The Parliament of the Invisibles
A contemporary dance of death
In 2008, the French choreographer Anne Collod was our guest here at the Kaaitheater with parades and changes, replays, a fantastic reworking of Anna Halprin’s legendary 1965 piece. In The Parlement of the Invisibles, she once again presents a contemporary interpretation of an important historical dance.
The origins of the danse macabre or dance of death can be traced back to the Middle Ages. In 1935, the German choreographer and teacher Kurt Leeder, a colleague of Kurt Jooss, created his version of 18 dancing skeletons set to music by Camille Saint-Saëns.
For The Parlement of the Invisibles, Anne Collod creates a filmic re-enactment of Leeder’s dance. The five dancers relate to his film and to the original archive footage. Whilst the performance is a resurrection of a forgotten work, it also seeks to be a dialogue between the living and the dead. The place of the dead in our life today is portrayed in various forms: processions, carnivals, rituals and trance. Anxiety and grief stand shoulder to shoulder with the collective celebration of death. The music of Pierre-Yves Macé also alludes to both the music of Saint-Saëns and to brass bands, carnivals and lamentation.
• Through her study of Laban dance notation, Anne Collod became interested in the re-enactment of 20th-century chorographic works. To this end, she helped set up the Quatuor Albrecht Knust collective (1993-2001) and then worked with Anna Halprin on parades & changes, replays (2008), for which she won a Bessie Award in New York in 2010.
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RE:THINK TALK at 7 PM | Philosopher Vinciane Despret talks about the relationship between the dead and the living and how they are an inexhaustible source of stories and art.
concept, artistic direction Anne Collod | choreography Anne Collod in association with the performers - Sigurd Leeder | artistic collaboration Johann Maheut , Cécile Proust | dancers Jonas Chéreau, Germana Civera, Marta Isquierdo-Munoz, Laurent Pichaud (replaces Fabrice Ramalingom), Betty Tchomanga | music Pierre-Yves Macé after Camille Saint Saëns | musicians (recorded) Maxime Echardour (percussion), Guénolé Keravec (bombarde), Trami Nguyen (piano) | lighting Henri-Emmanuel Doublier | scenography Johann Maheut | images Jacques Hœpffner | costume design La Bourette | stage management Juliette Rudent-Gili | administration, production, touring Grand Ensemble | delegate producer ... & alters | co-productions La Briqueterie CDC Val de Marne, Fontenay en scènes, Théâtre Jean-Vilar de Vitry sur Seine, Le Vivat scène conventionnée danse et théâtre d’Armentières, Parc de la Villette dans le cadre des Résidences d'artistes, Centre National de la Danse de Pantin, Arsenal de Metz, Centre Chorégraphique National de Montpellier Languedoc Roussillon – Programme Résidences, Le Phare - Centre Chorégraphique National du Havre Haute-Normandie, Centre Chorégraphique National de Franche-Comté à Belfort, avec l’aide à la production d’ARCADI Île de France | support Adami, Spedidam, Théâtre de Vanves, Pact-Zollverein/Essen | thanks CDC Toulouse/Midi-Pyrénées, Théâtre Garonne, Théâtre de Gennevilliers | … & alters is supported by DRAC Île de France, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, au titre de l’aide aux compagnies et associée à la Briqueterie CDC Val de Marne (2014-2016).
