A choreographic extract remodelled by the group L’Ar(t)icoche, coordinator Guiomar Campos, as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme 2023/2024 (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing).

Transmission by Alice Boivin, performer and notator, Isabelle Missal, performer 

Presented on 15 June 2024, Le Manège de Reims.

The piece when it was created

May B

Firstly produced 4 november 1981 at the théâtre municipal in Angers as part of l’Automne chorégraphique d’Angers and 8 January 1982 at the Maison des arts in Créteil

Choreography: Maguy Marin

Work for ten performers: Daniel Ambash, Luna Bloomfield, Christiane Glik, Mireille Campioni, Pierre Fabris, Toméo Verges, Karin Vyncke, Mathias Pons, Mychel Lecoq, Maguy Marin 

Music: Air de Gilles de Binche 

Original duration: 1h30 

The group

L’Ar(t)icoche (Porspoder, Bretagne)

Ar(t)icoche is a cultural organisation created in 2006 by Christine Paillard and Anne Laure Le Niliot, inhabitants of Porspoder in the Finistère region of Brittany. Ar(t)icoche brings contemporary dance out of traditional spaces, offering a diversity of high-quality, inclusive, cultural initiatives to make dance more accessible. The group is made up of people from of various ages and professional backgrounds. They meet for class once a week with Guiomar Campos or a guest teacher, and also come together for the end-of-year performance and a workshop in early July.  

The project

The group developed a great admiration for Maguy Marin’s masterwork, May B. This piece, created in 1981 and inspired by the work of Samuel Beckett, marked a turning point in the choreographer’s career, launching her from partial obscurity into the ranks of popular choreographers. With over a thousand performances, the piece has been seen by thousands of viewers and danced by many different performers. The group learnt the work both via an extract of the choreographic score, with the help of dance notator Alice Boivin, and through the lived experience of one of its performers, Isabelle Missal. Having been invited to join the company Maguy Marin in 1991 as a teacher, then working regularly as a dancer-creator at the RamDam art centre, Missal was able to pass on the choreography in a more intimate, embodied way. The issue of physical transformation was also an important part of this collaboration.  

Maguy Marin was born in Toulouse in 1951 and studied dance at the conservatory there before joining the Strasbourg Ballet. In 1970 she was accepted at Maurice Béjart’s school Mudra, where she stayed three years before becoming a soloist (for four seasons) with the Ballet of the 20th Century, under the direction of Maurice Béjart. A turning point would come at the end of this period seeing her shed all her previously held conceptions “allowing a multitude of creative choices, liberty and also constraints to emerge. Nothing was ever the same”. She also began questioning the body types idealized within the dance world, a subject that would become central in her work. “With Maurice Béjart the body was magnified. Youth, virtuosity, everything sparkled. And I had a problem with that. I asked myself what happened to all those other bodies, the ones that were infirm, misshapen or uncoordinated, but who managed to keep standing nonetheless.” 

Between 1980 and 1997 Maguy Marin was based at the Maison des arts in Créteil, with her company becoming an official Choreographic Centre in 1985. 

From 1998 until 2011 she directed the National Choreographic Centre in Rillieux-la-Pape. After which time the company once again became independent, setting up in Toulouse in order to continue their creative research. In 2015 the company moved again, this time to Sainte Foy-lès-Lyon, where they set up in an old carpentry factory. Their tenure there would allow them to continue to open up the immaterial space of that which is shared, something that obstinately seeks to make itself manifest while encouraging the unfolding of a new ambitious project: RAMDAM, AN ART CENTRE. It is a place of horizontal sharing, dedicated to hosting artists and audience members alike. It is also a place intent on facilitating an on-going exchange and continuous circulation between those conducting research, amateurs, students, spectators and volunteers; as well as creating bridges between different artistic practices, laboratories, places for public relations, education and reflection. 

- 1978: Grand Prix du Concours chorégraphique international de Bagnolet - 2003: Grand Prix de la danse du Syndicat de la critique for
Les applaudissements ne se mangent pas
- 2003: American Dance Festival Award 

- 2006: Special jury prize Syndicat de la critique for Umwelt
- 2008: Bessie Award for Umwelt presented at the Joyce Theater
- 2008: Grand Prix de la danse du Syndicat de la critique for Turba
- 2011: Prix Danza & Danza for “Best Contemporary Dance Piece » for Salves - 2016: Golden Lion, Venice Biennale 

More information : compagnie-maguy-marin.fr

La Production Rémoise – Romu DUCROS

Romuald Ducros’ love of photography is a family affair. He was first introduced to photography at a very early age by is father, who was a member of the Bièvre “Club Photo” (founded by André Face). Later it would become both his passion and his profession.  

In 2011, Romuald created Production Rémoise, which specialises in the production of film and photography. His work stands out for its artistic sensibility and creative approach, with each production being a unique work of art.   

His productions range from video capture for performances of dance, theatre, opera and contemporary music, to films touching on sensitive social issues, or celebrating the valuable work of local artisans.  

As an artist-creator, Romuald joined the Leica Akadémie France, while also working on artistic events and exhibitions.

https://www.laproductionremoise.fr/ 

Amateur Dance and Repertory is a companion program to amateur practice beyond the dance class and the technical learning phase. Intended for groups of amateur dancers, it opens a space of sharing for those who wish to deepen a practice and a knowledge of the dance in relation to its history.

Laurent Barré
 Head of Research and Choreographic Directories
Anne-Christine Waibel
 Research Assistant and Choreographic Directories
 +33 (0)1 41 83 43 96
danse-amateur-repertoire@cnd.fr

Source: CN D

More information: https://www.cnd.fr/en/page/323-danse-en-amateur-et-repertoire-grant-programme