HOCUS POCUS Young audience choreography (from age 7), for two dancers, 2017 Duration: 45 minutes document version : CieSaire_HocusPocus_E_180116_01_links ABRACADABRA! 3 SET 3 A JOURNEY OF INITIATION 6 THE DARK SIDE 6 > SEE THE EXTRACTS ON VIMEO > SEE THE FULL VIDEO ON VIMEO
HOCUS POCUS CREATION October 2017 AUDIENCE 7+ Years DURATION 45 minutes CAST Concept and choreography Philippe Saire Choreography in collaboration with dancers Philippe Chosson, Mickaël Henrotay-Delaunay Dancers on tour Philippe Chosson, Mickaël Henrotay-Delaunay, Ismael Oiartzabal Stage device realisation Léo Piccirelli Props and accessories Julie Chapallaz, Hervé Jabveneau Sound design Stéphane Vecchione Technical direction Vincent Scalbert Construction Cédric Berthoud Music Peer Gynt, by Edvard Grieg COPRODUCTION Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne (created October 25th 2017 at Le Petit Théâtre de Lausanne), Jungspund Festival St. Gallen. A coproduction in the frame of Fund Young Audiences by Reso Dance Network Switzerland. With the support of Pro Helvetia. SUPPORT AND SPONSORS Ville de Lausanne, Canton de Vaud, Pro Helvetia Swiss Arts Council, Loterie Romande, Fondation de Famille Sandoz, Migros Culture Percentage. Cie Philippe Saire is in permanent residency at Théâtre Sévelin 36, Lausanne. CONTACT Administration Valérie Niederoest valerie.niederoest@philippesaire.ch Communication & production Martin Genton martin.genton@philippesaire.ch Accounting Régina Zwahlen Administrative Assistant Charlotte Fahrni Cie Philippe Saire Av. de Sévelin 36 CP 110 CH 1000 Lausanne 20 T +41 21 620 00 12 info@philippesaire.ch www.philippesaire.ch Diffusion & tour management Gábor Varga / BravoBravo +41 78 925 01 86 gabor.varga@philippesaire.ch Graphic Design: matière grise Photography : 1, 2 (top), 3 (top), 8: Philippe Pache 2 (bottom), 3 (bottom), 4-5, 6: Philippe Weissbrodt Translation: AJS Craker To this day, key player in the Swiss contemporary dance scene Philippe Saire has produced some thirty shows, in addition to in situ performances, short films and workshops. His interests include visual arts, theatre and cinema all fields that feature heavily in his consistently intense and refined works. Vacarme, Étude sur la Légèreté, Vie et Mœurs du Caméléon Nocturne, La Haine de la Musique, Les Affluents, [ob]seen, Could I just draw your attention to the brevity of life?, Cartographies, Black Out and Vacuum are some of the productions that have enabled Cie Philippe Saire to build an international reputation. Since its inception in 1986, Saire s dance company has performed over 1,500 shows in over 200 cities around the world. In 1995 Saire inaugurated his own creative workspace, Théâtre Sévelin 36. Located in Lausanne, the theatre is dedicated to contemporary dance, and hosts performances of international stature, as well as local dance acts, in a bid to help promote their work. Théâtre Sévelin 36 was the laureate of the 2013 Special Dance Award given by the Swiss Federal office for Culture.
ABRACADABRA! Hocus Pocus, a 45-minute work for two performers intended for children aged 7+, is mainly based on the power of images, their magic and the sensations they provoke. The very unique set design allows for a playful and magical exploration into a game of appearances and disappearances of both bodies and accessories. The brotherly relationship that develops between the two dancers constitutes the show s guiding thread, both through the hardships they create for themselves to toughen themselves up and through the fantastic voyage that subsequently awaits them. Hocus Pocus is one of the few contemporary dance works intended for a young audience. It seeks to challenge the imagination of its audience, while weaving a narrative that is open enough for each child to build his or her own story. SET The design is the same as a previous work that met with great success, Vacuum (2015), which featured two 1.2-metre neon lights that float horizontally above ground, one above the other. The two tubes are directed towards the audience, partially blinding them and creating between them a black hole and an abstract space. Thanks to this device, bodies appear out of the darkness and are swallowed up by it, as if by magic. The piece can be performed twice a day, in complete darkness. The work for adults Vacuum, which uses the same set design, can also be performed in parallel. The structure can be moved easily, meaning double bills are possible. Furthermore, the show requires no light rigging. Complementary workshops are also an option. January 2018 Cie Philippe Saire Hocus Pocus 3
A JOURNEY OF INITIATION A first part, almost like an introduction, focuses on the fascination for, and the discovery of the device. Light works like a paintbrush that reveals everything it touches and the two dancers come into existence within the delineated outline of the neon lights. Skin textures and fragments of bodies that appear almost animal-like appear and gradually come to life. Such an introduction to movement in its most abstract and poetic form is a deliberate choice in a children s show. A more narrative dimension then develops quite quickly: the two dancers, like close friends, challenge and push each other. They develop a mutually helpful relationship, playing and laughing, in a logic of toughening themselves up to face reality. This relationship, inspired by that of the two brothers from Agota Kristof s Notebook, underpins the whole performance. Ultimately, all points of reference fade, the two brothers lose and find each other again through dreamlike adventures: a contortionist s escape from a spider s web; a journey in a damaged flying machine that then falls through the clouds; underwater travels and encounters with fabulous aquatic creatures Accessories and tricks reinforce the spell, while the magic evokes various myths as well as excerpts from Grieg s Peer Gynt. Aside from the beauty of the images generated and their accessibility for children, the work turns out to be a journey of initiation that opens onto to the world. THE DARK SIDE The childlike universe abounds with shadows, areas beyond comprehension and the explicable. Although adults tend to think that there is a natural order of things and that every nook and cranny can be lit up, children are more connected with their imagination which they project into the black holes they see every day. Hocus Pocus is intended as an echo of this inexplicable side. In a world that bears the traces of a rather frightening sense of the arbitrary, the protagonists prove with simplicity and confidence that black holes can be overcome. It could be said that this work is demanding in that it trusts children s imagination: Indeed, the story s mysteries leave room for, and even foster active reception. 6 Cie Philippe Saire Hocus Pocus January 2018
BIOGRAPHIES PHILIPPE SAIRE Choreographer Philippe Saire was born in Algeria where he spent the first five years of his life. Based in Lausanne, he trained in contemporary dance before going abroad including a spell in Paris to pursue his training. In 1986, he created his own dance company in the Lausanne area, which went on to develop its own creative repertoire and contributed to the emergence of contemporary dance throughout Switzerland and in 1995, he inaugurated his own creative workspace, Théâtre Sévelin 36. In 1998, he was awarded the Grand Prix by the Fondation Vaudoise pour la Promotion et les Créations Artistiques. That same year, he won the Prix d auteur du Conseil général de Seine-Saint-Denis (France) at the 6th International Choreographic Meeting for his piece Étude sur la Légèreté. And in 2004, ProTanz Zurich awarded him the Swiss dance and choreography prize. Since 2003 Saire has taught movement at the Manufacture a theatre school in French-speaking Switzerland. Cie Philippe Saire has produced over 30 shows to date, with more than 1,500 performances in 200 cities around the world. The dance company also performs regularly at exhibitions, art galleries, gardens, urban spaces and other outdoor venues. From 2002 to 2012, the Cartographies project, which combined performances in the city of Lausanne and video production, bore witness to Saire s constant desire to get dance out of the interior performing space. The 11 in-situ pieces, filmed by 9 producers from French-speaking Switzerland, including Lionel Baier, Fernand Melgar, Bruno Deville, Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and Philippe Saire himself, were released in 2013 as a book- DVD-collection and are frequently screened at festivals. This taste for experimentation has also led to the creation of the ongoing Dispositifs series, including Black Out (which reached 180 performances in 2018 a dance piece which takes place in a cube, with a limited audience standing atop the stage), NEONS Never Ever, Oh! Noisy Shadows, a duo that uses live red tickers and where dancers manipulate neon lights, and Vacuum, an optical illusion created by two neon lights. PHILIPPE CHOSSON Dancer Philippe Chosson was introduced to the world of acting in 1986 with the Cie La Découpe. In 1987, he was awarded the Prix d humour from the Conservatoire d art dramatique Rhône-Alpes, for theatre improvisation. After graduating with a BA in Arts and Philosophy, he decided to study at the École Internationale de Mimodrame Marcel Marceau, in Paris, and subsequently at the École de Mime Corporel Dramatique Etienne Decroux. In 1993, he turned to physical theatre with Laura Scozzi. A decisive encounter with choreographer Bernard Glandier in 1997 led him to dancing. Other dance and cinema projects followed, with Bruno Dizien, Laura de Nercy, Mathieu Poirot-Delpech (filmmaker), Laure Bonicel, Coline Serreau (filmmaker), Pascal Montrouge, Michèle Rust, Jean-Marc Heim, Héla Fattoumi and Eric Lamoureux, Benjamin Silvestre (filmmaker), Philippe Saire, Lionel Baier (filmmaker), Christian Rizzo, Camille Mutel, Cédric Dorier (director), Jasmine Morand and Claire Dessimoz. He also assisted Rachel Benitah (choreographer), Hélène Mathon (director), Philippe Saire (chorographer), Jasmine Morand (chorographer) and choreographed for Cédric Dorier. MICKAËL HENROTAY- DELAUNAY Dancer In 1998, after a four-year stint in amateur theatre with Natalie Barbé, a two-year training course at the School of Applied Arts in Amiens and several dance and choreography collaborations at the Ballet Théâtre in Amiens with Marie-José Delaunay, Mickaël Henrotay-Delaunay went to train at the CNSMDP (the National Superior Music and Dance Conservatory in Paris). In 2002, he joined Cie Philippe Saire as performer and then, here and there, as technician and assistant. He also performed for Cie Utilité Publique, Mercimax, Corp S pondanse, Damotus, Cie Prototype Statut, Halsundbeinbruch, and Jessica Huber for whom he created the set designs for seven years. In 2006, he established FLUXTENDU to design sets and installations, also creating multi-disciplinary projects and films, some of which have been screened at various festivals. Mickaël Henrotay-Delaunay has also played in short films, including Joëlle Bacchetta s Sale gosse and Ursula Meier s L enfant d en haut. In 2013, he committed himself to a ten-year collaboration as choreographer with La Paternelle. Since 2004, he has been developing educational works in various contexts (workshops for professionals, amateurs and in schools). STÉPHANE VECCHIONE Sound designer Stéphane Vecchione trained in the Drama department (SPAD, Section Professionnelle d Art Dramatique), at the Lausanne Conservatory from 1995 to 1999. He then began working as a performer and musician for several dance companies and for artists such as Stefan Kaegi, Denis Maillefer, Massimo Furlan, Nicole Seiler, Corinne Rochet and Nicholas Pettit. He is also a founding member of the band Velma, for which he was awarded the Jeunes Créateurs Musique prize from the Fondation Vaudoise pour la Promotion et les Créations Artistiques. Vecchione has created the soundtracks for several Philippe Saire shows: Je veux bien vous croire, Black Out, La Dérive des continents a piece in which he also performs NEONS Never Ever, Oh! Noisy Shadows and Vacuum. JULIE CHAPALLAZ Prop master A dual national, Julie Chapallaz shares her activities between Switzerland and France. After finishing her studies in Applied Arts in Paris in 2002, she got involved in the world of performing arts, working on set designs, accessories and masks, either as assistant or fully-fledged creator. She has worked with institutions such as the Opéra de Paris and the Théâtre du Châtelet as well as with independent troupes in Europe and Asia. She is particularly fond of handmade special effects and clever and meticulous DIY creations. She is fascinated with picture narratives, objects, animation films as well as publications. Since 2015, she has been delighted to transmit her know-how and foster creativity by offering workshops for children. HERVÉ JABVENEAU Prop master A victim on the same day in the spring of 1987 of a flood in my bathroom and of the loss of the boot of my car, I quickly learned about the mysteries of copper brazing and polyester resins. Once the repairs were finished, I naturally began making accessories and set designs, and joined ISTS in Avignon in 1989 in stage management. Later I took part in numerous productions as general manager and constructor, in particular with Didier Capeille for Cie Barbaroque, Daniel Mesguich, Claude Yersin at the CDN in Angers, and Gilberte Tsaï at the CDN in Montreuil, and more recently, in Switzerland with Anne Cécile Moser, Andréa Novicov, Massimo Furlan, Denis Maillefer, Oscar Gomez Mata, Cédric Dorier and Philippe Saire. January 2018 Cie Philippe Saire Hocus Pocus 7