ENGLISH VERSION BELOW

Bragt i Danstidningen 2.4.2021

INTERVIEW – Idéen til dette projekt har været undervejs i næsten et år. Det var Anselm Kiefer selv, der ønskede at forbinde dans med billederne. Han spurgte Hugo Marchand, om han ville koreografere en pas de deux til ham selv og Hannah O’Neill i de storslåede rammer i Galerie Gagosian in Le Bourget. Projektet blev udskudt ad flere omgange pga. covid-19. I december måned 2020 spurgte Hugo mig, om jeg ville koreografere pas de deuxen til ham og Hannah, og jeg sagde naturligvis ja med det samme!

Formålet med denne pas de deux var for mig at fremhæve Anselm Kiefers malerier. Anselm bad mig skabe en let og flydende dans, uden brutale eller skarpe bevægelser, så publikum ikke ville opleve forstyrrelse, men ville kunne nyde malerierne og dansen samtidig. Det er også grunden til, at jeg valgte hudfarvet, kropsnært tøj, så danserne kunne blive et med billederne.

Vedrørende musikken så havde Hugo Marchand allerede valgt Steve Reichs strygerstykke, Duet. Da Anselm ønskede en rolig og lykkelig atmosfære i koreografien, mødte denne musik fuldstændigt hans krav. Jeg selv blev øjeblikkeligt inspireret, det passede mig perfekt, og det er denne stemning, jeg foretrækker i mit arbejde.

Den eneste udfordring, jeg havde, var Hugo og Hannahs travle arbejdsdage, der gjorde det svært at finde tid, hvor vi alle tre kunne mødes.

Min koreografi skulle kunne ses fra alle mulige vinkler. De fire store malerier, der omgiver danserne, skulle også kunne ses. Det betød, at jeg skulle forestille mig en dans, der kunne ses ikke kun i 360°, men også fra oven, da vi havde kameraer monteret på mezzaninerne.

Det var også en udfordring at skabe koreografi til sådan et bredt rum. Indtil da havde jeg kun erfaring med at skabe koreografi til scenerum i almindelig størrelse. Alt er overdrevet stort i Gagosian, og pga. pandemien kunne jeg ikke besøge rummet i starten af processen. Først da det lykkedes os at arrangere et besøg, blev jeg klar over, hvor stort stedet egentlig er. Allervigtigst så kunne jeg endelig se malerierne med mine egne øjne. Jeg blev klar over, hvor små danserne ville se ud i den ramme. Jeg forestillede mig Hannah Hannah og Hugo i malerierne og visualisere bevægelse, der kunne skabe en oplevelse af dem som del af Anselms kunst, at de kunne træde frem af et lærred for dernæst at gå ind i et andet. Det var utroligt spændende!

Jeg må sige, at jeg blev totalt fascineret af den skønhed og magnetisme, der er i malerierne. Anselm Kiefers arbejde er ofte ganske mørkt, uden levende farver. De mørke skove og forladte marker, han skaber, henviser til landskaber i Tyskland, hans fødeland. Når man ser hans maleri, mærker man straks historiens og fortidens vægt. I disse værker er emnet derimod genfødsel. De har mange flere farver og toner. Orange, blå, guld… De gyldne marker, der røres af en blid vind, er en invitation til dans.

Min baggrund:

Jeg begyndte at koreografere tidligt. Jeg blev introduceret til dans af en lærer i moderne dans, hvor jeg arbejdede med improvisation. Det gav mig måske længslen efter at skabe.

Da jeg som 16-årig var elev på Pariseroperaens Balletskole, blev jeg del af et stort projekt, der bragte verdens store balletskoler sammen, organiseret af National Ballet of Canadas skole i anledning af dets 50-års jubilæum. Hver skole blev bedt om at bidrage med et værk af en af skolens elever.

I London havde Royal Ballet School en konkurrence for at udvælge en kandidat, men i Paris blev jeg udvalgt til opgaven. Elisabeth Platel, skolens direktør, støttede mig meget. Chefen for Stuttgartballettens skole, Tadeusz Matacz, så mit arbejde og inviterede mig året efter til at genopsætte koreografien på hans skole. Det bekræftede mig i mit ønske om at koreografere.

Nu, hvor jeg er del af Pariseroperaens Ballet, helliger jeg selvfølgelig min tid og min energi til min karriere som danser, men jeg prøver at finde rum til at koreografere også.

Jeg har for nylig skabt flere arbejder til Agnès Letestu. Jeg nyder i særlig grad at samarbejde med musikere. Quatuor Modigliani bad mig skabe en koreografi til Ravels Quatuor, som vi opførte ved Evian Music Festival.

Jeg ønsker selvfølgelig at fortsætte arbejdet med koreografiske projekter i fremtiden, og jeg får flere og flere muligheder i den retning, men min prioritet er lige nu min karriere som danser. Man kan ikke danse for evigt, men man kan altid koreografere.

I believe the idea of the project has grown for almost a year. The desire to combine dance to the paintings of Anselm Kiefer came from the artist himself. He asked Hugo Marchand if he could choreograph a pas de deux with Hannah O’Neil in the spectacular setting of Galerie Gagosian in Le Bourget. The project was delayed several times because of Covid-19. Hugo then asked me in December if I could choregraph the pas de deux for him and Hannah, and I of course accepted immediately!

For me, the purpose of the pas de deux was to put the paintings of Anselm Kiefer first. Anselm asked me to create a light and fluid dance, without any brutal or sharp movements, so that the audience look wouldn’t be disturbed and would be able to enjoy the paintings and the dance movements simultaneously. This is also the reason, I chose skin coloured costumes as close as possible to the body, so the dancers would easily blend with the paintings.

Regarding the music, Hugo had already chosen Steve Reich’s Duet. As Anselm wanted a tranquil, peaceful and happy atmosphere for the choreography, the music matched this demand completely. I was immidiately inspired, it suited me perfectly, as this is the ambiance I usually like to set in my creations.

The only obstacle I encountered in this process was the fact that both Hugo and Hannah had very busy schedules at the time, and it was quite difficult to find the time to meet for the three of us.

Choreographically, the challenge was the dance had to be visible from every possible angle. And the four giant paintings that surrounded the dancers also had to be visible. So I had to imagine a dance that could be watched not only at 360° but also from the top, as we had extra cameras installed on mezzanines.

The other challenge was to imagine a choreography for such a wide space. Until then, I had only choreographed for stages of a regular size. At Gagosian Gallery, everything is excessively large! Because of the pandemic, I couldn’t visit gallery from the start, but when we organised the first visit, I became aware of how oversized this place actually is! And mostly I could finally see the paintings with my own eyes. I then realized the dancers would look very tiny there. I start to imagine Hannah and Hugo blend into the paintings, and visualize movements that would give the feeling that they were part of Anselm’s artwork, and that they were coming out of one panel to enter another one. That was extremely exciting! I have to say I was absolutely fascinated by the beauty and magnetism coming out of the paintings. In general, the work of Anselm Kiefer is quite dark, without vivid colors. The dark forests and deserted fields that he represents are references to landscapes in Germany, his birthland. When one looks at his artwork, one can immediately feel the weight of the past and history. Here, on the contrary, the subject is rebirth. There are many more tones and colours. Orange, blue, gold… The golden fields under a gentle breeze are an invitation to dance.

My background:

At 16, when I was student at The Paris Opera Ballet School, a big project reuniting major ballet schools around the world, to celebrate the National Ballet School of Canada’s 50th Anniversary was organised. Each participating school was invited to present a creation choreographed by one of their students.

I heard that in London, the Royal Ballet School had an audition to select the student that would get the chance to present his work, but in Paris I was the only candidate. Elisabeth Platel, the director of the school, was very supportive of me, and I was extremely excited about the whole project. The director of the Stuttgart Ballet School, Tadeusz Matacz, was there, he really like my choreography and invited me to teach my ballet to his school who performed it the following year. This experience confirmed my desire to choreograph!

Now that I am part of the company, I of course dedicate my time and energy to my career as a dancer, but I still try to find a little space for choreography.

I recently created several works with Agnès Letestu. I particulary enjoy to collaborate with musicians. For exemple, the Quatuor Modigliani asked me to choreograph on Ravel’s Quatuor, and we performed it together in Evian Music Festival.

For the near future, I of course want to try to continue choreographic projects, and I am happy to say I have more and more demands, but I still want to give priority to my career as a dancer. One can choreograph forever but one cannot dance forever.