A dive into the dance archives at the CND in Pantin

Since its creation, the National Dance Center (CND), based in Pantin (93), has patiently built up an exceptional collection of documents testifying to the richness and diversity of choreographic creation. Drawings, photographs, videos, scores, manuscripts, etc. these pieces, often unknown to the general public, are keys to understanding the behind-the-scenes of dance, the creative processes, the aesthetic issues and the historical contexts.

The “Distinguished Pieces” exhibition offers a journey in five stages, each offering a different perspective on the world of dance: creations, contexts, practices, professions, views, crossings and crossings.

The originality of this exhibition lies in its approach: rather than presenting an exhaustive vision of its 250 archives and private collections, the curators have chosen to highlight a single document per collection. Often little-known documents that are linked together in unexpected ways. This bias makes it possible to create a dialogue between the works and to reveal unsuspected aspects of the history of dance.

By walking through the exhibition rooms, the public is invited to travel through time and space. He will thus be able to discover works by big names in dance, but also by many lesser-known artists. The documents presented (sketches, scores, staging notes, extracts from rehearsals, photographs, but also contracts, schedules, job advertisements, professional memos, meeting minutes, etc.) offer an overview of the diversity of practices choreographers around the world.

The “Distinguished Pieces” exhibition is an invitation to discover the unsuspected riches of the CND archives.