Cinq pour dix

“Cinq pour Dix” allows glimpses of what its writing owes to the earlier period when she was a celebrated performer of Merce Cunningham: specifically-defined movements, confined to a course, on trajectories which open the amplitude of the space.

Viola Farber took over from Alwin Nikolais as the head of the CNDC (Centre nationale de danse contemporaine), Angers in the autumn of 1981. In addition to directing the establishment’s College, she hoped to build up a real company in Europe. This consisted of ten members: four Americans who had come over with her, and six newly-auditioned French dancers. Working at full stretch, she was ready to present a programme of four pieces barely two months after her arrival.
A passionate music lover, Viola Farber drew upon this to infuse a number of her pieces with a cheerful lyricism. “Cinq pour Dix” is one of them, composed in collaboration with jazzman Michel Portal. This aspect apart, “Cinq pour Dix” allows glimpses of what its writing owes to the earlier period when she was a celebrated performer of Merce Cunningham (1953-1965): specifically-defined movements, confined to a course, on trajectories which open the amplitude of the space. The movement spreads from a light but firmly-held upper body, nonetheless susceptible to wide directional variations. The upper torso is open towards the front, allowing an exclamatory freeing up of the upper limbs.   

Source: Gérard Mayen