Creation 2013 - Compagnie Christian et François Ben Aïm

Karma
Creation 2013
Commissioned by CCN de Roubaix Nord Pas de Calais - Carolyn Carlson
karma
Audience: From 7 years
Running time: 45 mins
Choreography
Christian and François Ben Aïm
Assistant choreographer
Yutaka Nakata
Performance
Marco Chenevier, Yutaka Nakata, Alhousseyni N’Diaye
Music
Jean Baptiste Sabiani
Costumes
Emmanuelle Geoffroy
Creation team
Moustapha Ziane
Production: Centre Chorégraphique National Roubaix Nord-Pas de Calais
Choreographic residencies: Villes de Méricourt, Douvrin, Bruay-la-Buissière, Frévent
Artistic project supports: Conseil Général du Pas de Calais, Artois Comm - Communauté d’agglomération de
l’Artois
© Frédéric Iovino
artistic intentions
Three men faced with a sweet truth about themselves, despite their struggle to maintain control of appearances
and their obvious desire to play at being cowboys. The music sweeps them away, shows the fragile, delicate
beings behind the façade, provides a glimpse of the endearing sincerity behind the awkwardness. It is only too
clear that the men have been overwhelmed by an uncontrollable inner guiding force. Tenderness and humour
creep in as we watch their contradictory movements, the way they gradually shed control.
The group ritual gives way to the beauty of the individual movement as a troubling femininity unfolds. An original
piece by the Ben Aïm brothers, for whom dance is equally a journey of self-discovery.
Anomaly in the context of contemporary dance, the Ben Aïm brothers have also everything of an incongruity.
They love, they adore dance that dances, the one that seeks pleasure and exaltation in the original movement
sequences. And they succeed wonderfully, inventing a fluid and light writing, very swing in the hips, swirling on
stage..
Rosita Boisseau – Le Monde – 22 July 2011
christian and françois Ben Aïm
A company
The Ben Aïm brothers are all of this, and more: a fifteen-year partnership that has
produced some twenty creations, strengthened by artistic collaborations from all
backgrounds. Their story reads like a ploughed furrow, dug with the expertise of
field workers liaising with performance spaces and communities. In the past three
years, they have created some 350 shows that have helped them to establish an
authentic company identity.
© DR
Two choreographer-dancers
After studying dance, physical theatre and circus skills, they each set out to
develop their performing careers independently in Canada and France. Once
reunited, they laid the foundations for their company, which functions around
the fraternal dynamic created by François and Christian: a meeting of minds and
instincts, they continually bounce ideas off each other to produce artistic projects
in constant evolution.
© DR
Standout pieces
In 1996, the brothers created their cornerstone piece: A l’abri du regard des
hommes, avant d’aller mourir ailleurs, a hybrid performance in which dancers and
actors share and feed off each other’s raw physical energy. La Frontera and Ne
vous fiez pas au titre, il peut encore changer followed in the same vein, showcasing a style of dance that blends subtle humour with elements of surprise. Other
signature pieces include the diptych inspired by the work of Bernard-Marie Koltès,
Carcasses, un œil pour deux and En plein cœur, whose original scenography
and music resonate with the playwright’s texts. Among their latest productions,
L’Ogresse des archives et son chien plays fully on the intersection of different
disciplines, while Valse en trois temps flirts with minimalism. The brothers have
also created in situ works on location, such as the monumental Mangrove Groove
in China, and the ‘all-terrain’ piece Karma performed throughout the Pas-deCalais region.
Partner venues
This path has been possible thanks to the loyal support of numerous performance spaces, including municipal theatres (the Théâtre de Vanves, Théâtre Louis
Aragon de Tremblay-en-France, and the Théâtre de la Madeleine de Troyes, with
whom they partnered for six years), national theatres (Mâcon, Aubusson), Centres
Chorégraphiques Nationaux (Roubaix, Orléans, Créteil), and L’Espace 1789 in
Saint-Ouen.
The company’s development is characterised by open-mindedness, exemplified by
intimate solos that open up towards large-scale pieces, a physical style of writing that
engages with cross-disciplinary art forms, and connections that lead to partnerships
both within their local communities and abroad. It is also characterised by passion,
which is always reignited when they push artistic and geographic boundaries.
Background
1996
After returning from Quebec, Christian and François Ben Aïm began to research and develop original
choreographies that combine dance and theatre. They created their first pieces during their time with the
Eclats d’Art company.
1997
A l’abri du regard des hommes, avant d’aller mourir ailleurs (first creation) - 5 performers / Festival
Avignon Off 1998
1998
L’Homme Rapaillé - 5 performers
1999
Un homme en marche - 5 performers / Festival Avignon Off 2001
2000
Creation dof the company CFB 451
2001
La Frontera - 5 performers
Ô mon frère ! - 3 performers / Festival Avignon Off 2011
2003
Ne vous fiez pas au titre, il peut encore changer – 3 performers
2004
Carcasses, un œil pour deux - 2 performers
2004-2006 Residency at Micadanses / Paris
2006
En plein cœur - 9 performers
Les quatres saisons de l’amour - 35 perfomers / Gala dinner for Amway – China
2006-2009 Residency of 3 years at the Théâtre de La Madeleine scène conventionée de Troyes
2007
You’re a bird, now ! - Solo
2007-2008 Residency Territoire(s) de la danse au Théâtre Louis Aragon – Tremblay-en-France
2008
Louves - Solo
Amor Fati Fati Amor - 6 performers
2009-2012
Artistes associés au théâtre de La Madeleine - Scène conventionnée de Troyes, avec l’aide de la Région
Champagne-Ardenne
2010
Valse en trois temps - 4 performers / Festival Avignon Off 2011
Résistance au droit - 4 performers
2011-2012
Residency at l’Espace 1789 de Saint-Ouen
2011
L’Ogresse des archives et son chien - 9 performers (dancers, musicians and artists circus)
Mangrove groove, China - 50 performers / Publicis Event - Shenzhen, Chine.
2012
L’orée des visages (short form) - 4 performers / Collaboration with the company Pseudonymo
2013
Karma - 3 performers / Commissioned by the CCN de Roubaix - Carolyn Carlson
La forêt ébouriffée - 2 performers / Création jfor young audience (from 7 years)
L’orée des visages (long form) - 4 performers/ Collaboration with the company Pseudonymo
These pieces have been performed in successive seasons and remain in the company’s repertoire.
press
2 december 2013
Karma, the history of life
There are just two benches on stage. Here, the scenery is the bodies. It all starts with a cup of coffee and
Western-style music. As if inhabited by the music, the bodies loosen up and move. Then humour comes into
play, in the form of mimicry and miming, making us smile and laugh. A spirited battle follows, both against
themselves and the world.
Karma is the new work by the Danse Windows project, initiated by Carolyn Carlson to promote contemporary dance. Created in 2013 by Christian and François Ben Aïm, this choreography blends classical dance,
contemporary dance and hip-hop. The whole is harmonious and the spectator is transported into a mystical
world that’s impossible to leave.
With their eyes raised to the sky, the dancers (Marco Chenevier, Yutaka Nakata and Alhousseyni N’Diaye)
seem to invoke a divine power and surrender to it. Does the end of the show represent the end of life or
the start of a new cycle? The piece concludes with the dance of the “crystal woman”, who represents man’s
weakness, but also his inner strength and determination. It is a magnificent moment that makes us want the
dancer to rise up endlessly, to move us once more.
CONTACTS
CFB 451
53 Rue du Général Leclerc
94270 Le Kremlin-Bicêtre - France
+ 33 (0)1 43 60 76 11
www.cfbenaim.com
Ambre Takei
Administrative manager
[email protected]
Marion Gatier
Production and tour manager
[email protected]
Fanny Debray
In charge of communication and public relations
[email protected]
The company is generously supported by la Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d’Île-de-France – Ministère de la
Culture et de la Communication, au titre de l’aide à la compagnie chorégraphique conventionnée, la Région Île-de-France
au titre de la Permanence Artistique et Culturelle et de l’Emploi-tremplin, le Conseil Général du Val-de-Marne au titre de
l’aide au fonctionnement. The company is currently in residence at the Théâtre de Rungis.
Photo coverage: ©Estelle Brugerolles