PRANA Performance
FOREWORD In November 2016, PRANA was brought to life for the first time, in the heart of our workshop network on the banks of the River Isère, Grenoble. Its genesis marks the meeting point between the material installation MLM and the physicality of moving bodies; a performance which inscribes the piece by Martin Berger firmly within the humanist expression. This organic exploration lasts for twenty-six minutes, during which we enter a meditative state where the frantic palpitations we are surrounded by can be slowed. Three elements of respiration, time and space, and the proximity of the public to the stage result in an integrated audience within the sound and the grandeur of this work. Much like a wave, emotion ripples out from PRANA as it touches our innate interior of the vital breath. It gives me great pleasure to present PRANA today, and my wish is for it to breathe the air of new spaces, the air of different places, and to allow it to mix the art of material with other disciplines and cultures in a collaborative exploration of material in movement. 02 03 Ariane Berger CEO Atelier Martin Berger
SYNOPSIS Two female bodies move as one, meandering harmoniously within a space. They turn, gaze towards a single point; the heart of the mechanical being, anchored to the floor before them. Hypnotised, they approach gingerly, matching their movements to those of the machine and mirroring its soothing, regular breathing. Opposite, a spiral chases itself, dissected into twenty-four time spaces animated by a mechanical skeleton within a threemetre square. Majestic and discrete, this time-keeping installation emits a rhythm which directs the innate breathing of the two dancers. Art and body meet with a flourishing intensity, united by a single respiration. PRANA More than simply a harmonious sound, this sanskrit term is an expression of the vital breath which animates Martin Berger s MLM. 04 05
THE PROJECT PRANA is a materialisation of bodies responding to the mechanics of material; a twenty-six minute performance aligning contemporary dance with the plastic arts. Presented for the first time in November 2016 at the heart of Martin Berger s workshop in Grenoble, this humanist project grew organically from the artistic signature for which Martin Berger is known. Martin Berger shares his desire to exhibit the plastic arts on stage with his partner and agent, Ariane Berger. At the genesis of PRANA in October 2015, the duo met with choreographer Elisabeth Trehoust. Over the following months the three of them delved deep into their understanding of the relationship between body, space and matter, to develop a relationship which would be the foundation of this collective project. A life-long student of notions on time, man and space, Martin Berger is a choreograph of material; construction and transformation are at the core of his process. MLM Material, Light, Movement is a symbolic piece of this gesture which finely balances artistic creation, mechanical respiration and metaphors of movement. Inspired by the majestic breadth and the essential breathing of MLM, the trio launched themselves into the choreography of a powerful and intimate performance as a response to the work. Ariane s commitment to the project supported its growth over the coming months, bringing together a plethora of talents to breathe life still further into a work as yet unheard of: PRANA was born. 06 07
MLM, MACHINE Unveiled in 2015 at the Grand Palais in Paris, MLM unites the three creative processes at the heart of the Atelier Martin Berger: material, light and movement. This six-foot canvas constructed with meticulous mechanical precision houses these twenty-four time spaces of MLM, forming a spiral which hypnotises those who see it. Time and Movement Dissected into 24 blocks, MLM s wave of movement operates in two directions from left to right and from front to back in a sequence lasting exactly one minute. Its unique form and fragmented blocks of time are representations of humanity s desire to understand time, and attempts in vain to master it. Material At its source, MLM is made of mineral material whose delicate plasticity marries the infinite gesture within its construction of space. As an imprint left in time, the channels engraved in the material easily capture the light which graces them, and a light installation which bookends the work creates further shadows, adding to the fragmenting effect of time and space on the piece. Technique Like every living being, MLM has two faces. The first is visible to the audience, and shows its metaphorical dissection of time and space within the material. The second, hidden, shows the inner workings of its mechanical body, of its elaborate architecture created in collaboration with engineers. MLM Material, Light, Movement (2015) Format 160 x 200cm Mixed techniques on canvas, synchronised mechanics 08 09
THE PRANA TEAM A WORD ON THE CHOREOGRAPHY Martin Berger, Artist Martin Berger is recognised for his work in composition and mural installation. His artistic path has been punctuated by singular and eclectic experiences, resulting in the development of a signature which is visible within material. MLM marks a great step within his ceaseless study of movement. Ariane Berger, CEO of Atelier Martin Berger Passionate about dance since she was a girl, Ariane Berger maintains a strong and emotional relationship with the performative arts, incarnating the relay between herself and Martin, beside whom she has developed the Atelier for twelve years. Ariane Berger, Elisabeth Trehoust, Martin Berger, Marjorie Col et Marie Sohm Elisabeth Trehoust, Choreographer Elisabeth Trehoust took classes at the Princesse Grace Academy in Monaco before continuing her studies in the national companies of Derek Williams, Koda Ghodane, Miguel Lopez and Colette Priou. Since 1992, she has lead the collective Groupe Attitude in Grenoble, within which she teaches classical dance, modern and barre-àterre. PRANA is her fifth production. Marjorie Col and Marie Sohm, Dancers Marjorie Col studied at the Rosella Hightower School of Dance in Cannes before launching herself into classical dance. Marie Sohm discovered contemporary dance at CDC in Grenoble. and developed further during her studies abroad. Both are professional dancers and members of the collective Groupe Attitude. Elisabeth Trehoust «Dance has always interested me because it s an emotional art which is boundless. It s a crossroads, a meeting point between technique and influence. In my own choreographies, I use the language of classical dance tinted with modern, and integrate movements like vibrations, breadth and extension, contact dance, squares and lines. One day, Ariane Berger came into my lesson in the collective Groupe Attitude and has been moved by an idea I brought up to describe a movement : caressing the material. Straightaway, she proposed me to meet Martin Berger and MLM with the aim of creating a choreographical project. We all found elements within it which really meant something in our artistic approach; the body s aesthetic, its beauty, its softness, its sensuality, its amplitude and its modesty. MLM seemed to echo my previous chorerography. Ariane and Martin were astute in allowing me to imagine the choreography of this performance. I started working alone in my dance studio, using memories inscribed in my mind by the work. I began to move myself, as though with drawers or walking with arms. It was fluid, evident. In three hours, and with only my thoughts and movements as company, I had finished the structure of the performance, as though it had always been there within me. The other obvious choice I made was of the dancers. I wanted two bodies on stage, as well as that of the machine. I chose two professionals from my collective Groupe Attitude : Marjorie and Marie. Their energy is very absorbing, especially as it is as constrasting as it is complimentary. I listened to their bodies two faces, two fields, like the machine and together we worked and reworked the choreography.» 10 11
A WORD FROM ARIANE AND MARTIN BERGER Ariane Berger «When Elisabeth Trehoust spoke to me about caressing the material, she put into words an idea that had been anchored within me for many years: to create a choreographed performance around one of Martin s works. I ve always been passionate about dance, and am wholly in awe and admiration of it as an art form. After having taken lessons for many years, an accident in my early twenties ripped this part of my life from me. In spite of the pain, I never let myself give up. I had to learn everything again from scratch, with strength and patience, until I regained control of my body. This work was liberating but it became more than this. It was the beginning of my desire to push physicality and movement to become an artwork through the choreographic gesture.» Martin Berger «This work was created thanks to a long reflection on the dynamics of material, and MLM is no less the result of a choreographic gesture engraved in the material. I m conscious of my sensitivity to movement and my taste for decompartmentalising artistic genres. I never doubted that dance would interact beautifully with my artistic signature. Ariane brought this to life by bringing her vision as a dancer to the piece. PRANA is the fruit of these exchanges which have taken years to ripen. With this innovative project, which inspires me to find distance as well as to find emotions, MLM was built as an exterior to the gesture. It fascinates me to see how it is growing and freeing itself, so much like a living being, evolving as it comes into contact with new people and ideas, embarking on its own story and making its own history.» 12 13
BIG THANKS TO ABOUT MARTIN BERGER Elizabeth Tréhoust, choreographer Marjorie Col and Marie Sohm, dancers Liliane Col, costume designer Manuel Bernard, lighting engineer Cécile Strouk, writer Bruno Fournier, photographer Fabrice Jonas, promotion Team Atelier Martin Berger Camille Pfaender, graphic designer Tony Amore and Christine Veyret-Picot (Espace Danse Théâtre) Benjamin Pinel and Alban Bronisz, editing (Aztec) Thomas Groc & Maxime Dos, video maker (Cinédia) Media Max, printer (Manufacture Deux Ponts) Nik Bärtsch (Continuum Modul 12) and Ezio Bosso (Symphony n 2 Under Trees Voices) In 1999, after a fruitful artistic collaboration in Phoenix, Arizona, Martin Berger launched his workshop in Grenoble. Over the following years, his unique approach to material creation would lead to the inclusion of his name firmly within the world of the decorative arts. Martin Berger designs and produces pieces which engrave his immense gestures energetically within each material. His artistic signature is both powerful and discrete, defined by works which use the density of material to play with nuances in light and shadow. Construction and transformation lie at the heart of this innovative process, consistently pushing the boundaries of material manipulation. This insatiable curiosity pulls Martin Berger across a wide spectrum of artistic creation. Whether using paint, sculpture, photography or installation, his experiments blend the physical with the visual, material with perception and technique with poetry. The synchronised work MLM - Material, Light, Movement - embodies this subtle fusion between the aesthetic utility of the decorative arts and the free creativity of plastic artistic expression. 14 15
Ariane Berger +33 6 12 50 57 98 ariane@ateliermartinberger.com