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Interview |
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Isabelle Danto : The Lyon Dance Biennale is celebrating its 25th anniversary with 17 new co-productions, 9 French premieres, and 42 companies from 19 countries. Some 600 artists will converge on Lyon from Beijing, Montreal, São Paolo, Taipei, Ouagadougou and all over Europe… Le Défilé will feature 4,500 participants and you are expecting more than 85,000 Biennale spectators... Do these anniversary-Biennale figures give you a sense of how far the event has come? Guy Darmet : These figures reflect the success of a tremendous adventure initiated in Lyon’s Croix-Rousse district, where I grew up; and where, in 1980 – an explosive and flagship year for French dance –, the first Maison de la Danse was founded, followed by the Biennale’s inception in 1984. The adventure also stemmed from a dream, and the desire to dispel dance’s elitist image and return it to its rightful place as a popular art. The two have nourished each other. And if the Maison now has more than 15,000 season ticketholders, it’s because many of them first saw a dance show at the Biennale. This event has found its ideal home in Lyon, where people have embraced it and its myriad styles and forms of writing – from ballet to flamenco, from hip-hop to the most avant-gardist propositions. This openness of mind and perspective has won over many professionals from around the world. ID : The “Past Forward” issue is this Biennale’s leitmotif. Does it suppose that choreographic writing is not only a trace of the past but also a space for opening up new paths? GD : The Biennale must give the public keys to understand dance, with rigorous, generous shows that tell strong stories. Memory is an essential concern. And as Jérôme Bel says humorously: “Nul n’est sorti de la cuisse de Jupiter”, no one is God’s gift. Our commitment hasn’t wavered since 1984. Remember that the first three editions were devoted to the history of German expressionism, to four centuries of dancing in France, and to modern American dance. Issues to do with history and tradition are constantly evolving, and are today informing the work of many choreographers: Olga de Soto with Le jeune homme et la mort; Wen Hui, who on the eve of the Olympics Games is boldly questioning China’s cultural revolution; Singaporean Ong Keng Sen, who refuses to forget that the Khmer Rouge wanted to destroy Cambodia’s Royal Ballet; Angelin Preljocaj, who is revisiting the fairy-tale genre and the realm of wonder with Blanche Neige; and Matteo Levaggi, searching for new forms rooted in the grammar of ballet… ID : How will this Biennale, which takes the form of an inventory and review, actually explore these issues and continue to write dance’s history in the present while also building the future? GD : This Biennale’s opening themes are the contemporary repertoire, transmission and exemplarity. This is a way of sustaining dead choreographers such as Dominique Bagouet, whose Petites pieces de Berlin, presented at the 1988 Biennale, is being recreated by Ballet de Lorraine, and of conjuring powerful movements such as Tropicalism from 1960s Brazil; as well as staging the performances of pioneer Anna Halprin, which have only been performed about 10 times and which French audiences will discover in their full French premiere. Espousing the “past forward” idea also made it self-evident to invite choreographers who, loyalties aside, have marked the Biennale’s history: Ronald K Brown, today a very worthy successor to Alvin Ailey, and who is returning 18 years after the American Biennale; Susanne Linke and her staggering solos from the German edition; Montalvo-Hervieu, those stickers of images and inventors of dreams. And, of course, Carolyn Carlson, who has worked so hard to popularise contemporary dance. One Biennale highlight is sure to be the revisiting of her mythical solo Blue Lady, which she’s handing on to an exceptional dancer, the Finn Tero Saarinen, who also dances his new piece. |
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ID : At the same time, world affairs are also strongly influencing the Biennale... In your view, can choreography be developed outside of context? GD : What’s happening at this Biennale reaches far beyond dance, as suggested by its diverse subject matter. Serge Aimé Coulibaly is back with a piece that summons four historic figures of modern Africa – Patrice Lumumba, Thomas Sankara, Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela – figures who dared to invent the future and whom young people can identify with and draw hope from. Dance, which is founded on encounters with the other, can speak of everything and forge bonds; it creates a space for exchange and dialogue. During the Biennale, artists are present and encounters happen, bringing peoples closer. At the 2006 Biennale, Mourad Merzouki met the young Cariocas of Companhia Urbana de Dança, for whom he has now created a piece that builds a bridge between France’s housing projects and Rio’s favelas. High-tech pieces, with sensors and the like, are also a sign that our world is governed by image and communication. We cannot ignore our surroundings. ID : So, encounters between artists from around the world, but also encounters with the people of Lyon? GD : “Danse la ville” was the theme of the 2006 Biennale. But dance in the public space is something I’ve always fought for, so that dance today can be at the heart of every Greater Lyon neighbourhood. This year we have balls and new works specially designed for urban settings, for the street, like those of Compagnie Projet in situ, Yuval Picq, and Paul-André Fortier, who will give a 30-minute performance daily for 30 days in the same place. And then, of course, there is Le Défilé, the Biennale’s emblematic gathering, which is a way of taking the experience further. It flows from our undiminished desire to come together and share a festive occasion through dance. As for future generations, we are staging a large number of children’s shows – 34 this year. These young people are tomorrow’s audience, and we are offering them insights to understand dance that are an opportunity for the future. By Isabelle Danto
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