Satie : le ballet mal fagoté [transmission 2015]

Extrait de la pièce de Michèle Dhallu remontée par le groupe Petits Pas – La Fabrique corps et graphique (Simorre), dans le cadre du dispositif “Danse en amateur et répertoire” (2014)

Choreography by Michèle Dhallu
A choreographic extract remodelled by the group Petits Pas – La Fabrique corps et graphique (Simorre), as part of the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” programme (2014) (a programme created to assist and promote amateur dancing).

The group
In the rural world of Le Gers, the association Petit Pas groups some fifteen teenage girls and young adults, advanced-level students in the jazz dance school of Émilie Saintlos, and the classical and contemporary dance school of Marieke Simons (former étoile of the Ballet du Capitole). The aim is here to break down the barriers between genres, resulting in workshops where the listening work is enhanced by the vibrant presence of a musician. Michèle Dhallu, the choreographer of the piece selected for the “Danse en amateur et repertoire” national meeting, has first-hand experience of the artistic and pedagogical world of Marieke Simmons. Also, the work under her leadership offers the group members a substantial modification in their approach to gestures, in a markedly contemporary light.

The project
Mixed when it was created, the number of six dancers of Satie : le ballet mal fagoté is kept identical for the current project. The young female dancers working on it were selected according to their determination and open-mindedness rather than for their technical prowess. The extract proves to be most accessible in this respect, with its duos, trios and group sequences. Emphasis is placed more on the interpretative quality and the actual meaning to give to presence on the stage. Satie’s writing is original in this: the gestural instructions consist of handwritten annotations that embellish its musical score. Once the words have been submitted to the game of gestural translation, the work required is essentially that of an artistic and cultural understanding. 

The choreographer
Michèle Dhallu wishes to preserve the swing and energy of her jazz dance origins. She is part of the Nouvelle Danse Française (New French Dance) generation, nurtured by the lessons of the American moderns. She created her first work in 1986. In 1992, she resolutely opted for creation aimed at young audiences that she approaches as an area of openness: children are confronted with unusual worlds, and parents find themselves having to dialogue and share emotions. Composed in 2001, Satie : le ballet mal fagoté takes the form of an unsettling concert. This piece highlights the attitude of a hair-raising composer, showing scant respect for society’s codes, eclectic and innovative, committed and scornful.