As a tribute to Oskar Schlemmer – one of the artists who was part of the Bauhaus movement in Germany – Culturgest from Lisbon commissioned one short piece each from two choreographers. Brazilian Lia Rodrigues came up with a series of short movements, offered as gifts, as a gesture of friendly gratitude. From artist to artist, from continent to continent, from one century to another, there's communication. She has cleared the stage, got rid of the lights, scenery and costumes and proposes dance where the body alone is the vehicle for the idea. A record spins, discreet but persistent, perpetual movement and eternal beginnings, a subtle suggestion of mechanics dear to Schlemmer. The dancers should be watched close-up, open to eyes with a scrupulous concern for truth and honesty. A simple and uncluttered gesture, a true and naked movement, a sincere and exposed dance. Catherine Diverrès, is attentive to Schlemmer, whose life was constantly torn between painting and theatre. She places her performance in the very centre of the artist' s weakness, and poses her choreography on an imaginary bedside table. San is restricted in space, limited in time. This voluntary and accepted limitation, creates incredible tension. It flows from the bodies of the three dancers who are compelled to reach beyond themselves for energy, because there is an urgency and the framework imposes thresholds that cannot be crossed. Black and white are predominant, recalling a fractured era, at the prey of nazism - the sounds recount the industrialisation of a century which is about to throw itself wholeheartedly to a world of machines. But then appears blue colour, ephemeral on a stretched net and red spurts up on a fan. These clear strokes and these bold lines bring forth emotion, and Oskar Schlemmer, apostle of geometric shapes, haunts the mind of San and the memory of Catherine Diverrès.
Distribution
Formas breves
choreography and artistic director : Lia Rodrigues
with the collaboration of the dancers :
Jamil Cardoso, Marcela Levi, Micheline Torres
dramaturgy : Silvia Soter
lighting : Milton Giglio
music : Fahrenheit 303 d'Orbital
San
choreography : Catherine Diverrès
cast : Osman Kassen Khelili, Nam-Jin Kim, Fabrice Lambert
et la participation de : Catherine Diverrès
stage design : Laurent Peduzzi
lighting : Marie-Christine Soma
costumes : Cidalia da Costa
Production
Formas breves
Coproduction :Culturgest-Lisbonne, Caixa Geral de Depositos, Lisbonne La compagnie Lia Rodrigues Companhia de Danças est soutenue par : Brasil Telecom
San
Coproduction: Culturgest-Lisbonne, Théâtre national de Bretagne, Centre chorégraphique national de Rennes et de Bretagne