Ornements [transmission 2024]

A choreographic extract remodelled by the group Le Terrain vague II, coordinator Isabelle Blondeau, as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme 2023/2024 (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing).

Transmission by Bruno Benne.

Presented on 15 June 2024, Le Manège de Reims.

The piece when it was created

Ornements

Firstly produced 9 June 2016 at Opéra national de Strasbourg

Choreography: Bruno Benne

Work for nine performers: Erika Bouvard, Sandra Ehrensperger, Anna-Maria Maas, Dane Holland, Nicholas Jones, Hamilton Nieh, Jean-Philippe Rivière, Marwick Schmitt, Valentin Thuet 

Music: Concerts in sextuor by Jean-Philippe Rameau and creations by Youri Bessières 

Durée originale : 30 min

The group

Le Terrain vague II (Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur)

Coordinated by Isabelle Blondeau in Nice, Le Terrain vague II, is made up of nine dancers from the ages of 24 to 63, each passionate about dance in all its forms: classical, contemporary, oriental and jazz. Through their participation in events, workshops and performances, as well as weekly classes at the Entrepont (a space run by Laurence Marthouret’s company, /tranS/), the dancers developed an interest in the origins of codified dance. During a workshop with Bruno Benne, they were able to explore the vocabulary of baroque dance, through the choreographer’s contemporary lens.  

The project 

With the help of a modern-day choreographer, the dancers sought to enhance their historical knowledge of codified dance, by retracing it to its source and learning the techniques of baroque dance. For this reason, they chose Ornements (2016), choreographed by Bruno Benne for the 9 dancers of the Opéra national du Rhin. The 30-minute piece was abridged and restaged with simplified steps for the group. The main sequences are “Danse sous forme de contredanse”, “Menuet Figuré” and “Sculptures en spirale”. The Baroque-style steps, variations and flourishes, have been specifically adapted by Benne to help the dancers enjoy the musicality, movement patterns and reciprocity of baroque dance.