Ascension

The dance film “Ascension” is a cinematographic construction by a choreographer, Alain Michard, based on a work of choreography, “Aatt enen tionon,” by another choreographer—Boris Charmatz.

The dance film Ascension is a cinematographic construction by a choreographer, Alain Michard, based on a work of choreography, Aatt enen tionon, by another choreographer—Boris Charmatz. The structure of the film is developed based on different periods of shooting in Belfort, Grenoble, and Montpellier, allowing us to see the vertical installation of the choreographic project both indoors and outdoors. For the opening sequences of the film, Alain Michard has also preserved the music of PJ Harvey, played as the audience was being seated, and turned off as the performance was about to start in order to make room for the sounds of bodies. Alain Michard further proposes vocal incursions—spoken deconstructions of the title, scattered throughout the film sequences—along with shots from angles normally inaccessible to the audience. The montage of the film is characterized by a distinct rhythm which offers a singular vision of this “triple solo”.
It is important to note that, as with any work of cinema, the conditions in which the object is viewed are essential to the appreciation of the work. Although the whole version is shown here, it is in small format, and should be viewed for research purposes only.

Source : Boris Charmatz

More information :
http://www.borischarmatz.org/

www.alainmichard.org/

Aatt enen tionon is among Boris Charmatz’s foundational pieces addressing the conventions of representation and of the performative in the field of choreography. Created in 1996, the piece appears as a vertical analysis of dance, created for a three-level space, setting each of the dancers along a different line of vision. The angles of gaze multiply: the bodies are observed from below, from above, up close and from a distance. Nudity, paradoxically overexposed due to the white t-shirts worn as the only piece of clothing, challenges the audience’s perception and problematizes the essence of its own presence: does nudity overexpose the dancing body or, on the contrary, render it illegible, encrypted by our reading of the intimate sphere which hierarchizes our gaze?   Luc Riolon’s film offers a structured perspective on this trio, or “triple solo,” as a result of select angles and of the rhythm of the film shot during the performances at the Centre Pompidou, on the occasion of the 1996 Festival d’automne. The place creates a potent, concrete architectural dimension which is something to consider at each performance.

Source : Site de Boris Charmatz

More information :
http://www.borischarmatz.org/