the wall becomes the floor when breaking meets contemporary dance -凯发国际娱乐试玩
"dos au mur," a performance this weekend at shanghai international dance center theater, combines breaking with contemporary dance.
the french term "dos au mur" originates from fencing: when a fencer steps back too much to avoid danger, he ends up being "back to the wall." without much choice, the fencer has to go forward to fight his opponent. figuratively, it means one doesn't have other options but to act and solve problems.
"dos au mur" will be performed by french dancer julien saint maximin and chinese dancer zhang yan.
julien saint maximin, a dancer and choreographer for yeah yellow known as bee d, and zhang yan from the xiexin dance theater troupe will perform "dos au mur."
zhang has a background in both chinese and contemporary dance. she is filling in for fellow yeah yellow dancer and choreographer regneault camille, also known as kami, for the shanghai performances after camille picked up a shoulder injury during practice two weeks ago.
"i feel very sad," said camille, who was nearly in tears as she spoke about her disappointment at not being able to perform in shanghai.
the movable wall is an important prop on stage.
"it is relevant to everyone. it's about how people react to difficult moments in life," she explained. "we want to show audiences how breaking can convey a lot of emotion. it can be both technical and poetic."
a movable wall is an important stage prop. it protects and conceals people, but it also oppresses and impedes progress.
breaking performers typically do a variety of motions on the floor. the wall transforms into a vertical floor during the performance, presenting many characteristic breaking motions, such as air chair and freeze, in a new way.
"we use the wall to create new movements that were impossible to complete on the floor," said camille.
the varied spatial patterns the wall creates have different meanings for breaking movements.
the wall is divided into three sections, and the resulting spatial structure adds additional meaning to motions.
camille learned gymnastics before she turned 14 and subsequently taught herself hip-hop before taking up breaking at the age of 26.
"i realized breaking was what i loved and enjoyed," said camille, now 38.
"it was a late age to start learning, but i didn't want to live with regrets. i learned intensively for a year and started to take part in national competitions, and even winning them."
the wall becomes a vertical floor for breaking.
the injured camille is teaching all the movements to her replacement, zhang.
"i am not teaching her exactly what i do," camille said. "this show is about two individuals, so making audiences see her, not me, is important."
camille taught zhang the required bee d motions. zhang's own style will also be evident.
"only in this way can she feel comfortable with the performance and transfer the emotion to audiences," she said. "thus, we are creating something new in shanghai."
the dance center theater's french breaking season continues with "exit" (may 31–june 1) and "we are monchichi" (june 9–10).
shanghai international dance center theater's french breaking season includes three performances.
performance info
dates: may 24-25, 7:30pm
tickets: 180-380 yuan
venue: shanghai international dance center, experimental theater 上海国际舞蹈中心 实验剧场
address: 1650 hongqiao road 虹桥路1650号
