Workshop Philippe Priasso (1979)

Workshop Philippe Priasso (1979)

1979

Dancers in training at CNDC Angers

Between 1978 and 1981, sixty young French dancers benefited from the teaching at the Centre national de danse contemporaine (CNDC) d’Angers, which was at the time directed by the American choreographer Alwin Nikolais. The repertoire still features his phantasmagorical works, for which this craftsman and magician created not just the choreography, but also the lighting, soundtrack and scenery. However, in the light of the conceptual revolution set in motion by Cage and Cunningham, dance critics would play down the influence of Nikolais’ aesthetic style.

In Angers, however, Alwin Nikolais and his assistants devoted themselves to their teaching above all other things. Their very elaborate teaching method principally used the improvisation and self-observation, both conceptual and tangible, of principles of gesture style. At the end of each week, the trainees would put together the results of their research. This is where Philippe Priasso comes in, who generously illustrates the concept of decentralisation of the body, according to which the body does not just have one single centre of gravity – the dancer can choose at any time to shift his/her centre of movement to any part of the body. This fundamental concept has not only a purely physical resonance, but also a philosophical one.

Gérard Mayen

Selected excerpt :

enregistré le 23 mai 1979 au Théâtre municipal d’Angersdanseur – stagiaire du CNDC d’Angers Philippe Priassoproduction CNDC Angers