En Mai

“En Mai” is a duo created around a reflection on the form that a contemporary dance performance can have. Indeed, it is quite paradoxical to realize that a “contemporary dance” performance, that is supposed to be free and innovative, can sometimes adopt codes, almost a set formula.

Choreographed by Antonin Mélon and Jérôme Février in August 2023 at the Maison des jeunes de Gosselies "Les Gais Lurons" ASBL.

©Cedric Sintes

Intentions

©Ana Fernandez Tamargo

Through this piece, the audience directly sees the codified aspect of a "good piece of contemporary dance".

However, this is not meant to be a satire.

The choreography seeks to differentiate itself from these codes by stating them, highlighting them, exaggerating them and subverting them in a new and surprising way.

Fourth wall

It is then that the show vacillates between the boundaries of “performance” and studio rehearsal. The fourth wall is broken, inviting the audience to enter into the performers' thoughts.

As a result, this show can appeal to both audiences familiar with contemporary dance and those who are new to it. For the former, it plays with the well-established format of a dance performance, while for the latter, it explains it in a fun way.

©Ana Fernandez Tamargo

Internet culture

©Ana Fernandez Tamargo

More broadly, we were also inspired by internet culture, by humor <<meme> characteristic of the new generation and this new trend of fast consumption, the "scroll" culture.

Inspiration and movement

As choreographers, we drew inspiration from several aspects of our lives which we brought into the piece.

We thus find the aspect of training, of learning the codes specific to the show, of emancipation and of the quest for a new form of stage expression.

The movement in the piece takes many forms: improvisation, playing with a musical structure, synchronicity and desynchronicity, mime, and the practice of mutual listening. All of this forms an evolving performance that offers the spectator different ways of engaging with movement.