Boris Charmatz
50 years of dance (flip book)

"50 years of dance (flip book)" This project is a choreographic work, which has been tested once in Berlin with students from the HZT BA program and once in Saint Nazaire with professional dancers. A third version with non-dancers was shown at the Musée de la danse in Rennes at the end of April. Based on the photos in the book "Merce Cunningham: Fifty Years" by David Vaughan, movements shown in theses pictures will be reproduced and dance will be written to connect them, jumping from photo to photo. The book consists of pictures of every piece of Merce Cunningham as well as of portraits of the artist, starting from the age of five. "By reading the book it occurred to me that not only the entity of the pictures is a choreography within itself, but it is as such even close to Cunningham's working process: dance taking place between two positions/postures. I believe it is possible to create a piece based on this score of images and perform it chronologically. I am interested in transforming this entire history of a life's opus reflected in a book into a piece within a short period of time." - Boris Charmatz After studying at the Ecole de Danse de l'Opéra de Paris and at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon, Boris Charmatz was engaged by Régine Chopinot to dance Ana (1990) and Saint-Georges (1991). In 1992, he was asked by Odile Duboc to join her company CONTREJOUR to dance 7 jours/7 villes (1992), Projet de la Matière (1993) and Trois Boléros (1996). He also took part in the premier of K de E, choreographed by Olivia Grandville and Xavier Marchand (1993). He founded ASSOCIATION EDNA with Dimitri Chamblas in 1992. Together they choreographed and danced the duet "A bras le corps" (1993), then "Les Disparates" (1994), a piece for one dancer and a sculpture by Toni Grand. Boris Charmatz next presented "Aatt enen tionon" (1996), a vertical choreography for three dancers, then in 1997 "herses (une lente introduction)", quartet for five dancers and a cellist, to music by Helmut Lachenmann. In 1999 he choreographed "Con forts fleuve", a piece for seven dancers and two extras, to texts by John Giorno and music by Otomo Yoshihide. The piece, "heâtre - élévision", a pseudo-show to be watched by one spectator at a time, was created in 2002. He regularly takes part in improvisational events and continues to pursue his performing career. From 2002, and for a period of three years, he was researcher and creator in residence at the Centre National de la Danse in Pantin. As part of this he was developing the "BOCAL" project, a nomadic and provisional school (or perhaps more a research group, driven by an idea of a school for exploring themes in depth) which brought together 15 students from different backgrounds from July 2003 to July 2004. He has co-written a book with Isabelle Launay: Entretenir / à propos d'une danse contemporaine (published jointly by the Centre National de la Danse and Les Presses du Réel). Currently Boris Charmatz is the director at Musée de la danse in Rennes.