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Dances for ghosts and black light.

A pure illusion.

Diving into black light to travel across that which is invisible and observe... ghosts. From wild races to lining up single file, from conspiracies to sudden explosions, this community is engaged in a hypnotic and jubilant dance where freedom is queen. But watch out ! Being reckless can lead to a suddenly different turn of events... 

 

Pillowgraphies addresses an innate desire for whimsy. An attempt to escape seriousness, through a dance where the body dissolves into a phantasmagorical figure that is as light as it is voluptuous: the ghost. The desire to dive into a joyous nocturnal universe where, rather than walk, people simply float or glide by. The desire to inhale the scent of freedom. The freedom to lift ones arms and groan, hoping to elicit a cry of terror… or a laugh.

 

Production La BaZooKa
Coproductions Dieppe Scène Nationale, Le Volcan - Scène Nationale du Havre, Centre Chorégraphique National - Ballet de Lorraine  (accueil studio)  , L’Arc - Scène Nationale Le Creusot, Théâtre de l’Arsenal scène conventionnée « Art en territoire pour la danse » - Val-de-Reuil

Residencies Dieppe Scène Nationale, Le Volcan - Scène Nationale du Havre, Centre Chorégraphique National - Ballet de Lorraine, Théâtre de l’Arsenal scène conventionnée « Art en territoire pour la danse » - Val-de-Reuil », Le Siroco - St Romain de Colbosc
Partners  ADAMI

La BaZooKa is a dance company which receives support from the town of Le Havre, the Région Normandie and the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication.

La BaZooKa received support from culturel policy department of Seine Maritime for Pillowgraphies in 2016, and support from l'ODIA Normandie in 2018 for show dates in Théâtre Paris Villette.

Two versions of the show will be proposed : a "classic" version with 7 professional interpreters and a second version with the addition of a "heart" of amateur ghosts (7 to 15 depending on the venue).

Duration  50 min  / For all ages 6+

 

Conception La BaZooKa (Sarah Crépin & Etienne Cuppens)

Choreography  Sarah Crépin in collaboration with dancers

With, according performances Yann Cardin, Nicolas Chaigneau, Sarah Crépin, Aurore Di Bianco, Flore Khoury, Claire Laureau-Renault, Sakiko Oishi, Matthieu Patarozzi, Marie Rual, Léa Scher, Taya Skorokhodova, Julien-Henri Vu Van Dung

Director  Etienne Cuppens

Lighting designers  Max Sautai & Christophe Olivier

Light operators Max Sautai or Philippe Ferbourg

SOUND OPERATORS Etienne Cuppensor Hubert Michel

costumes Salina Dumay & Elsa Gérant MUSICS Maurice Ravel, Bernard Herrmann & Jacques Offenbach 

Production & touring  Emilie Podevin

Administration  Diane Ribouillard

communication Louise Lorieux

Previous PERFormances

DIEPPE (76) -DIEPPE (76) - DSN - Scène Nationale de Dieppe - Wednesday, November 8th & Thursday, November 9th, 2017

VAL DE REUIL (27) - Théâtre de l'Arsenal - Tuesday, November 21st & Wednesday, November 22nd

LE HAVRE (76) - Le Volcan - Scène Nationale du Havre - AdHoc Festival - Wednesday, December 20th

LE CREUSOT (71) - L'ARC - Scène Nationale du Creusot - Tuesday, April 24th & Wednesday, April 25th, 2018

BITOLA (North Macedonia) - National Theater - Festival Bitolino - Tuesday, October 2nd

PARIS - Théâtre Paris Villette - From Friday, October 19th to Sunday, November 4th

GRAND-QUEVILLY (76) - Théâtre Charles Dullin - Wednesday, November 21st, Thursday, November 22nd

ROUBAIX (59) - Le Colisée / "Les Petits Pas" Festival (organized by Le Gymnase - CDCN) - Tuesday, December 11th

GONFREVILLE-L’ORCHER (76) - Espace Culturel de la Pointe de Caux - Friday, February 1st, Saturday, February 2nd, 2019

SAINT-LÔ (50) - Théâtre Roger Ferdinand - Tuesday, February 26th

FALAISE (14) Forum - "Danse De Tous Les Sens" Festival - Wednesday, May 8th & Thursday, May 9th

LE VESINET (78) - Théâtre du Vésinet - Friday, October 11th

BLOIS (41) - La Halle aux Grains - Scène nationale - Thursday, October 17th

AGEN (47) - Théâtre Ducourneau - Sunday, October 20th

ANGERS (49) - Le Quai - CDN - Thursday, November 28th to Saturday, November 30th

SAINTES (17) - Gallia Théâtre, Tuesday, December 3rd to Thursday, December 5th

ENGHIEN-LES-BAINS (95) - Centre des Arts - Scène conventionnée écritures numériques - Saturday, December 7th

QUIMPER (29) - Théâtre de Cornouaille - Scène nationale - "Théâtre à Tout Âge" Festival (booked by Très Tôt Théâtre - Scène conventionnée jeunes publics) - Thursday, December 12th & Friday, December 13th

POITIERS (86) - Centre d'Animation de Beaulieu - Wednesday, December 18th & Thursday, December 19th

CHÂLONS-EN-CHAMPAGNE (51) - La Comète Scène nationale - Tuesday, January 7th & Wednesday, January 8th, 2020

MONT-SAINT-AIGNAN (76) - Centre culturel Marc Sangnier (booking CDN de Normandie-Rouen) - Tuesday, January 14th & Wednesday, January 15th PLAN-LES-OUATES (Switzerland) - Espace Vélodrome - "Antigel" Festival - Wednesday, February 12th

BRON (69) - Espace Albert Camus - Tuesday, February 18th & Wednesday, February 19th
COURNON D'AUVERGNE (63) - La Coloc de la culture - Friday, February 21st

REDON (35) - Le Canal - Tuesday, March 10th

RENNES (35) - Le Triangle - Cité de la danse - Thursday, March 12th

CORBEIL-ESSONNES (91) - Théâtre de Corbeil-Essonnes - October 22nd, 2021

VERNOUILLET (28) - L’Atelier à spectacles - Scène conventionnée - October 30th

NIORT (79) - Le Moulin du Roc - Scène nationale - November 16th & 17th

MEAUX (77) - Théâtre Luxembourg - November 24th & 25th

CHEMILLE-EN-ANJOU (49) - Théâtre Foirail - Scènes de Pays - January 17th, 18th & 19th

LA-CHAPELLE-SUR-ERDRE (44) - Espace Culturel Capellia - January 21st

HAUTE-GOULAINE (44) - Le Quatrain - January 24th & 25th, 2022

LAMBALLE (22) - Quai des Rêves - January 28th

MIRAMAS (13) - Théâtre La Colonne - Scènes et Cinés - Scène conventionnée – Les Élancées - February 1st and 2nd

PONTIVY (56) - Palais des Congrès - Partenariat Danse à tous les étages - March, Tuesday 15th

BOURGES (18) - Maison de la Culture - Scène Nationale - April, Tuesday 5th, Wednesday 6th, Thursday 7th

NOISY-LE-SEC (93) - Théâtre des Bergeries - April, Tuesday 12th, Wednesday 13th

FORBACH (57) - Le Carreau - Scène Nationale - Festival Loostik - Tuesday, November 8th, 2022

BRUZ (35) - Le Grand Logis - Friday, November 18th, 

BEAUVAIS (60) - Théâtre du Beauvaisis - Scène Nationale - Thursday, November 24th to Saturday, November 26th, 

LAVAL (53) - Le Théâtre - Centre National de la Marionnette - Sunday, December 11th, Monday, December 12th, 

IVRY (94) - Théâtre Antoine Vitez - Sunday, December 18th, 

SAINT-VALERY-EN-CAUX (76) - Le Rayon Vert - Scène Conventionnée - Tuesday, January 17th, 2023

LIEUSAINT (77) - Théâtre Sénart - Scène Nationale - Tuesday, May 9th to Saturday, May 13th 2023

PORT-JÉRÔME-SUR-SEINE (76)  - Les 3 Colombiers - Friday, October 13rd 2023

VILLERUPT (54) - L'Arche - Sunday, October 22nd 2023

SABLÉ-SUR-SARTHE (72) - L'Entracte, Scène conventionnée - Thuesday, October 31st 2023

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY

"A first ghost, a second, a third ... cross the stage. Each time they appear, the effect is striking, making the children in the audience shout out, half-surprised, half-amused. We watch a ballet of ghosts, their sheets suspended in the air, sometimes swept away by the wind, sometimes grouped together, composing fluid figures to extracts of music, including Daphnis et Chloé, by Maurice Ravel. We can pick up on different choreographic references, from Merce Cunningham to Maurice Béjart (who choreographed a famous ballet to the Boléro, also by Ravel). In the viewer's imagination, a story unfolds as the group comes apart, then gets back together, until the sheet falls and another surprise appears ... The construction / deconstruction of the piece is wonderful, the pleasure of illusion giving way to the pleasure of dance and the hypnotic movements of the dancers’ bodies "

Françoise Sabatier-Morel in Télérama Sortir TTT

 

“Ghosts dancing in black light, this is what the company La BaZooKa, based in Le Havre, are proposing this time and each new show of theirs is such a delight. Seven ghosts, seven male and female dancers, seven sheets with two holes cut out for the eyes and a good helping of childhood play to hold everything together. Because it is childhood that seems to be the spark for "Pillowgraphies", a time in our lives that many of us as adults look back upon with tenderness, even if it is true that we did not of course have the right to cut out eyes in Granny’s sheets when we played ghost. But the company members from La BaZooKa have long understood that one of the best bits about adulthood is that we no longer need to ask for permission to do silly things, and we can imagine them all giggling as they grab hold of the scissors. These sheets, thrown onto the dancers’ bodies to "make ghosts", and the "Bolero" by Ravel which resonates in our ears during the show, are both two elements of the collective unconscious, those little things which come and tease each one of us, stimulating memories. We can choose to see the show as an ode to childhood; we can also prefer to see it as a real ghost story, not so far removed from our own human stories, where we play, we get scared, we run after each other, and where there are leaders and followers. And then the sheets fall off, and we don’t really know if the ghosts have decided to play humans, or if they have been granted a new body. What we do know, however, is that, even though all the movements were soft and bouncy under the sheets, without the sheets there is an element of Lucinda Childs in Sarah Crépin’s choreography. "Pillowgraphies" brings adults and children together, the adults’ laughter echoing the small voices, marvelling at seeing ghosts for real – the proof that they are real ghosts is that they don’t have any feet! This playing around with magic and the supernatural is reminiscent of certain scenes from Walt Disney’s "Fantasia". La BaZooKa say they want to question the ability of the viewer to believe in what they see. Mission accomplished.“

Audrey Santacroce in I/O Gazette

"If someone says "ghost", what do you think of? Some people might immediately think about the costumes from ‘Pillowgraphies' : a white sheet and two big holes for the eyes. So one might seriously think that this is a show for children, questioning that eternal fear of the dark and the iconic figure of the ghost. But then we quickly realise that the show is actually about something else :  the way in which Yann Cardin, Sarah Crépin, Aurore Di Bianco, Flora Khoury, Claire Laureau-Renault, Sakiko Oishi, Matthew Patarozzi, Marie Rual, Léa Scher, Taya Skorokhodova and Julien-Henri Vu Van Dung alternately overplay their indistinguishable ghosts, makes us think that something must be hiding under the whiteness of the sheets. In a way which is both clever and simple, using black light, the dancers’ feet are made invisible. They float and move around at the speed of wind, which is of course completely normal for spirits. Not so much for dancers. These eternally wandering bodies run after each other and then seem to be seized with emotion when Ravel's Boléro comes on, their movements becoming exactly those of Maurice Béjart’s choreography, immortalized by Jorge Donn in Claude Lelouch's film Les Uns and Les Autres. A dramatic (or rather danced) twist, that we will not reveal, will allow you to understand the essence of contemporary dance : what looks easy never is, the dancers’ technique is sublime when it seems to be almost inexistent (...).

Pillowgraphies creates a story for bodies which are invisible and invites each person to appreciate the show in their own way : bodies which are held captive, bodies which are haunted. The finesse with which the show is written allows everything to finally tie together, whilst addressing every member of the audience, both young and old. A show which is pure contemporary dance, taking its inspiration in breathing, as a way of moving, free from any abruptness."

Amélie Blaustein Niddam in TouteLaCulture.com

"La BaZooKa, directed by Sarah Crépin and Etienne Cuppens, presents a show which is both poetic and visually stunning, mysterious and playful, led by a very traditional looking army of ghosts, with uniforms made of white sheets, which are also phosphorescent because they are performing in the dark.... "

Marie Plantin in Pariscope

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