Photo (mod) par Bernard Duret
εxtatic bodies / Newtopia 9.6
A choreographic evening about ecstatic states.
Two inclusive pieces present their premiere in Rochecorbon (37210)! Two choreographic pieces by Omnivion and – after three years of collaborations – a joint production with the International Center of Dance & Theatre of Milos (Greece)!
Program :
εkstatik (2022)
[du grec ἔϰστασις, transport, de ἐξ, hors, et στάσις, base, fondement]
What’s trance ?
A rhythmic ebb and flow, a pulsation of the body, a state of intoxication, an access to invisible worlds? Hadra of the Sufis, Anastenaria of the Greeks, Whirling Dervishes, Tarantella in Italy, Voodoo dances of Benin or Haiti, Gnawa rituals, Balinese dances, the list is long of traditions that explore modified states of consciousness. What about the trance of immobility, meditations, or extreme slowness? Psychologists, anthropologists, sociologists, musicologists and, for some time now, Western contemporary dance choreographers have been passionate about studying and even appropriating this phenomenon.
Why trance ?
The motivations for trying these experiences seem to be multiple. Psychic relaxation, pain relief, transformation of perception, spiritual questioning, connection with the community, etc. Our increasingly materialistic societies put forward ecstatic addictive states to promote profit, such as the consumption of media, video games and/or chemical and psychotropic substances.
The psychoanalyst and dance therapist France Schott-Billmann has been studying ecstatic dances, inspired by Haitian dances, for decades. She observed: ¨We had the feeling of finding our roots, a joyful innocence, a “primitive” soul, we communed in the warmth of the group, we reconnected to the vital energy of the pulse and the repetition of the gesture led to the exultation of the trance. ¨ (France Schott-Billmann, article published in Érès | ” Insistance ” 2015/1 n° 9)
This year’s new Omnivion project “Corps Extatique” draws its theme from the notion of ecstasy, the unconscious and altered states of consciousness. It is a questioning on the diversity of the forms of knowledge in complementarity with the rational intelligence. An attempt to moderate the monolithic power of an omnipresent scientism which seeks to dictate, sometimes violently, the communitie’s everyday life.
εkstatik is a collective dive by the Omnivion team into situations that promote ecstatic states. A team that has evolved since 2013, but remains inclusive and affirms its passion for the links between dance and psychology. What dance, what rhythm, what costume, what configuration will take us on a journey to ecstasy? The form of this show in the making will surprise us, as usual. The singularity of the performers and the creativity of the group make it difficult to speculate on the aesthetics or the script.
Conception / direction : Dimitri Tsiapkinis
Interpretation : Sophie Abbas, Bartel Bruynseels, Christine Causera, Claire Guillaume, Nikicha Jaillette, Ghislaine Lorne, Danièle Martzloff, Catherine Mondou, Bruno Morin, Quentin Perrotte, Rosa Pires de Matos, Benoît Pradier, Magali dos Santos, Keely Sigot, Dimitri Tsiapkinis.
Voice dramaturgy : Keely Sigot
Stage manager & lighting design : Marine Pourquié
Length : ~ 35min
Photos by Bernard Duret : https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzCkuJ
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«Metanymphes II» (2021)
A Newtopia project as part of Extatic Bodies 2021, co-produced with the International Center for Dance & Theater of Milos / Subsidized by the DRAC and ARS Center and the City of Tours and with the support of the Municipality of Milos. THE PREMIERE VERSION (I) was on AUGUST 1ST 2021, AT THE ANCIENT THEATER OF MILOS (84800), CYCLADES, GREECE.
PHOTOS 2021 : flickr/METANYMPHES
PHOTOS 2022 : flickr/METANYMPHES 2022
The title Metanymphes – a neologism that resonates with the Greek word nymph (larva) – refers to the process of continuous transformation. Ancient Greek theater, through speech, movement and music, accelerated political thought and enriched democracy. From this point of view, the proposed choreographic project is in a dynamic of political and cultural renewal.
[The show]
It is an exciting experience with monologues, sensitive corporealities, dazzling dances. In the first part, the director and choreographer Filio Louvari resonates with the artistic and philosophical concerns of Dimitri Tsiapkinis, and with the happy collaboration of a teenager, Elena Koronaiou, offer us a…two-woman-show full of energy and humor. In the second part a one-man-show by dancer-choreographer Dimitris Tsiapkinis, with a jubilant self-analytical posture, a sort of metamodern satire.
[Concept]
What’s the relationship of a modern European citizen with his breath? How does a teenage girl from Milos (Cyclades / Greece) perceive the archetypal symbols of the history of her country? How does the ancient city of Milos lead us to poetically examine space and time? Can kinesthetic research partly cure our postmodern neuroses? Questions that we will study in a festive atmosphere, with humor, physical intensity and political anecdotes.
[Team]
Conception / direction : Dimitri Tsiapkinis (Association Omnivion, France)
Choreography & staging : Filio Louvari & Dimitri Tsiapkinis
Interpretation : Elena Koronaiou, Filio Louvari, Dimitri Tsiapkinis
Stage manager & lighting design : Marine Pourquié
Organisation & production, coordination : Filio Louvari
Production Assistants : Nadia Kyriakou
Length : ~ 55min
Production : Omnivion/ Arts of Embodiment (France) & International Center of Dance & Theatre of Milos (Greece)
Premier on January 22nd 2022, at 7pm, at Vodanum, 15 Rue des Clouet, 37210 Rochecorbon
Partners & financing :
