Holi: Holi sometimes called festival of colours - is a festival celebrated by Hindus, officially in spring. Hiranyakashipu was a great king of demons. He wanted everybody in his kingdom to worship only him but to his great disappointment, his son, Prahlada became an ardent devotee of Lord Vishnu. All of Hiranyakashipu's attempts to kill his son failed. Finally, he ordered young Prahlada to sit on a pyre on the lap of his demoness sister, Holika, who could not die because she also had a gift which would prevent fire from burning her. When the fire started, everyone watched in amazement as Holika burnt to death, while Prahlada survived unharmed ; the burning of Holika is celebrated as Holi. There are several alternative stories detailing the origin of Holi. In the region where Lord Krishna grew up, the festival celebrates the divine love of Radha for Krishna. Krishna is believed to have complained to his mother about the contrast between his dark skin complexion and Radha's skin complexion. Krishna's mother decided to apply colour to Radha's face. Holi celebrates triumph of good over evil and starts with the burning of Holika on the eve of Holi and culminates with lots of funfilled activity. Colours will fill the air as people throw abeer and gulal in the air showing great joy and mirth, «Kolam» are painted on the ground with various forms. Gulal colours have significance : green for harmony, orange for optimism, blue for vitality and red for joy and love. Days before Holi, the markets get flooded with colours of every hue, people dance to the rythmn of dholak and sing traditional folk songs, applying Gulal powder to friends, family and passers-by. They have the answer ready, 'Bura na mano Holi hai' with a great smile. Holi knows no barriers. Symbol of fraternity, Holi also gives the chance show love and friendship to dear ones.
«The color of time» (temporary title) Avant-Propos In order to maintain social order, states make scapegoats and maintain a link between the sacrifices and the danger the community is facing. But this «social order» does not, in fact, enable people to better live together. Generally speaking differences often provoke fear and agression in an endless viscious circle. Fear leads to aggressivity which provoks fear, increasing aggressivity. Fear of illness, old age, different origins. Fear of homeless people, immigrants, terrorists. We tend to project our own anxiety on them. However everyone desires to be different, in the way we act, dress, and in the style of our home. Even with a certain conformity, we want to be unique, but only up to a point. Not too «different», otherwise there is the risk of marginalising ourselves. The other is then a real other without anything in common, pushed away from social community links.
Living together in our multicultural and global society is a real problem, and incurs disputes and racism. Everone is unique but also alike. French or not, white or black, christian or buddhist, employed or jobless, we all have our humanity in common. This spiral of fear can be changed by a logic of generosity and kindness, betting on the best of human nature. In our societies, fear is also present at work. It is focussed on fear for future, the loss of job, the pressure and competition between workers and employees, globalisation and its perverse impacts. These factors tend to divide people, who consider the others as opposants, ennemies, rather than colleagues and friends.
Holi celebrates unity, acceptance of diversity through these colourful embraces, as these Free Hugs offered to strangers in publics places all around the World. This desire for Holi is a desire for getting out of the social crisis, suggesting another way of resistance. An urge for tenderness, sharing and friendship, to fight against sectarian ideas, narrow attitudes, fear of the young and others. It is a desire to be inspired by a religious or secular celebration to create a collective contemporary ritual mixing and gathering together of all. A ritual to consider others as alter-egos and share together a colorful explosion of joy through a riot of hues. A desire to reconnect with festivity as outlet of fear, and sharing. For the street to become again a public place, a place of common identity, symbolised by the chromatic mix. A desire to peint and color the everydaylife.
Scenario : This project is inspired by indian culture, but its setting and artistic approach will be resolutely focussed on contemporary dance-theatre, very far from «Bollywood». Codes and references to indian tradition will be adapted and sparingly used. This proposition will be both fixed and deambulatory. Three acts. Outside/daytime: Act 1 : fixed then deambulatory They are among the public. They are here, with their different behaviours, anxious looks, greasy hair, odd clothing details, body twitchs. Invisible theatre, aimed to put the public into a observer of an unknown and different fellow. A cry breaks this peaceful moment. Then another. And suddenly cries rend the air. Introduction of dance with each character. The croud splits, re-forms, the cries shoot out. Cacophany. Organized desorder. All stop. Silence. Facing the public,the crowd is stepping back. They don t know the destination, but they are running. Fleeing. They do not have any other choice. They make up a kaleidoscope of ordinary people, workers, businessmen, immigrants, young or older people ; all are facing doubt, anxiety, individualism. They do not see clearly what they are living for, and fight for their properties and personal benefits in an endless and perverse mecanism. This first act will be dark and brisk. The costumes suits and uniforms, work coats will be black/grey. The characters will fight ruthlessly, in a physical and destructive riot of energy to reach chaos. They are crying out, their bodies are deconstructed, sharp angles, and their eyes are full of terror. They reach chaos.
Act 2 : fix White. The awakening. A fixed, smooth, delicate common movement, in a rotary and purifying motion. Spirit and body cleansing, they will move through a reconstructive and appeasing trance, as whirling dervishes, reconnected with skin, flesh and water.
Act 3 : deambulatory then fix The union. The characters will go to meet the others, recognize themselves in oneanother s eyes. They will accept their differences and color themselves, will make fun of the dissimilarities and come together. Uninterrupted theatrical and choreographed movement, slowly introducing a relationship, a physical contact with spectators who get colorful hugs.
A choreographic joyful part starts with the audience in a ritualistic, joyful and playful procession.
They paint the streets, write on the asphalt, will change the sky color, will throw powder rainbows, embrace the city, gloss it over, and invite people around to join the fraternal joyful explosion of colour. The public who wants to play with the Gulal will be invited to do so and to join the choreography directed by the dancers.the others will observe the scene.
Further details: «The color of time» will be a theatrical free-flowing presentation for actor-dancers, acrobats and musicians, just as many cymbals, an electric drum machine and a wild electric guitar, multicoloured Gulal fireworks and a lot of energy.
The sound The sound environment will be partly unplugged, partly amplified, but with an easy system. It will be composed of modern musical parts played on-live played by musicians with traditionnal indian as well as modern instruments. Six to seven old Hifi-players, with «dirty» but loud sound quality, will be put on each side of the road on doorsteps, as usully during parties and outdoor celebrations. All these soundsystems will compose a unique indian-inspired environment. Installation The company intentionally wants to reduce setting-up and dismantling time to their minimum. Setting-up time : morning before show // dismantling time : few hours afterwards There will be one fixed installations for the 2nd and 3rd act sound-systems. Sets and costumes will be sent with the team mini-bus - or its trailer for an arrival at D-1. This production will be available from spring 2013.
The festival of colours, as it is known, has evolved in recent years to take into account increasing environmental and health awareness on the subcontinent. Where in the past, most of the dye strewn about town was manufactured on the cheap in the unorganized sector from fairly toxic chemicals, in the past few years there has been something of a renaissance, with more and more companies emerging to provide organic, non-toxic and eco-friendly dyes. Even the government is getting involved, sending out text messages on Wednesday night that read: Let s celebrate EcoFriendly Holi, avoid chemical toxic colour, use natural eco-friendly colours, save water, protect environment. Our partner-retailers is Classic Enterprises, an industrial dye maker headquartered in Mumbai but with a factory in the state of Gujarat, produced 150 tons of non-toxic colours gulal last year. They produce it for around eight months each year, providing it to pharmaceutical and automotive companies who wish to give the powder as gifts to clients and employees on other religious holidays as well as for export. Six years ago, owner Kuldeep Jaju began producing the non-toxic Royal Jhilmil brand. The dyes have been certified by the National Toxicology Centre, a private lab based in Pune, a city outside of Mumbai. An employee of NTC confirmed that the lab has been certifying Holi colours through oral and skin irritation tests for two to three years, but declined to provide further information, citing confidentiality.
Creation residencies 2-5 and 8-15 July 2012 Residency at la Friche Belle de Mai Marseille (13) 15-21 October 2012 Residency at Ateliers Frappaz Villeurbanne (69) 11 to 24. February 2013 Residency at Usines Boinot CNAR of Niort (79) 23. April to 7. May 2013 Residency at Etang des Aulnes Conseil Général Bouches du Rhône (13) Tour 2013 20 May 2013 Folle Histoire des Arts de la rue Marseille (13) in the range of Marseille Provence Capitale Européenne de la Culture 2013 25 and 26 May 2013 Festival Rencontres d Ici et d Ailleurs CNAR of Noisy-le-Sec (92) June 2013 Festival FURIES Châlons-en-Champagne (51) (to be confirmed) Mid-June 2013 Fêtes de Ville Gennevilliers and Créteil (to be confirmed) The tour is still under construction... Project partners DRAC PACA Conseil Général 13 Ville de Marseille DGCA Ministère de la Culture et la Communication Conseil Régional PACA Ateliers Frappaz Villeurbanne (69) Le Mouin Fondu CNAR of Noisy-le-Sec (92) Usines Boinot CNAR of Niort (79)
Production partners are welcome.
41 rue Jobin Friche La Belle de Mai - 13003 Marseille - FRANCE +33 4 95 04 95 81 +33 6 63 58 60 86 artonik@lafriche.org http://www.artonik.org