“I am lucky to have been able to work at the Ballet de Lorraine”

On the eve of your transfer of power, what are your feelings? ?

“I am very happy. Naturally, after 13 and a half years, I feel lucky to have been able to be here, to work with this team. Advance the dance and propose creations. When I was recruited, I mentioned this idea of ​​the importance of a large laboratory. I have always been very curious and, with all my years of dancing, in different aesthetics, different styles, I asked myself this question “what would it be possible to create with this large group of dancers” (Editor’s note: the company is made up of 24 dancers)? Which is rare! »

Like Patrick Dupond, Pierre Lacotte, Didier Deschamps, do you think you have left an identity at CCN-Ballet de Lorraine?

” Absolutely. Each director has had his own mark, marked the company in his own form. These are not just directions that follow each other. These are eras. Times, perspectives and questions change. For my part, I tried during all these seasons to present at least 50% women choreographers. »

What do you think you have brought to this company at large? ?

“Diversity and questions for dancers. We are in a creative house, so we are here to discover other ways of presenting dance. What I tell artists is to remain open to all proposals. Do not prejudge. It’s an opportunity to dance a piece by Merce Cunningham and then, in the same evening, move on to a completely different style. As a dancer, I would have said to myself “wow how lucky I am to be able to embody these two different characters”. Like an actor, being able to transform from one role to another. »

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“We have always wanted, with Thomas Caley, to give the public a key and make them question themselves”

Your years in Nancy were marked by the eclecticism of the programming. Was this a request from you when you accepted the mission? Or is it structures like the CCNs that allow this freedom of tone? ?

“These are the CCNs. And that’s what appealed to me. Nancy was really open to the proposals we made. It has always been a question of democratization. Try to present a range of choreographic works for the audience. »

You say that the Nancy public was loyal even though certain works might have displeased. Do you have the feeling of having succeeded in opening your eyes or in any case pushing the viewer to discover other horizons? ?

“After all, the pieces are not necessarily there to please everyone! I think back to a work, a performance given in the first part on Place Stanislas then in the second part at the Opera in 2012 Women Lumberjacks by Dorte Olesen with 50 amateur female dancers. It was interesting to see how the audience reacted: some welcomed the performance but others said “but it’s not possible for women to do that”. »

“We have always wanted, with Thomas Caley (research coordinator at the CCN), to give the public a key and get them to question themselves. It is important for a company to have several points of view and to be attentive to different trends. Dance is very political. Can a woman dance like that, can a man dance like that? How a body can cause a good or bad emotion.

We were in Albania recently where we presented our piece Discofoot. One teenager said, “Men can’t move like that.” And we answered him “But why? Where is the problem? “. In any case, in Nancy, even if there was sometimes astonishment, as the public understood, it was always very open. »

Some dancers, moreover, may have been confused by the artistic choices ?

“Some dancers get into the propositions very quickly and understand the goal. Others less and take much more time. It’s natural. We are all human. It’s important to be aware of this. But in the end, the job is done and everyone is there. »

Exactly this room Discofoot that you created in 2016 with Thomas Caley, what will it become?

“In terms of rights, the piece belongs to us. It exists and will exist. But it is not up to us to decide what it will become. Social networks contributed to the success of the play. It had a global resonance. At first it was a surprise, it caused a lot of talk and it sparked a lot of discussions like “Is it possible to introduce yourself dancing on a football field like that?” »

If you had to start this adventure from scratch, would you make the same choices? ?

“It’s hard to say. Times are changing. What we did when we arrived was part of a given era. The world is not the same as it was in 2011. So I think not. We might not have made the same choices. »

What is your biggest regret ?

“I have no regrets. There is just this project for a new building for the CCN-Ballet de Lorraine (Editor’s note: in place of the former premises of the Faculty of Pharmacy in Nancy) which we would have liked to bring to fruition and which was already being considered during Didier’s mandate. Deschamps. I think this project will happen but I don’t know when! »

What would you like this company to become? ?

“I would like it to always be in this perspective of creation and artistic freedom. And that this structure is always supported (Editor’s note: by the public authorities). »

What new professional adventures are you heading towards? ?

“With Thomas Caley, we have ideas that we would like to experiment with. We would like to work in another form with fewer dancers. With this reflection “How can a body express itself in another context?”. We also have proposals for creating films. »