Overview
French choreographer extraordinaire Christian Rizzo blurs the boundaries between dance and visual art with a genre-bending, multifaceted programme
Description
Freespace, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels and French May Arts Festival co-present this multi-element free programme in which choreographer Christian Rizzo is given carte blanche to take full creative control while working remotely from France.
This programme includes three main components—an art installation, a pair of dance films and a pop-up dance performance, as well as a supplementary online talk and creative dance workshop. Featuring a combination of elements such as dance, sound, visuals and objects, it sees Rizzo—a creator with a singular background—break the boundaries between dance and visual art as he continues his collaborations with local artists.
Installation: 100% polyester, objet dansant n°57
The installation, created in collaboration with Caty Olive, comprises a ‘bodiless’ dance, a moment of silent contemplation and an imaginary itinerary, all converging towards an examination of the notions of absence and invisibility. The work has been exhibited in Paris, Berlin, New York, Seoul and Hanoi, among other world cities, and this exhibition marks its 57th showing.
The installation will be played on repeat. Audience may enter and exit The Room at any time.
Dance Film Screenings: TTT : tourcoing-taipei-tokyo (2009 – 2011) , bouquet final (2020)
Co-produced by Rizzo and the visual artist Iuan-Hau Chiang, TTT : tourcoing-taipei-tokyo is a minimalist triptych that explores the relationships between body, motion and space through the employment of motion-capture and hybrid reality technologies.
After choreographing a solo dance titled en son lieu for break-dancer Nicolas Fayol in 2020, Rizzo invited video artist Sophie Laly to make bouquet final as an extension to the dance piece. Featuring a mesmerising performance by Fayol, the film reimagines the original dance piece by setting it in rhapsodic dreamscapes where rituals, a dark forest, a cave and an erupting volcano come together in physical and non-physical gestures to create an enigmatic story.
Pop-up Dance Performance
Christian Rizzo partners with five Hong Kong-based performing artists in this collaborative project inspired by the city’s landscape. Each tasked with developing a 10-minute solo dance, the artists will choose different locations at Freespace to stage their performances, which are meant to blend into their specific surroundings.
Dance Artists: Chan Wai-lok, Joseph Lee*, Carman, Li Ka-man, Wong Pik-kei, Yang Hao
*Appearance by kind permission of Unlock Dancing Plaza
Online Talk
As a supplement to the programme, Christian Rizzo will host a public talk in which he will delve into his career highlights and challenges, and his experience of collaborating with artists from different backgrounds over the years. The talk will be conducted in English, with English and Chinese subtitles.
This one-hour online event will be available for viewing from 31 May 2022 (Tuesday) on the West Kowloon Video Platform and the French May website.
Creative Dance Workshop for Families
After enjoying the installation, films and performance, get ready to jump, swing and twirl at this family-friendly, action-packed dance workshop. Here, members of Unlock Dancing Plaza will help you unleash your athletic abilities with the dance troupe’s unique “Bodynamics” method. It is a great way for parents and kids alike to explore each other’s feelings through physical movement, and foster stronger bonds and new forms of communication.
This one-hour workshop will be conducted in Cantonese. Advance registration required. Registration detail will be available on the French May website in due course.
Co-presented by
Freespace, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels and French May Arts Festival
'Creative Dance Workshop for Families' is exclusively sponsored by
Artistic Team
100% polyester, objet dansant n°57
Conception: Christian Rizzo and Caty Olive
Production editing: l’association fragile
Executive production: ICI — centre chorégraphique national Montpellier – Occitanie / Direction Christian Rizzo
Thanks to à Mannux, Pascale Paoli, Catarina Campino, Emmanuelle Huynh, João Fiadero / lab7 and the team of la Ménagerie de verre
Public partners: Ministère de la Culture - Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles Occitanie, Région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée and Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
TTT: tourcoing-taipei-tokyo (2009 - 2011)
Conception and realisation: Christian Rizzo and Iuan-Hau Chiang
Production and touring: Anne Fontanesi and Anne Bautz
Production: l’association fragile
Executive production: ICI — centre chorégraphique national Montpellier - Occitanie / Direction Christian Rizzo
Co-production: Le Fresnoy - Studio national des arts contemporains, l’institut français de Tokyo, le Digital Education Institute & Institute for Information Industry (Taiwan), l’Institut Français, Les Subsistances de Lyon, l’Institut Français de Taipei
With the collaboration of the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan
Special thanks to Emmanuelle de Montgazon who gave the impulse to this project
Public partners: Ministère de la Culture - Direction Régionale des Affaires Culturelles Occitanie, Région Occitanie / Pyrénées-Méditerranée and Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole
bouquet final（2020）
A film by Sophie Laly
Footage and editing: Sophie Laly
Choreography, scenography and costumes: Christian Rizzo
Performance: Nicolas Fayol
Lighting creation: Caty Olive
Musical creation: Pénélope Michel and Nicolas Devos (Cercueil / Puce Moment)
Production: ICI—CCN Montpellier Occitanie / direction Christian Rizzo
This project received support from Onda as part of the "Écran vivant" programme
