Dossier pédagogique - Eugénie Andrin

I was discussing with Vanessa d'Ayral de Sérignac, co-author of our future project, about the choreographic, immersive and interactive experience Entre dans la danse which has obtained writing and development support from the CNC, the South Region ( development aid), as well as an accompanied residence at L'Entre-Pont. This experience is inspired by the real fact that in 1518, the population of the city of Strasbourg was seized with dancing madness for weeks, which led to the death of hundreds of people... It was then that we said to ourselves : What if... what if the current situation plunges our society back into collective hysteria... What if the stress caused by the health situation and all that it entails: constraints linked to wearing a mask, social distancing, differences of opinion on measures taken, on the vaccine, distrust, fear… What if this anxiety-provoking climate once again took the population to the heart of a dancing epidemic? By removing the mask, the contamination is immediate between the bodies. The virus is spreading, but it is a dancing epidemic. Beings throw themselves into the dance headlong, and this dancing madness resounds like a cry, an outlet to unload this oppressive situation. Like an exploding valve, we free ourselves from the mask to evacuate a pressure so long contained. The mask that falls is a door that opens to let the hysteria express itself. The scene then takes on the appearance of a popular ball, a gigantic dancefloor. The dramatic situation is diverted with lightness. This seemingly joyful vision, this feeling of gaiety and abandon that emanates from the dancers helps to play down a dark period. In appearance only… Choreographic piece for 45 dancers Author and choreographer Eugénie Andrin Author and assistant director Vanessa d'Ayral de Sérignac Scenographer and light designer Laurent Castaingt Musical creation Clément Althaus The dancers The piece is based on a core of 5 professional dancers : Sami Loviat Tapie, Marie-Pierre Genovese, Marius Fanaca, Jeanne Chossat, Maurin Bretagne. Associating the educational component with the creation of a show seems essential. This pedagogical approach of the company was also approved by obtaining accreditation in October 2020. Twice in 2019 and 2020, Eugénie Andrin intervened as part of the dance specialty teaching at the Lycée Apollinaire in Nice The Théâtre de Grasse is the partner cultural structure for dance specialty teaching. He accompanies the students in their practice during workshops conducted in contact with scheduled artists. This teaching, on the initiative of the Lycée Apollinaire is financed by the DRAC and the students are supervised by their teacher Sophie Martinez, responsible for the option. Eugénie Andrin's recent pedagogical interventions with the students of the art-dance option at the Lycée Apollinaire led her to consider collaborating with them, having appreciated their artistic qualities and the enthusiasm they showed in following the proposed work. by the choreographer. The awareness of their body, their "instinctive" movement and their always right intention, are the strength of these students. This is why she found in them the ideal interpreter-artists to incarnate these people taken with madness, become dancers by force of circumstance. From an artistic point of view, this collaboration with 20 students from the art-dance option of the Lycée Apollinaire is therefore an undeniable asset for the show. 5 interventions are planned between October and November 2021. 20 students from the dance and theater option of the Lycée Audiberti in Antibes complete the cast. Interventions are scheduled from May 2021, and this artistic and cultural education project will be integrated into their curriculum. From a pedagogical point of view, this project represents an interesting experience: beyond the planned pedagogical interventions, and their outcome (a show date scheduled in a large theater), it is also the meeting between students from 2 different high schools, and the contribution that can be made by working with professional dancers from various backgrounds (contemporary dance, hip hop, classical). Anthéa and the City of Antibes being long-standing, solid partners of the company, it seemed necessary to register the project on its territory, through this collaboration with the students of Antibes. This also opens up certain perspectives, because other collaborations could be envisaged in other territories that would program the show. Thus associated with the play, the educational project addressed to the schools of a locality would be a complement and an interesting asset with a view to dissemination on a larger scale.

The choreographic score

Scene 1

En scène une table dressée avec 2 verres et une bouteille de vin. Une jeune femme seule en scène se prépare en attendant son amoureux. Elle écoute de la musique à la radio. Une anecdote mentionne l’épidémie de fou rire qui a secoué la Tanzanie en 1960. Partie d'un pensionnat de jeunes filles, l'hilarité s’est propagée à travers le pays pendant 6 mois. Cela l’interpelle. La musique reprend. Son amoureux entre en scène, comme s’il rentrait chez lui, il étreint son amoureuse. Ils discutent de leur journée et prennent l’apéritif sur une musique décontractée. Tout à coup les nouvelles se font entendre, l’homme change la station pour retrouver de la musique. A nouveau, on entend des informations, il remet de la musique… Les phases musique-infos sont de plus en plus rapprochées et changent alors même qu’ils ne zappent plus. Cette situation sépare le couple progressivement. Accumulation de mauvaises nouvelles sous forme de flashes (réchauffement climatique, terrorisme, pauvreté, épidémie…) jusqu’à ce que l’on entende une alarme et le signal comme dans l’avion lors de la chute des masques à oxygène « Breathe ! breathe ! » hurlé par des haut-parleurs anxiogènes. Les masques (chirurgicaux) tombent du plafond. Ils les mettent. Le port des masques ralentit leurs mouvements, leurs gestes sont empêchés. Ils veulent se toucher mais la distanciation sociale les sépare. Ils sont comme des aimants dont on rapproche les côtés négatifs, un geste va repousser l’autre au lieu de l’atteindre. Au départ, leurs mouvements amoureux allaient l’un vers l’autre, maintenant, c’est une danse l’un avec l’autre qu’ils exécutent comme des soldats. Ensemble mais pas « ensemble ». Le masque amoindrissant leur sens, on entend au loin, comme dans une pièce éloignée, le son de la télévision, étouffé, comme sous l’eau, ponctué par des bruitages de guerre, des mitraillettes, des militaires qui marchent au pas, des aboiements, des pleurs d’enfants… Puis l’homme commence à enlever légèrement son masque. C’est un masque travaillé de façon à pouvoir être étiré à l’extrême. Il passe sa main dedans comme s’il voulait sortir de cette prison. Il joue avec le masque l’enlevant et le remettant, l’étirant en dansant. Lorsque le masque se décolle du visage, les bruitages de violence au loin sont alors entrecoupés de bribes de musique classique très nettes et très fortes, comme des respirations. Le garçon finit par enlever son masque totalement. Il danse librement sur la musique classique très forte maintenant. La fille est immobile, elle le regarde tétanisée sous son masque. L’homme s’approche alors doucement de la fille, il prend une grande bouffée d’air, soulève le masque de la fille et l’embrasse pour lui donner de l’oxygène, comme un bouche à bouche, il lui redonne de la vie. Ils s’écartent l’un de l’autre. La fille prend une grande respiration et ils partent dans la danse. Duo en contact l’un avec l’autre. Jeu de contrepoids, légères suspensions, mélange des corps tout en fluidité.

Scene 2

 2 accessoiristes sortent de coulisse pour enlever le canapé et les accessoires en scène. L’un des deux, attiré par la liberté des protagonistes reste en bord de coulisse pour les regarder, il enlève son masque et entre dans la danse. D’abord seul, sur place pour lui même, il bouge en micro-mouvements, puis le couple de danseurs s’approche de lui et le happe dans leur danse-contact qui est désormais un trio.

Scene 3

L’autre accessoiriste ne voyant pas son collègue revenir entre en scène. Etonnée, elle se rapproche du trio dont les corps effectuent un mouvement fluide tout en contact, portés et suspensions. Les corps emmêlés passent à travers elle. Elle reste immobile, et on la voit toujours en place une première fois, son masque bien fixé sur son visage. Au 2nd passage, le masque a glissé sous le nez. Le troisième passage du trio de corps emmêlés emporte la femme dont le masque tombe au sol.

Scene 4

A theater usher, stunned by the spectacle of these people without masks, fearing for their health and her own, tries at all costs to put a mask on them. Many masks emerge from her costume, from her pockets, from her waist, from her chest, she pulls out dozens that she fails to put on the dancers. The latter begin to remove her mask so that she joins them. She struggles, doesn't want to. She is scared. They manage to do so, however, and take him with them.

Scene 5

A teenage girl in the 1st row in the audience gets up, goes on stage, drops her mask and joins the others in dancing. Another member of the public follows this same path. But when she is about to join the scene, her spouse who was sitting in the room next to her tries to stop her. Opposition duo: the man wants to stop his wife's momentum at all costs. Relentlessly, he puts it back by carried, slid. Paying no attention to the actions of the man, she is captivated, hypnotized by the dance, like an insect attracted by the light. Fearing for her, he puts her mask back on, which she immediately takes off, he shouts, gets in her way so that the loved one is not contaminated by the dancing epidemic. She begins to dance slowly. He puts his hand over her mouth like a gag, which stops her for a moment, but as soon as she frees herself, she starts dancing again and under the helpless man's gaze, the group drags her into her crazy farandole.

Scene 6

Sans lui prêter aucune attention, 5 jeunes danseurs courent de la coulisse en scène avec fougue et joie. L’homme complètement dépassé sort de scène. Les jeunes danseurs jettent leur masque en l‘air et se mettent à danser. D’abord entre eux puis ils se mêlent aux autres.

Scene 7

2 other people suddenly leave the public to engage in the dance. The man who had to give up preventing his wife from dancing returns. In the meantime, he went to get help. He is now accompanied by a small "army" of people dressed in black protective suits who enter through the entrance to the performance hall. They will try to prevent the dancers from dancing. Joined by 2 others who were seated in the audience, it's a struggle now taking place before our eyes between those, mask on their face who try to stifle the dance and the others with their faces uncovered who continue to dance tirelessly. The combinations are torn and ripped off revealing colored clothes underneath. We have a suspension in the music, a moment of respite during which time seems to stop, a breath in the movement where the couple in love at the beginning find themselves in the middle of the chaos. Around, the movements are prevented, the bodies are blocked, but in spite of the imposed straitjacket, the gesture always manages to emerge in nervous jerks, very small at the beginning then more and more ample as one goes along until being completely freed from the embrace imposed by masked men and women. Following this liberation, the dancing beings surround the masked people. Their fear, their fear is felt, when they tighten their vice on them, until the complete absorption of their body. The 20 dancers form a single heap of entangled bodies. The music is distended until it becomes dissonant.

Scene 8

Les corps se détachent lentement. Tous ensemble, ils forment alors une farandole gigantesque, un serpent qui grandit au fur et à mesure qu’il happe dans son élan les danseurs en proie à leur pulsion.