Boris Charmatz | Terrain
20 dancers for the XX century, extracts
Due to an injury sustained last night, Boris Charmatz will unfortunately be unable to perform his solo «Somnole». Instead, audiences can experience another work by Boris Charmatz: «20 dancers for the XX century, extracts». Three dancers perform emblematic solos by outstanding 20th‑century choreographers, drawn from the project «20 dancers for the XX century», developed by Boris Charmatz at his Musée de la Danse.
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«20 dancers for the XX century and even more, extracts» presents a living archive. The dancers perform, recall, appropriate, reenact, explain and transmit acclaimed or forgotten solo works of the last century that were originally conceived or performed by some of the most significant modernist and postmodernist dancers, choreographers, and performance artists, up to now. Each dancer presents his or her own museum. The body is the ultimate space for a dance museum. Hence there is neither a stage nor a demarcation of performance space.
More than legacy, this project is about a kind of archeology: excavating gestures from the past, to be performed by a dancer’s body in the present. Metaphorically and quite literally, the collection for a museum of dance resides within and through the dancers’ bodies. The body is the most active storage room, educated by gestures, full of memory ready to be activated for the present and future. This project presents a wild approach to history, where the dancers — draw from the ruins of their memories, their knowledge of historical solo dances, their own habits of movement, their moods, etc... It is about investigation, a different kind of museological approach.
Each dancer introduces an individual history that invokes a wider, collective exploration of dance, touching not only on the discipline’s pioneers but also figures including Charlie Chaplin and other gestural ideas such as Krump.
Boris Charmatz
Dancer, choreographer, and creator of experimental projects, Boris Charmatz emerged in 1993 as a major figure in French contemporary dance with À bras-le-corps, a duet created with Dimitri Chamblas. From 2009 to 2018 he was the director of the CCN de Rennes et de Bretagne, which he transformed into Musée de la danse, an experimental space to rethink the relationship between the public and the territories of art. Pieces like «Aatt enen tionon» (1996), «enfant» (2011) created for the Cour d'honneur at the Festival d'Avignon, or «10000 gestes» (2017) have been shown around the world. His work has been the subject of retrospectives at the Museum of Modern Art MoMA (New York), Tate Modern (London), Festival d’Automne (Paris). Since 2019, he has ceaselessly been questioning the foundations of his discipline with his company Terrain. From 2022 to 2025, Boris Charmatz is the director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch and develops, with Terrain, an artistic project between Germany and France. In 2024, he was the “Artiste Complice” at the 78th Festival d'Avignon.
You see today
Magali Caillet Gajan
After making her debut in cabaret at the Sporting Club Monte Carlo and on French television in the 1980s, Magali Caillet Gajan began performing in 1989 for Angelin Preljocaj, Philippe Decouflé, Mathilde Monnier, Odile Duboc, Carnets Bagouet and Boris Charmatz. She danced in the re-creations of «Meublé sommairement» directed by Fabrice Ramalingom, «Jours Étranges» (1990) and «So Schnell» (1992) directed by Catherine Legrand, three pieces by Dominique Bagouet, and for Ashley Chen in «Unisson» (2018) and «Distance» (2020). She has worked with choreographers Olivia Grandville, Maud Le Pladec, Fabrice Ramalingom, Phillip Connaugthon and director Myriam Marzouki. She is Boris Charmatz‘s assistant on numerous projects. At Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch she assisted him on «Wundertal/Sonnborner Strasse», «Liberté Cathédrale», and «CERCLES».
Interpretation «Mon truc en plume» (1961) by Zizi Jeanmaire, theme from Champs-Elysées (1988), «memories from Noces» (1989) by Angelin Preljocaj, «Publique» (2004) by Mathilde Monnier, «Jeux olympiques» und «Shazam» by Phillipe Decouflé, extracts from «Jours étranges» (1990) by Dominique Bagouet and «Levée des conflits» (2010) by Boris Charmatz.
Fabrice Mazliah
He trained in Geneva, Athens and Lausanne and then danced at the Nederlands Dans Theater before joining William Forsythe in 1997 at the Ballett Frankfurt and then the Forsythe Company until 2015. His own works («Eifo Efi» in 2013, with the MAMAZA collective «In Act and Thought» in 2015 for the Forsythe Company, «Sheela Na Gig» for the Ballet de l'Opéra de Lyon in 2021, «The Manufactured Series Duets #1-6 Symposium» in 2022,«The Ends of Things; The Things of Ends» for the Theater Basel in 2024...),are presented throughout the world, and he also collaborates with many other artists. At the same time, he teaches a practice based on his research and improvisation.
Interpretation Extracts from «Sider» (2011), «Anguloscuro» (2010), «I don't believe in outer space» (2008), «Heterotopia» (2006), «The Defenders» (2007), «NNNN» (2002), «7 to 10 passages» (2000), «Die Befragung des Robert Scott» (1991) and «The Returns» (2009) by William Forsythe.
Frank Willens
Frank Willens was born in California, is a contemporary dancer, performer and choreographer. He has worked with Meg Stuart, Laurent Chétouane, Peter Stamer, Tino Sehgal, the Cologne collective SEE!, theatre director Falk Richter, Bjørn Melhus and several times with Boris Charmatz. He has been developing his own plays and touring them worldwide since 2008. From 2017 to 2019, he was a permanent ensemble member at the Volksbühne Berlin, where he worked on projects by Tino Sehgal, Boris Charmatz, Jérôme Bel and Schorsch Kamerun. He has also worked with theatre director Susanne Kennedy since 2018. Frank Willens has been a member of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch ensemble since July 2023.
Interpretation in the form of an endless physical experiment, Frank Willens draws on the experiences of his 25 years of work and explores the ideas of Trisha Brown, Tino Sehgal, Yvonne Rainer, Meg Stuart, Laurent Chétouane and Friedrich Nietzsche.
Dates and Tickets
shows from today-
Mo
25.08.
19:00
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20:00
CHF 55.–/30.–
Ticket 25.08.2025 19:00 - 20:00 , Boris Charmatz | Terrain - 20 dancers for the XX century, extracts
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Tu
26.08.
19:00
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20:00
CHF 55.–/30.–
Ticket 26.08.2025 19:00 - 20:00 , Boris Charmatz | Terrain - 20 dancers for the XX century, extracts
Artistic direction and cast
| Konzeption | Boris Charmatz | Terrain |
|---|---|
| Mit | Magali Caillet Gajan, Fabrice Mazliah, Frank Willens |
| Licht | Yves Godin |
| Technische Leitung | Mélissandre Halbert |
| Produktion und Vertrieb | Terrain |
| Stellvertretende Direktion | Hélène Joly |
| Leitung der Produktionen | Lucas Chardon, Martina Hochmuth |
| Produktionsmanagement | Briac Geffrault, Lola Serre |
| Dank an | Les Carnets Bagouet, Laurent Chétouane, William Forsythe, Meg Stuart, Tino Sehgal |
Production
| Produktion | Musée de la danse / Centre chorégraphique national de Rennes et de Bretagne (2012). |
|---|---|
| Unterstützung | Terrain wird vom Ministerium für Kultur – Direction Générale de la Création Artistique und der Region Hauts-de-France subventioniert. Terrain hat seinen Sitz in der Region Hauts-de-France und ist mit phénix, scène nationale de Valenciennes pôle européen de création und Maison de la Culture Amiens - Pôle européen de création et de production verbunden. |
| Premiere | 4. November 2012 im Champs Libres in Rennes, Frankreich |