Fot. Jakub Świetlik
24th International Festival of Performing Arts. CROSSROADS 2018: Two Perspectives on the Human Being. Visual Performances from Paris and Taipei in May and June will present two unique performances combining elements of theatre, dance, film show and visual installation. The selected performances present sophisticated studies of human body which express a discourse regarding the human body and its image as well as the reflection on the nature of visual perception. The Festival events will include the performances of Anarchy Dance Theatre from Taiwan and the show prepared by Mélanie Perrier from Paris.
On 24 May at 7 p.m. the stage of Collegium Nobilium Theatre will host a small-scale performance Nos charmes n?auront pas suffi created and choreographed by an acclaimed French artist Mélanie Perrier. This visual performance was co-created by an exquisite French dancer Julie Guibert, a lighting project designer Erik Houllier and a composer Silvia Borzelli. The premiere took place in 2014 in Paris during the world review of contemporary dance Rencontres Choregraphiques Internationales de Seine Saint-Denis. The performance is presented as the work of the groupCompagnie 2minimum from Paris which is directed by Mélanie Perrier . This group has been active since 2010. The performance Nos Charmes… is a subtle study of a female body. At the beginning the female figure is hard to discern in the semidarkness. Gradually the image becomes sharper and more dreamlike. The viewers observe a partially abstract image of the moving dancers body made semi-visible in the darkness by the play of light and shadow. The author of the performance proposes that the viewers contemplate the image of the body of a woman who is in love. Mélanie Perrier is appreciated for small-scale dance performances touching upon the sphere of human relationships. Her works are distinguished by an outstanding harmony of dance, sound and image. The artist is a resident in the Centre of Choreography in Caen. Moreover, she has lectures in Sorbonne about the relationship between dance and visual arts. Julie Guibert, who performs in the show, is an exquisite French dancer. She danced in the Ballet of Lyon Opera, in the group Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm and in the famous modern dance group Russell Maliphant Company in London. For years she has been cooperating with a renown choreographer Christian Rizzo, whose artistic oeuvre has already been successfully presented in Rozdroże Festival. More information about the artistic output of Mélanie Perrier can be found at www.cie2minimum.com. Additionally, after the performance Melanie Perrier is going to give a short talk and meet with the audience. The works of Mélanie Perrier have not been presented in Poland yet.
On 6 June in the Club Stodoła there will be two presentations (at 5 p.m. and at 9 p.m.) of the performance Second Body by Anarchy Dance Theatre group from Taipei. The presentations of this unique performance, in which a real image of the dancer?s body smoothly transforms into the digital image, are a contrast and reference point to the show of the artists from Paris described above. The author of the concept and the choreographer of the performance is a choreographer and architect from Taiwan Jeff Chieh-hua Hsieh. The preview of the performance took place in August 2015 in Taipei, and the European premiere in the Ars Electronica Festival in 2015 in Linz. The performance was created thanks to the cooperation between the modern dance group, Anarchy Dance Theatre, with the Ultra Combos group which designs and programs audiovisual systems. At the beginning the viewers of the performance observe movements of a dancer who examines the kinetic capabilities of her body. The image of her material body disappears in the viewers? perception when it becomes completely covered with the virtual image mapped on it (mapping). Since then the dancer?s body is perceived by the viewers as a kind of a light phantom or a moving bunch of particles. By applying digital technology the creators of the performance show the so-called ?unnatural body?. They attempt to redefine the notion of the body asking about the influence of technological development on the perception and understanding of the human body. The creative search conducted by Jeff Chieh-hua, which involves performing arts, science and technology, has evoked a great interest all over the world.
Anarchy Dance Theatre group, whose activities combine contemporary dance and visual arts, has existed since 2010. The word ?anarchy? in the name refers to the titles of their first performances which addressed the issues of the role played by the authorities in society. Performances and installations of the group were presented in such countries as: the USA, Great Britain, Holland, Spain, China and Brasil. The performance entitled Second Body was presented in Wrocław by WRO Centre of Art and in Paris during the world review of modern dance Rencontres Choregraphiques Internationales de Seine Saint-Denis. Anarchy Dance Theatre have never been to Warszawa before. After the first show the director and choreographer Chieh-hua Hsieh will meet with the audience.
More information about the works of Anarchy Dance Theatre at www.anarchyDanceTheatre.com.
PROGRAM OF THE FESTIVAL:
24 May, Thursday in Collegium Nobilium Threatre, ul. Miodowa 22/24
7 p.m. the performance Nos Charmes n?auront pas suffi Compagnie 2minimum from Paris
7:40 p.m. the meeting of the choreographer Mélanie Perrier and the dancer Julie Guibert with the audience, illustrated with projections of recordings of the artists? performances (host: Joanna Szymajda)
6 June, Wednesday in Club Stodoła, ul. Batorego 10
At 5p.m. and 9 p.m. two shows of the performance Second Body by Anarchy Dance Theatre from Taipei
6:30 p.m. the meeting of the choreographer and the author Jeff Chieh-hua Hsieh with the audience, illustrated by the projections of the recordings of the group?s performances
Ticket purchase information:
For the performance Nos Charmes n?auront pas suffi Compagnie 2minimum from Paris: www.tcn.at.edu.pl
For the performance Second Body by Anarchy Dance Theatre from Taipei: www.stodola.pl
***
Ticket purchase information: www.tcn.at.edu.pl
Festival organiser: The Art and Modernity Foundation
Partners: The Aleksander Zelwerowicz Theatre Academy, Collegium Nobilium Theatre, Stodoła Club, PPAS ŚWIATŁO I DŹWIĘK, CRAFTMAN
The Festival was organised thanks to the financial support from the budget of Warszawa capital city.
Media Patrons: ?Teatr?, taniecPOLSKA.pl, e-teatr.pl, Radio ?Dla Ciebie?, Radio ?Kampus?, ?Dla Was? Theatre, TANIEC magazine.
The Art and Modernity Foundation supports the Centre of Dance Art in Warsaw.
