CARTE BLANCHE – CORPS DE WALK

source: archivesdansedanseca

CORPS DE WALK
“In recent works, I have used a system of walks. For me, walks are the new dance. Walks with a combination of sketched technique create a kind of high tech building in which I see beating hearts of gold, emotional form.” Sharon Eyal

Featuring a parallel, mysterious and decadent universe, Corps de Walk was initially presented at the City Theatre in Turku, Finland during the 2011 Performing Arts in May festival, and went on to great acclaim in cities across Europe.

Corps de Walk combines shapes and emotions in a unique, almost extraterrestrial “walk” by androgynous creatures. It makes a number of references to Killer Pig, Sharon Eyal’s first choreography for Carte Blanche, created in 2009. In Killer Pig, a piece for female dancers, Sharon Eyal plays with multiple incarnations of sensuality with a minimalist style and intense physical expression. She pursues that approach in Corps de Walk, but this time will all the company dancers involved. As with the previous piece, the costumes suggest androgynous nudity. She has collaborated with the Israeli musician DJ Ori Lichtik for many years, and once again here his music underpins her potent choreographic language, whose rhythm constantly evokes a beating heart.

“THE WHOLE PERFORMANCE BREATHES FLARES INTO LIFE, VIBRATES WITH A LIFE-GIVING, VERY TECHNICAL ENERGY AND WITH A HUGE RICHNESS OF EXPRESSION. THE SOUNDTRACK, PUT TOGETHER BY A DJ WHO IS A REGULAR COLLABORATOR OF SHARON EYAL, SWEEPS BOTH DANCERS AND AUDIENCE ALONG ON AN EXCITING VISION OF A CHOREOGRAPHIC MARCH THAT INVENTS ITSELF WITH EACH NEW STEP.” (sudouest.fr, Bordeaux, France)

Carte Blanche is the first company, apart from Batsheva, to present a full-length piece by this rising star of contemporary dance.

The national contemporary dance company in Norway, Carte Blanche was founded in 1989 in Bergen, Norway’s second largest city. Every year the company produces at least 3 new dance pieces and mounts 4 to 6 productions. The Belgian dancer and arts administrator Bruno Heynderickx has been general and artistic director of the company since 2008.

Works featured by Carte Blanche include pieces by celebrated Norwegian and international choreographers, and the company takes pride in commissioning new dance by up-and-coming choreographers. Its mélange of work by established and emerging artists makes for an eclectic and exciting repertoire, and it strives to be a driving force in developing, creating and producing contemporary dance in Norway and abroad.

SHARON EYAL
Born in Israel in 1971, Sharon was a dancer with the Batsheva Dance Company from 1990 to 2008. She was the company’s associate artistic director from September 2003 to December 2004, and since 2005 has been its resident choreographer. Her breakthrough came with the very poetic Love, work created in 2003 in Israel, that charmed audiences and critics alike. She is currently a much sought-after choreographer. She restaged Love for Carte Blanche in 2005, and in 2009 created Killer Pig for the female dancers in the company.

Sharon Eyal is renowned for her uniquely personal and powerful movement vocabulary, which is often tinged with a subtle yet explicit sensuality. As the Israeli dance critic Gabi Aldor put it, “The clarity of movement in her dance is such that feminine splendour becomes a magnificence greater than life, worthy of goddesses. Her approach is a fresh reminder of an alternative femininity, maybe similar to that of Madonna, who fearlessly reinvents herself every day.”

Since Love in 2005 she has choreographed Bertolina (2006), Part II (2005), Makarova Kabisa (2006), One-legged Barbie (2008) and Killer Pig, as well as some shorter pieces. She recently created Bill (2010) for the Batsheva Dance Company and Too Beaucoup (2011), which made its première with the Hubbard Street Dance company in Chicago in March 2011, to great critical acclaim.

GAI BEHAR
Gai Behar is an artist, curator and producer. He has worked in the fields of video, music and performance, and has organized various alternative underground events, live music and techno raves featuring performance and installation artists. He has also produced and launched various night club concepts in Israel. He began working with Sharon Eyal in 2005, and co-created Killer Pig for Carte Blanche in 2009 and Too Beaucoup in 2011. Gai Behar and Sharon Eyal have two children.
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source: archivesdansedanseca

« Dans mes œuvres récentes, j’ai utilisé un système de marches. Pour moi, la marche est la nouvelle danse. Combiner toutes sortes de marche à la technique me permet de créer une espèce de construction de haute technologie où prend forme l’émotion pure. » Sharon Eyal

Dévoilant un univers parallèle, mystérieux et décadent, Corps de Walk a été créée au Théâtre de la ville de Turku, en Finlande, en 2011 (May Performing Arts Festival). Depuis, la pièce a été applaudie dans plusieurs pays européens.

Corps de Walk associe émotions et formes dans une « marche » unique, « extraterrestre », pour créatures androgynes. L’œuvre fait plusieurs références à Killer Pig, première chorégraphie de Sharon Eyal pour Carte Blanche, créée en 2009. Dans Killer Pig, conçue pour une distribution féminine, Sharon Eyal jouait avec de multiples incarnations de la sensualité en usant d’un vocabulaire minimaliste et d’une intense expression physique. Elle poursuit donc ce travail dans Corps de Walk mais, cette fois, avec tous les danseurs de la compagnie. Aussi, dans cette nouvelle œuvre, les costumes suggèrent encore une fois une nudité androgyne. La musique du DJ israélien Ori Lichtik, collaborateur de longue date, vient souligner l’audacieux langage chorégraphique d’Eyal, tandis que son rythme rappelle sans cesse un cœur qui palpite.

« TOUTE LA PIÈCE RESPIRE, REBONDIT, VIBRE D’UNE ÉNERGIE VIVIFIANTE, TRÈS TECHNIQUE, ET D’UNE GRANDE RICHESSE D’ÉCRITURE. LA BANDE-SON, CONCOCTÉE PAR UN DJ QUI COLLABORE RÉGULIÈREMENT AVEC SHARON EYAL, ENTRAÎNE DANSEURS ET PUBLIC DANS CETTE VISION EXCITANTE D’UNE MARCHE CHORÉGRAPHIQUE QUI S’INVENTE À CHAQUE PAS. » (sudouest.fr, Bordeaux, France)

CARTE BLANCHE
Carte Blanche est la première compagnie, à part Batsheva, à présenter une création de longue durée de cette étoile montante du monde de la danse contemporaine qu’est Sharon Eyal.

Compagnie norvégienne nationale de danse contemporaine, Carte Blanche a été fondée en 1989 à Bergen, la deuxième plus grande ville de Norvège. Chaque année, elle produit au moins 3 nouvelles œuvres chorégraphiques et présente de 4 à 6 productions. Depuis 2008, elle est placée sous la direction artistique et générale du Belge Bruno Heynderickx.

Le répertoire de Carte Blanche compte des œuvres de certains des chorégraphes les plus renommés de Norvège et d’ailleurs. Cela dit, elle se fait un point d’honneur de commander des œuvres à la nouvelle génération de faiseurs de danse. Ce mélange d’œuvres d’artistes émergents et établis crée un répertoire éclectique et excitant, à la hauteur de la volonté de la compagnie d’être à l’avant-garde du développement, de la création et de la production en danse contemporaine en Norvège et sur la scène internationale.

SHARON EYAL
Née en 1971 en Israël, Sharon Eyal danse avec la Batsheva Dance Company depuis plus de 10 ans. Elle a été directrice artistique adjointe de cette compagnie de septembre 2003 à décembre 2004 et, depuis 2005, est la chorégraphe en résidence de la compagnie. C’est sa pièce poétique Love, œuvre créée en 2003 en Israël, quilui a permis de percer comme chorégraphe. Le spectacle avait emballé tant le public que les critiques. Elle est aujourd’hui une chorégraphe recherchée. Elle a remonté Love pour Carte Blanche en 2005, puis a créé Killer Pig, en 2009, pour les danseuses de cette compagnie.

Sharon Eyal est reconnue pour son vocabulaire gestuel puissant et personnel, souvent teinté d’une sensualité à la fois subtile et explicite, que la critique de danse israélienne Gabi Aldor décrit de cette façon : « La clarté des mouvements des chorégraphies d’Eyal est telle que la splendeur des femmes devient plus grande que nature, touchant à la divinité. Son approche est un heureux rappel d’une féminité autre, semblable peut-être à celle de Madonna, qui ose se réinventer tous les jours. »

Depuis Love, Sharon Eyal a chorégraphié Part II (2005), Bertolina (2006), Makarova Kabisa (2008), One Leg Barbie (2008) et Killer Pig (2009), en plus d’autres œuvres plus courtes. Elle créait Bill (2010) pour la Batsheva Dance Company et Too Beaucoup (2011) dont la première, donnée par la compagnie Hubbard Street Dance à Chicago en mars 2011, a été saluée par la critique.

GAI BEHAR
Gai Behar est artiste, curateur et producteur. Il travaille dans les domaines de la vidéo, de la musique et de la performance. Il a organisé de nombreux événements artistiques d’avant-garde dans le domaine de la musique et des rassemblements technos mettant en vedette performeurs et artistes d’installation. Il a aussi produit et lancé divers concepts de clubs en Israël. Sa collaboration avec Sharon Eyal remonte à 2005. Il est le cocréateur de Killer Pig pour Carte Blanche en 2009 et de Too Beaucoup en 2011. Gai Behar et Sharon Eyal ont deux enfants.
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source: vimeo

Mit der gefährlichen Erotik der Masse beschäftigt sich die israelische Choreografin Sharon Eyal in ihrer jüngsten Schöpfung für das norwegische Ensemble Carte Blanche. In »Corps de Walk« steckt Eyal ihre zwölf Tänzer in fleischfarbene Bodysuits, verpasst ihnen weiße Kontaktlinsen und identische Frisuren und lässt diese androgynen Aliens streng geometrische Marschformationen zelebrieren. Mit geradezu beängstigender Präzision oszilliert die Gruppe zwischen roboterartigen Aufmärschen und ekstatischen heidnischen Fruchtbarkeitsriten. Unterstützt von dem Technokünstler Gai Behar und dem DJ Ori Lichtik parodiert die Choreografin die großen Gruppenszenen des klassischen Balletts und stellt ihnen ein aktuelles Gegenbild entgegen, das direkt von der Tanzfläche eines futuristischen Techno-Clubs zu stammen scheint.
In her second piece for the Norwegian company Carte Blanche, Sharon Eyal merges mechanical precision and organic sensuality. »In recent works I have used a system of walks. For me walks are the new dance. Walks with a combination of sketched technique create a kind of high-tech building in which I see beating hearts of gold (and) emotional forms.« (Sharon Eyal)
Inszenierung & Kostüme: Sharon Eyal, Gai Behar › Mit: Caroline Eckly, Guro Rimeslåtten, Jennifer Dubreuil Houthemann, Christine Kjellberg, Sara Enrich Bertrand, Núria Navarra Vilasaló, Edhem Jesenković, Ole Martin Meland, Christopher Flinder Petersen, Shlomi Ruimi, Simbarashe Norman Fulukia, Timothy Bartlett, Mathias Stoltenberg › DJ & Sound Design: Ori Lichtik › Produktion: Carte Blanche – the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance › Koproduktion: Künstlerhaus Mousonturm Frankfurt, Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf › Gastspiel in Kooperation mit der Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg-Platz.
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source: thedancecurrent

Cue the sounds of the crickets and birds and frogs. It signals entry into a mysterious world where everything is not quite what it seems. Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar’s roaringly good Corps de Walk is likewise the kind of stage work that defies expectations. The first inklings that we are entering the natural world are quickly dispelled. As the lights (by Torkel Skjaerven) slowly come up, we see a cluster of dancers. The gathering looks distinctly otherworldly, with snug white leotards and slick white-pasted coifs and skin, an intelligent indigenous species who appears to have a symbiotic relationship with each other, perhaps functioning in a group-mind structure. Within this dreamscape – I honestly felt that I had been launched from my day-to-day into another reality – this mystical coven appears to be engaging in a ritual reminiscent of Sacre du Printemps. Except, here, no one is cast out. As they move forward in unison, in a kind of strut-walk, the perfectly aligned formation of bodies (the title also alludes to the “corps de ballet”) prompts predictable ideas about automatons and the general herding phenomenon in our global cultures. But there’s far more here than at first meets the eye – the overall arc in the piece eventually reveals that this space is anything but neutral.
Before I go too much further in my praise, let’s not forget who is dancing: the excellent Carte Blanche, Norway’s leading contemporary dance company for close to a quarter century. Now run by Artistic Director Bruno Heynderickx, the company boasts a dozen dancers for this piece. The six men and six women, who look so cool, are very much a warm-blooded group. Their precision and concentration makes everything they do look breathtakingly easy. There is restraint and expressive phrasing throughout, and these terrifically skilled dancers bring power and control to the task. There are all kinds of delicious moments to savour – little explosions of movement in the body, a hip thrust, a lick of the finger, hands resting just in front of the hips, a cock of the head or a fleeting smirk. Honestly, part of the pleasure of Corps de Walk is that the piece, for all its well-structured qualities and superb dancing, has a deceptively subtle sense of humour. And then there’s the balance, constantly alluded to, between symmetry and asymmetry.
The Israeli-born and based Eyal – who danced with Batsheva Dance Company in Tel-Aviv (she was associate artistic director there for over a year and was the company’s house choreographer from 2005 until last year) – is a much sought-after dancemaker. Behar has produced live music and underground artistic events as well as techno raves. Together they have been collaborating to co-create a number of performances for Batsheva, as well as the well-received Killer Pig for Carte Blanche. Last year they formed their own company, L-E-V.
Of particular interest is how Eyal gets the performers – who sport icy-blue contact lenses, giving a vacant quality of their eyes – to embody a kind hemmed-in vibe. As a dancer revealed in the post-performance chat, the lenses obscure their peripheral vision. Eyal has the dancers create shifts in the upper body that are supple, fluid, while a rigid lower body dictates another punctuation in the movement. Apart from her accomplished layering of movement, one of Eyal’s choreographic signatures is her ability to activate the dancers’ core so that the movements are not coming from the extremities.
Finally, there is the choreography’s close connection with DJ Ori Lichtik’s loud music score – with excerpts from a host of electronic, industrial and classical sources, including David Byrne, Claude Debussy, Noize Creator, Aphex Twin, Tuxedomoon, Einstürzende Neubauten and Coil, to name just a few elements – which, simply put, fuels the all-consuming feeling of this hypnotic, must-see dance. Further, Lichtik’s constant use of African guitar reinforces the idea that an ever-present heartbeat still pulses within.
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source: lev-dance

SHARON EYAL

Dancer & Creator
Sharon Eyal was born in Jerusalem. She danced with the Batsheva Dance Company from 1990 until 2008 and began choreographing within the framework of the company’s Batsheva Dancers Create project.
Eyal served as Associate Artistic Director of Batsheva between 2003-2004, and House Choreographer of the company between 2005-2012.

In 2009 Eyal began creating pieces for other dance companies in the world: Killer Pig (2009) and Corps de Walk (2011) for Carte Blanche Dance of Norway; Too Beaucoup (2011) for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Plafona (2012) for Tanzcompagnie Oldenburg, Germany.

In 2013 Eyal launches L-E-V with her long-time collaborator Gai Behar. This October, they premiered Untitled Black in collaboration with the Goteborgs Operans Danskompani in Gothenburg, Sweden.
 Eyal is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2004 Ministry of Culture Award for young dance creators and the 2009 Landau Prize for the Performing Arts in the dance category. In 2008, she was named a Chosen Artist of the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation.

GAI BEHAR

Creator
AS a party producer, Gai was taking a big part of Tel Aviv nightlife scene as well as a curator of multidisciplinary art events from 1999 till 2005. Gai joined Sharon in co-creating Bertolina in 2005 and has collaborated on the creation of Sharon Eyal ever since.

ORI LICHTIK

Musician
Ori Lichtik is a multifaceted musician, drummer and creative DJ. Since their first collaboration on Bertolina, Lichtik has created alongside Gai and Sharon throughout the choreographic process, reflecting off of the dancers’ movements, and as often inspiring and prompting them with the tone and pace of his percussive sounds and rhythms. The compositions result in precise sets that structure the works. Each live show is then improvised with fresh layers of digitally manipulated effects, creating a unique sound experience for every event.

One of the founding fathers of the techno scene in Israel, he has created, produced and spinned musical productions, techno raves and various other music and performance events since 1996. During the last decade Lichtik has taught and coordinated the DJ Department of Muzik, college for musical productions.