition virtuelle
Découvrez le travail du chorégraphe Qudus Onikeku 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.
Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces
Exposition virtuelle
Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces
Exposition virtuelle
Comment raconter la vie et l’œuvre d'une femme qui a marqué la danse et les danseurs dans tant de villes, à tant d'époques et de tant de façon différentes ? Une exposition en quatre chapitres qui retraverse l'histoire de cette femme-artiste.
A Rite of Passage
Webdoc
A Rite of Passage
Webdoc
Write the movement
Webdoc
Write the movement
Webdoc
Les Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis
Exposition virtuelle
Les Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis
Exposition virtuelle
Une traversée de l’histoire des Rencontres chorégraphiques internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, depuis le Concours de Bagnolet jusqu’aujourd’hui.
LATITUDES CONTEMPORAINES
Exposition virtuelle
LATITUDES CONTEMPORAINES
Exposition virtuelle
Latitudes Contemporaines, festival de la scène contemporaine internationale, se déroule tous les ans au mois de juin sur le territoire dense de la métropole lilloise et frontalier de la région Hauts-de-France.
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)
The “Nouvelle Danse Française” of the 1980s
Parcours
The “Nouvelle Danse Française” of the 1980s
Parcours
In France, at the beginning of the 1980s, a generation of young people took possession of the dancing body to sketch out their unique take on the world.
LES CENTRES CHORÉGRAPHIQUES NATIONAUX
Exposition virtuelle
LES CENTRES CHORÉGRAPHIQUES NATIONAUX
Exposition virtuelle
Comment sont nés les centres chorégraphiques nationaux (CCN) ? Que représentent-ils aujourd’hui ?
[1970-2018] Neoclassical developments: They spread worldwide, as well as having multiple repertoires and dialogues with contemporary dance.
Parcours
[1970-2018] Neoclassical developments: They spread worldwide, as well as having multiple repertoires and dialogues with contemporary dance.
Parcours
In the 1970s, artists’ drive towards a new classic had been ongoing for more than a half century and several generations had already formed since the Russian Ballets. As the years went by, everyone defended or defends classical dance as innovative, unique, connected to the other arts and the preoccupations of its time.
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.
Dance and percussion
Parcours
Dance and percussion
Parcours
Découvrez de quelles manières ont collaboré chorégraphes et éléments percussifs.
Hand dances
Parcours
Hand dances
Parcours
This parcours presents different video extracts in which hands are the center of the mouvement.
Contemporary Italian Dance : the 2000s
Parcours
Contemporary Italian Dance : the 2000s
Parcours
Panorama of contemporary dance practices in Italy during the 2000s.
Reinterpreting works: Swan Lake, Giselle
Parcours
Reinterpreting works: Swan Lake, Giselle
Parcours
Some great shows are revisited through the centuries. Here are two examples of pieces reinterpreted by different choreographers.
The committed artist
Parcours
The committed artist
Parcours
In all the arts and here especially in dance, the artist sometimes creates to defend a cause, to denounce a fact, to disturb, to shock. Here is a panorama of some "committed" choreographic creations.
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.
Contemporary techniques
Parcours
Contemporary techniques
Parcours
This Parcours questions the idea that contemporary dance has multiples techniques. Different shows car reveal or give an idea about the different modes of contemporary dancer’s formations.
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