Komm und birg dein Antliz

Keep dancing – Danser Encore
The Lyon Opera Ballet will perform soli all over the CN D, in a choreographic circuit resulting from the meeting between one different dancer and one different choreographer for each solo. “Danser Encore” wishes to reflect the diversity of contemporary creation and immerse us into a living creative process for contemporary dance. Initiated in 2020 by Lyon Opera Ballet director Julie Guibert, the “Danser Encore” cycle relies on a desire to showcase the individuality of the company’s dancers and to support choreographic creation in the difficult context of a global pandemic by banking on the fertile dialogue between choreographers and performers. From the creation of tailored soli, “Danser Encore” exposes the team work of two people and highlights how diverse contemporary creation is. After conceiving 13 original soli, the Lyon Opera Ballet will continue the project by creating more pieces that will use all the resources of the body, image and movement. Occupying the entire space of the Centre national de la danse over the course of two days, over 10 soli will be performed in the studios and the Atrium, revealing the fragility, lightness, density and particular grain of each performer and the magnitude of their desire to dance.

Komm und birg dein Antliz 

“When I told my martial arts instructor, Akira Hino, about a radically transformative experience in my life (the first one that had nothing to do with dance), he smiled and told me in his thick Japanese accent: “At beginning, everything same”. A clear, simple answer, without pretensions or preconceptions. His words resonated deeply with me when it came to creating this solo for Yan Leiva, a solo which is more like a collaboration than a piece created for him. I thought: “what is the most important and profound thing I could share with Yan during this time? A transformation like the one I experienced a long time ago in Japan? The long process of exploration which led me to develop a method for improvisation and instant choreography? And if so, why? After talking with Yan, I decided to share my most precious knowledge and techniques, not for the sake of consistency, but out of common interest. These techniques focus not only on the piece itself, but also the mental and physical work that goes into it. In a solo, creating space for bodily intelligence and intellectual explorations is just as important as the final piece. The idea is to break the conventions of stage choreography in order to unveil the dancer’s transparent presence, rather than their ability to project presence. There is a kind of verticality, like a thread hanging in the air, ready to fall into the void at any moment. Precision of movement, gaze and presence in the space are essential elements of this method. I thought, sharing them with Yan would be a joyful experience, so why not create a solo based on joy?” 

Source: programme of the CND