Fenix

A dance piece built around the legendary bird, symbol of death and resurrection, which is the emblem of the famous Venetian theater, Teatro La Fenice.

The choreographic commission arose from a proposal by the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the mythical theater which was burned twice in its history.
By inference, the choreography is mainly irrigated by the myth of the phoenix, death and rebirth, death and transfiguration, decay and regeneration.

All the choreographic elements are based on these concepts, for example: we use revolutions, turns and circles, as primary material which is linked to the notion of a cycle. We also use all kinds of variations of falls and recoveries, related to the notion of ending and beginning.

We are searching to find out how an element from a dancer can pass on and regenerate in another; ie how to look at life through individuation. On one side we put an accent on individual variations of a movement, on the other we insist that the individuality of each dancer exists fully.

Structurally, we imagine sections that develop until exhaustion, requiring a natural rest before resuming a new impetus.

The breath is emphasized because it is necessary to breath out (expire) before it is possible to breathe in (inspire) again.
This breath and breathlessness are transformed into sounds, phonemes and language in certain sections of the piece.
This sonic aspect of the body will come together with the “Live” (de)composition of Antoine Lengo, who uses the sheng, a wind instrument, as primary source of the production of sound.

Other structural elements such as the rhythms, accounts, directions and locations in space use phoenix numbers: cyclic numbers whose circular permutations of numbers correspond to multiples of the number. The best known is 142’857.

As the myth illustrates contradictory notions, we are working on contrasts, opposites, and mirror symmetry of the positioning of dance in space: the high and the low, the vertical plane and the horizontal plane, the very fast and very slow, the movement and Imobilité, etc..
We seek to use elementary notions, antiques, raw humanity: rituals, dances, incantations, trances, mandalas. It shows a sense of community, sharing the things of life … and of death.

In addition, all the choreographic material can be danced by all. This explicit passage from one person to any other person is an implicit message that every viewer can receive and incorporate in their personal experience.

Foofwa d’Imobilité, 3 juin 2012

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