Paul les Oiseaux

Paul les Oiseaux was founded in 1987. Its name, which is borrowed from Renaissance painter Paolo Uccello, perfectly illustrates the importance given to perspective, to design and to a graphical insertion of bodies on stage by the company. It also pays tribute to migratory birds whose journeys are mirrored into the dancers’ ceaseless back and forth movements and their paths into the scenic space.

What else can be said? First that this research work on poetical choreography has always used elements from painting, cinema, music and that through the years, texts have begun to prevail.

The force of Paul les Oiseaux lies into an exploration of the tension existing between a highly technical dance and everyday-life gestures with their disturbing oddity.

Parallel to its creative work, the company has also built its identity around artistic workshops by valuing exchanges with different types of public (schools, future professional dancers, amateurs, etc.). The workshops have usually different shapes: ‘conference dansée’, chorographic workshops… They allow the company to create small choreographic pieces and to explore other forms of art with stage directors, musicians, video-makers or writers.

Each piece created by the company grows richer thanks to those smaller associated pieces that develop the same topics and aesthetics as the parent one.

For many years, Paul les Oiseaux has been involved with mobility-impaired persons such as the elderly living in long-term care structures. These participatory projects had led to the creation of very original choreographic forms and/or fictional or documentary films.