Jours étranges [transmission 2023]

A choreographic extract remodelled by the group Collectif 7.8.3, coordinator Matthias Groos, as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme 2022/2023 (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing).

Transmission by Catherine Legrand.

Presented on 3 June 2023, Le Triangle, Cité de la danse, in Rennes.

L’œuvre à la création

Jours étranges

Firstly produced 4 July 1990 in the Cour des Ursulines in Montpellier

Choreography: Dominique Bagouet

Work for six performers: Hélène Baldini, Hélène Cathala, Jean-Charles di Zazzo, Bernard Glandier, Olivia Grandville, Fabrice Ramalingom (first distribution) Dominique Bagouet in the role of de Bernard Glandier (second distribution)

Music: The Doors, extracts from the LP Strange Days 

Original duration: 40 min

The group

Created in 2016 in Nantes, this group is made up of 10 dancers and operates as an amateur dance company. Coming from a range of backgrounds (IT, health, architecture and teaching), the dancers perform original pieces by choreographer and artistic director Matthias Groos and also by Laurent Cebe and Muriel Corbel. Through their unique projects, underpinned by regular classes in technique and improvisation workshops, the group also provides behind-the-scenes glimpses into the process of dance creation for curious members of the public. 

The project

For their first entry into the Amateur Dance and Repertoire programme, the group has chosen Dominique Bagouet’s powerful, spellbinding, rock-fuelled work: Jours étranges, created in 1990 to music from The Doors, with an impressive set built from speakers. The dancers wanted to take a deep dive into the creative process of this work. Dominique Bagouet provided opportunities for each performer to explore their own expressive movement within the choreography. This powerfully rhythmic piece was originally created for six dancers. The captivating contemporary dancer Catherine Legrand, one of Bagouet’s key dancers, passed this work on to the ten dancers of Collectif 7.8.3.