Polonaise militaire, Chants russes [transmission 2022]

(Military Polonaise, Russian Songs)

A choreographic extract remodelled by the group the Aquilone, artistic coordinator Natalia Fontana, as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme 2020/2022 (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing). Reconstruction of the dances Elisabeth Schwartz 

Presented on 18 June 2022, Maison de la danse in Lyon.

The piece when it was created 

Polonaise militaire

Firstly produced circa 1915

Choreography: Isadora Duncan

Music: Polonaise militaire n°1 Opus 40 by Frédéric Chopin

Chants russes

Dubinushka / Warshavianka 

Firstly produced 27 September 1924 at the Kamerny Theatre in Moscou

Chorégraphy: Isadora Duncan

Piece for twelve perfomers: Alexandra Aksenova, Elizaveta Belova, Maria Borisova, Valentina Boye, Lily Dikovskaya, Tamara Lobanovskaya, Maria Mysovskaya, Doda Ozhegova, Tamara Semenova, Elena Terentieva, Maria Toropchenova, Yulia Vashentseva

Warshavianka

Music: popular songs

The group

Based in Paris, this group was formed in 2008 as an extension of the classes and workshops taught by Natalia Fontana since 1997. Made up of ten dancers of all ages and techniques, the group focuses on contemporary dance. It regularly performs in amateur festivals such as the Rencontres de danse in the 13th arrondissement of Paris and events such as the Printemps des cimetières, organised by the Paris municipal government at the Père Lachaise cemetery. The idea of exploring the world of Isadora Duncan’s choreography emerged after a meeting with Elisabeth Schwartz, an expert in Duncan’s movement and repertoire, who performed in Jérome Bel’s dance-lecture Isadora Duncan.  

The project

For the group, performing these politically engaged dances, created between 1915 and 1924, is a means to shed light on a less well known aspect of Duncan’s work. Both the Military Polonaise and the Russian Songs are short, combative pieces that highlight her political convictions. More grounded than some of her other solo work and interwoven with representations of heroic actions, these dances also showcase the group, although Duncan is most famous as a soloist. Elisabeth Schwartz, helps the dancers to capture the singular texture of Duncan’s style, the open position of the torso and the fluid sensuality of her light and yet grounded movements.