• From Tuesday 8 to Saturday 12 December 2009 - 20h30

The monumental figure of the visionary Merce Cunnigham, the man who created 150 pieces, towers over the choreographic art in the second half of the 20th century. Is it still possible to resort to his work as a starting point for new experiments rather than merely pay the required homage to the consecrated master? That challenge was taken up by French choreographer Boris Charmatz, who combines a boisterous nature with an analytical approach and great inventiveness. Imagining the motions which would provide the links between the emblematic pictures of the great American leader’s pieces, images which can be found in the masterwork Merce Cunningham, un demi-siècle de danse [Merce Cunningham, half a century of dance], led to Charmatz’s creation  of 50 ans de danse [50 Years of Dance]. He was thus able to demonstrate in the first place that mere amateurs or students could benefit from Cunningham’s virtuoso example in virtually no time at all. He now attracts into his experiments former performers of Merce Cunningham’s. He does so at the very moment when the Théâtre de la Ville welcomes yet again the illustrious New York choreographer himself, providing us with an exciting opportunity to bring together the original model and his dizzying inheritance.

Gérard Mayen
 

Avec le Festival d'Automne à Paris