Mammame's Childhood [illustrated]

Extracts from the Mamamme’s Childhood show, with Olivier Supiot’s illustrations from the children’s book published by the Editions P’tit Glénat.

Mammame is a choreography that was created in 1985 and travelled the world. It has now become a part of the repertoire and is often repeated or recreated. Several generations of audiences have had the chance to appreciate it. Jean-Claude Gallotta, who had a childhood bursting with energy – “My childhood runs in my adult knees”, he has Yvan Vaffan say -, wanted to take a closer look at this idea of transmission between the generations by adapting his choreography for an audience of children in a version entitled Mamamme’s Childhood. Adapting a choreography for a young audience does not just mean simplifying it or performing only the bare bones. It consists of giving the show a narrative form through which children can gain a better understanding. In dance, too, children like to be told stories. So the tribulations of the Mammame tribe had to be turned into a tale, their adventure had to have a name, the dancers had to become identifiable characters and a storyteller-agitator had to unravel the thread of the tale on the stage. Mamamme’s Childhood is therefore the story of a group of Mammames who lived inside the theatre and had a passion for the spotlight. They warmed themselves by it, all together. “One day,” says Gallotta, “the spotlight mysteriously switches off and disappears. The Mammames then have to face up to the cold and sadness. But there’s a solution : a legend tells that, by creating a large number of different dances, the spotlight will return. The Mammames come onstage and leave full of energy on their choreographic quest, their search for the lost spotlight. The elf Schiotto introduces them in song and launches the dance of the Mammames-children.”
“Ocht-oussil !” concludes the choreographer in the Mammames’ own language. Do we need to translate it ? Dance is big enough to make itself understood.