Centre chorégraphique James Carlès

Collections

The Centre Chorégraphique James Carlès, founded in Toulouse in 1989, is a European centre for the creation, professionalisation and dissemination of dance and choreography. This institution was born of three elements:

James Carlès’ passion for the art of choreography,
His fascination with the artistic productions and philosophies of the civilisations of sub-Saharan Africa,
His intransigent rejection of racism and discrimination.

James Carlès has devoted a considerable part of his activity to research and creation, based on the ancient methodologies of the Bantu-Bamiléké civilisations, and to the promotion and transmission of inclusive and multicultural practices. Under the artistic and general direction of James Carlès, a Franco-Cameroonian choreographer, the centre has established itself as a benchmark European choreographic centre, a hybrid that incorporates a dance school, a professional training centre, an apprentice training centre, the James Carlès Danse & Co company, the Danses et Continents Noirs international festival, a research and resource centre, and a video platform dedicated to its cultural heritage accumulated over 37 years.

The ‘James Carlès’ video collection, available on the Numéridanse portal, offers a rich and diversified immersion into some of the resources of the James Carlès choreographic centre, enabling a better understanding of the issues and dynamics of circulation between contemporary dance and Afro-descendant dances, whether social or representational. The collection includes:
Les Spectacles de la Compagnie James Carlès Danse & Co qui nous invite à traverser des récits qui vibrent aux rythmes de l’histoire, de l’intime et du sacré. À travers les
œuvres comme “Coupé-Décalé” et “Psaumes”, James Carlès nous fait explorer des mondes où la danse devient mémoire, résistance et célébration.

Coupé-Décalé

An ode to resilience and popular creativity, this two-act piece reinvents a dance that originated in Ivorian communities in exile.

Act 1: ‘I Am Not A Sub-culture’ – Robyn Orlin choreographs a captivating solo for James Carlès, where humour and history combine to reveal the many faces of this dance.
Act 2: ‘We’re going to spoil the place! – A choreographic explosion carried by five performers, celebrating the dialogue of cultures through coupé-décalé, enriched by influences such as Congolese rumba and hip-hop.
‘Coupé-Décalé is a dance manifesto, a cry for emancipation and an invitation to celebrate the power of popular dance.

Psaumes

With ‘Psalms’, James Carlès explores the depths of the sacred and the quest for meaning.

These creations reflect the philosophy of the Centre Chorégraphique James Carlès: to use dance as a bridge between cultures, memories and individuals.

Emblematic pieces from the multicultural repertoire of 20th century dance: The ‘Danses Noires’ project, unique in Europe, has made it possible to revive major works by choreographers such as Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, Talley Beatty and Asadata Dafora, Feral benga, Fodeba Keita, etc., contributing to the preservation and dissemination of this exceptional choreographic heritage.
RESET methods: Developed by James Carlès based on his research into body techniques in African civilisations. The RESET methods (RESET Dance & Choreography, RESET Soma & Fit) are pedagogical and didactic approaches aimed at transforming the dancer, the choreographer and the individual, with somatic, expressive, creative, sporting and athletic objectives.
Thematics: Resources such as the ‘Danced Conference on Black Dances’ offer a historical and cultural perspective on the evolution of dances from the African diaspora, enriching our understanding of the social and political contexts that have shaped them.
Excerpts from master classes by the great masters of dance: the collection includes teaching sessions with iconic figures such as Elsa Wolliaston, Germaine Acogny, Merce Cunningham, Alvin Ailey, etc. offering an insight into the techniques and philosophies that have influenced dance today.

James Carlès, an agricultural engineer with a degree in biology, is a qualified personality in the philosophy department and an associate researcher at the LLA créatis laboratory at the University of Toulouse II, Jean Jaurès. Trained by some of the greatest names in modern dance in New York and London, he has devoted most of his time to his passion for choreography, social dance and performance. He has developed a singular choreographic approach of construction-deconstruction, based on a renewal in the West of conceptions of time, space and form, by objectifying methodologies and philosophies from the Bantu-Bamileke civilisations, devoted to art, notably from the powerful metaphysics of the KEH, very similar to the Tao.

This collection is aimed at dance professionals, educators and enthusiasts worldwide, providing a valuable resource for the exploration and study of dance in all its diversity and cultural richness.

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