Rachid Ouramdane, "Franchir la nuit"

15 Dec 2018
21 Dec 2018
Rachid Ouramdane, "Franchir la nuit" © Patrick Imbert
Rachid Ouramdane, "Franchir la nuit" © Patrick Imbert
As part of its Artists in the Community, the Foundation is supporting "Franchir la nuit" by choreographer Rachid Ouramdane, who revisits the theme of exile in a powerful work that centres on childhoods broken by displacement. A submerged stage is the setting for memories flooded with landscapes. The waves, ripples and dancers’ movements create an ever-changing horizon that serves as a metaphor for the spaces of transition and passage that are too often also places of death.

Uprooting, displacement and far-flung mental and geographic spaces are all central themes in the work of Rachid Ouramdane, who has often sought to confront the subjects of exile and migration in his pieces. From Superstars to Sfumato, he has revealed new territories to audiences and brought to life the imaginings of those who have left a once familiar place. With Franchir la nuit, he focuses on migrant children forced to leave their homes at a young age and to confront both hope and despair.

Geographic displacement gives way to displacement of the mind, as Ouramdane looks to address interior exile and the memories of now-distant lands. To create this piece, he worked with exiled children, listening to their stories and attempting to reconstitute a poetic echo of their words. In each town where Franchir la nuit is staged, workshops are organised to transmit choreographic means of expression to local children and to explore their own stories. These children share the stage, which is submerged beneath a pool of water, with six professional dancers.

For Rachid Ouramdane, addressing exile also means revealing the links between bodies, spaces and places. Choreography, scenography and visuals by videographer Mehdi Medacci here offer glimpses of different landscapes, while musician Deborah Lennie-Bisson envelops the stage in a soundscape that blends her own compositions with local songs and international pop hits.

Disciplines
Performing arts
Lieu
Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse
Paris
France
The Foundation supports the production of "Franchir la nuit" by Rachid Ouramdane as part of the Artists in the Community programme.
Choreographer Rachid Ouramdane appropriates the theme of exile in a powerful work that centres on childhoods broken by displacement.
Children and professional dancers share a stage transformed into a pool of water.

Information

  • Show's dates

    Rachid Ouramdane, Franchir la nuit at Chaillot–Théâtre national de la Danse,

    from 15/12/2018 to 21/12/2018.

See also