| Dance
As part of the ongoing cultural
dialogue between India and France, the Embassy of France in Indian and Alliance
Francaise of Madras are presenting an evening of Contemporary dance by one of
France's foremost choreographers, Michel Kelemenis, on February 20, 2004 at 1900
hrs, at the Sivagami Pethachi Auditorium.
"To speak about dance and
my profession became through the years a pleasure and a strength, like I am
actor of my own role, searching on stage through the repetition of theatrical
situations for an instant of sincerity. Pleasure, yes, in these depths where,
while composing, one no longer knows whether what is being rehearsed is already
selected or whether it is in the process of becoming." - Michel Kelemenis
THE PROGRAMME :
Kiki la Rose
(10 mins)
A dance inspired by a poem of
French poet Theophile Gautier set to an extract of Hector Berlioz -- nuits d'
ete
Choreography: Michel
Kelemenis Dancer: Michel Kelemenis Music: Hector Berlioz
 Kiki la Rose is a variation
around a specific way of holding the arms that was made famous by the early
Twentieth century Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. In this short piece inspired
by two poems of Theophile Gautier, 'Villanelle' and 'The Spectre Of the Rose',
the dancer deliberately avoids demonstrations of technical prowess in order to
express the subtleties of the dance and to bring to life the emotions expressed
in the music and in the poetry.
The title Kiki la Rose refers
to a famous flower seller who roamed the nocturnal establishments and bars of
Marseille. The first part of the dance expresses the naive freshness of the
future and the second part of the dance the melancholy of the past visualized as
the ghost of the rose who remembers its final glory nestling against the bosom
of a beautiful young woman. The piece can be seen as a metaphor of a life
entirely dedicated to dance.
K danza (45
mins)
A meditation on the nature of
the solo performance which incorporates words and solo musical cadences.
Choreography: Michel
Kelemenis Dancer: Michel Kelemenis Music: 4 musical solos by Philippe Fenelon :
1. Actis (excerpt from Helios /
Mythologie III), harpsichord: Dominique My
2. adapted from Zabak, percussion: Florent Jodelet
3. adapted from Notti, double bass and voice: Joelle Leandre
4. Cadence, two Tamil songs improvised by Eranchanathan
In March 2002, Michel Kelemenis
created Cadenza, a work staging the first interrogations of a new cycle based on
the soloist act. The extended play K.danza goes beyond its composition to reveal
the thoughts and feelings that guide an interpretation.
A singular play in order to
reflect on solo dance performance. After reflecting on the eminently singular
nature of the act of dancing, the necessity of incorporating words became
evident to Michel Kelemenis.
This aspect takes form in a
performance where the artiste appears as both choreographer and
dancer/interpreter, where he tries to reveal the secret concerns of a solo
written for himself, supported by sonorous textures, also soloists, that are
produced by various instruments reunited for the occasion by Philippe Fenelon.
It's not about a conference,
but rather words, endeavours, subduing, encounters, connections, listening -
which are illuminated by oral exchanges between the artiste and the audience,
all orientated to create tension within a man who directly, from composition to
improvisation, dances for us the essence of what he is. That's why K.danza.
Michel Kelemenis,
choreographer:
A choreographer and
contemporary dancer, he premiered his first works in 1984 at the heart of the
Centre Choregraphique National de Montpellier-Dominique Bagouet. Since 1987, he
has created a new programme each year for his company reuniting from three to
nine dancers according to the project; all of these shows have had numerous
engagements in France and abroad. Particularly attentive to the idea of a
dialogue between dance and music, the choreographer also enjoys mingling
regularly with classical music artistes and using the understanding born of
these encounters to develop new creative projects with them. Grants such as
Villa Medicis hors les murs, Leonard de Vinci or Uchida Shogakukin and also
commissions awarded by the AFAA have given him the opportunity to explore other
dance forms, in particular during voyages to Japan and South Africa. The years
2002 and 2003 are marked by the return of this choreographer-dancer to the stage
and by his ongoing commitment to a reflection on the soloist act. K.danza is a
part of this. In 2004, Michel Kelemenis spends nearly one month in India under
the aegis of the IndoFrench Academy of the
Arts. He will be touring six major
cites - Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pondicherry, Kolkata, and Delhi.
Philippe Fenelon, composer:
Winner
of numerous national and international awards, Philippe Fenelon is interested in
almost all musical genres and has a predilection for solo music. His works (more
than seventy) have been performed at most music festivals and contemporary music
events around the world. Philippe Fenelon's works issue naturally from an
original and fertile musical culture, are poetic and pictorial, and without
hesitation rethink historical musical genres (opera, quartet, concerto or
madrigal). After composing Salammbo for the Opera National de Paris, and notably
with his Eighteen Madrigals on the Duino Elegies by Rilke, the musician's style
is marked by large contours where the sung texts become more and more
intelligible.
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