Cendrillon [transmission 2022]

A choreographic extract remodelled by the group A Corps danse, artistic coordinator Claire Van Vlamertynghe, as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme 2020/2022 (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing). Transmission by Philippe Lafeuille.

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

The piece when it was created 

Cendrillon

Firstly produced 3 to 12 November 2011 at Maison de la danse, Lyon

Choreography: Philippe Lafeuille

Piece for eight performers: Pascal Allio, Romain Arreghini, Arnaud Boursain, Anthony Couroyer, Vivien Letarnec, Alexis Ochin, Victor Virnot and Rodolphe Fouillot

Music: Ran Slavin, Sergueï Prokofiev (extracts from the ballet Cendrillon), Arvo Pärt, Björk, Värttinä, Antisten and sound extracts from the Walt Disney picture

Original duration: 1h15

The group

The group A Corps danse, made up of 9 experienced female dancers aged from 38 to 60 years, was founded in 2010. For their third entry in the programme Amateur Dance and Repertoire, the group asked choreographer Philippe Lafeuille to entrust them with an extract from his piece Cendrillon (2011), which he is currently reprising with his company Chicos Mambo. Having steeped themselves in Daniel Larrieu’s elastic choreography in 2014, then in the volatile, fluid movements of Carolyn Carlson, in 2017, the dancers are diving into a new robust, playful style of dance. Under the guidance of dance teacher, Claire Van Vlamertynghe, the dancers of A corps danse love to explore different choreographic approaches to enrich and expand their physical range of expression.  

The project

Lafeuille’s version of Perrault’s Cinderella, is a story of transformation and the search for happiness that resonates with the dancers’ own life journeys. The stories themes – the transition from girlhood to womanhood, from servant to princess, the search for love, etc. –  speak to the construction of feminine identity. The dancers were also drawn to show’s “recyclable” props and costumes. Created for male dancers, but designed with “unisex” roles, this time the piece is performed by an all female cast. Dancing roles that are neither feminine, nor masculine represented another challenge for the dancers. To the music of Prokofiev, and some sequences of contemporary music, this modern Cinderella is performed on a stage covered in rubbish bags, plastic packets and disposable cups.  

Amateur Dance and Repertory is a companion program to amateur practice beyond the dance class and the technical learning phase. Intended for groups of amateur dancers, it opens a space of sharing for those who wish to deepen a practice and a knowledge of the dance in relation to its history.

Laurent Barré
Head of Research and Choreographic Directories
Anne-Christine Waibel
Research Assistant and Choreographic Directories
+33 (0)1 41 83 43 96
danse-amateur-repertoire@cnd.fr

Source: CN D

More information: https://www.cnd.fr/en/page/323-danse-en-amateur-et-repertoire-grant-programme