La Figure du gisant [transmission 2023]

A choreographic extract remodelled by the group École municipale de danse, contemporain 3, coordinator Julia Tiec, as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme 2022/2023 (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing).

Transmission by Lisa Guerrero, Nathalie Pernette, Vincent Simon, Régina Simonart-Meier, Laure Wernly. 

Presented on 3 June 2023, Le Triangle, Cité de la danse, in Rennes.

The piece when it was created 

La Figure du gisant 

Firstly produced 12 June 2015 at the Cluny abbey

Choreography: Nathalie Pernette

Work for five performers: Lucien Brabec, Lisa Guerrero, Nathalie Pernette, Vincent Simon, Laure Wernly

Music: Franck Gervais

Original duration: 1h 

The group

The group is made up of eleven dedicated high-school students, some with around ten years experience in contemporary dance. Run by dance teacher Julia Tiec, the group was founded in 2015 in Châteaudun, where the dancers meet for weekly training. They also participate in improvisation and choreography workshops, and events involving local art schools. They have already worked on several pieces of repertoire, including Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s Rosas danst Rosas and Playlist #1 by Angelin Preljocaj.  

The project

The group was drawn to the work of Nathalie Pernette for her exploration of the relationship between dance, architecture and heritage. Their interest was particularly sparked by Pernette’s contribution to the festival Monuments en mouvements, which took place in Châteaudun, whose chateau is classed as a “historic monument”. The group chose the promenade performance La Figure du gisant (2015) as the best means to delve into the body-states of dancers in relation to strange, memory-laden sites. Exploratory sessions were conducted in various historical sites in the city, including the Madeleine Church, in order to dive deeper into the interplay between art and death and the realm of ghosts. The group worked with dancer Lisa Guerrero and with Nathalie Pernette herself.