Souffles

2010 – (Breaths)

Souffles joins up into two successive movements. The first one (inspiration) attempts to reveal an image of death in movement using the catharsis of the stage. The second movement (expiration) depletes this image to extract a redemptive violence from it.

Inspiration – The sky is up in the flies
Explosions, bombs tear up the empty white stage space. At a distance, a body lying under a white sheet.
A voice from the Earth, animal, facing us:
I can’t resist,
Oh, the pleasure Of announcing That nothing Will ever
Be the way it was
Nothing
Not even a feeling
Nothing
Something is watching for you in that instant
Oblivion

A body from the tip of its fingers seeks the sky’s instrument up in the flies.
Present: false, past: false, future: false
What remains is the sweep of the wind on this deserted stage, lifting this body, crashing into a corner, singing an ultimate time.
We think it is really the last time.
It is the subject of all stages linked to its origins.
We won’t let it go, we’ll be going there directly, straightforwardly.
Directly, otherwise why bother.

Expiration – Bringing life from death’s enigma
Since this image of a levitating body is impossible to assimilate without believing in something, how can we live with these visions which are part of our education and our culture, with which we have few in common?
What violences do they trigger in the only space towards which we hope to still believe in: stage?
Thus, maybe inventing a dance allowing our bodies to take it on, with all our strength left, and attempting to transform this vision in a shared space.
Bringing life from death’s enigma and thus giving life back its enigmatic nature.

Your knowledge requires a new departure
Your experience is useless and obsolete
Your vocabulary must be rebuilt
At last, you will be able to choose with no regrets.
No more re, no more ex, no more because, no more if.
Leaving your body to rebuild on.
A living body which will be your only belief.
We are on the threshold.

Souffles was created on June 12th 2010 at the Phénix, scène nationale of Valenciennes in the frame of the Latitudes contemporaines festival.

Cast

Conceived and directed by: Vincent Dupont
Dance: Aline Landreau, Michelle Moura, Vincent Dupont
Music: Valérie Joly, Raphaëlle Latini
Sound: Vanessa Court
Light design: Yves Godin
Costumes design: Eric Martin
Costumes making: Hélène Martin Longstaff, Didier Despin
Set: Sylvain Giraudeau
Artistic collaboration: Myriam Lebreton
Stage manager: Nicolas Barrot, Sylvain Giraudeau
Sound manager: Maxime Fabre
Light manager: Arnaud Lavisse
Souffles was created with Michelle Moura, Annabelle Pulcini, Vincent Dupont

Production

Production: J’y pense souvent (…)
Coproduction: CCN Tours, dir. Bernardo MontetARCADIMénagerie de verre, ParisLa Passerelle, Scène nationale de Saint-Brieuc.
With the support of: Région Centre-Val de Loire
ADAMI
With the support of: Vooruit (Ghent)Ménagerie de Verre/Studiolab (Paris)Parc de la Villette (Paris), for rehearsals periods.

Press

© Photo – Marc Domage

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