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Mes de Danza Festival

The SHAPERS project received its first creative residency, as part of edition # 23 of the Mes de Danza festival and presented a performance in the #24 edition.

The festival :

Since its creation in 1994, Mes de Danza, an international contemporary dance festival, of private initiative, contributed to the creation of a contemporary dance scene in Seville and Andalusia, where at that time it was a great unknown .

Deepening and exploring choreographic art in its most diverse tendencies and bringing them closer to the public has always been its driving force.

It was, in its beginnings, the only platform for the few Andalusian artists who expressed themselves in this language. Since then, it has contributed to the emergence and visibility of a new generation of choreographers.

The creation of cycles such as “Microdanzas”, “Universidad y Danza”, “Danza en espacios singular” brought dance to other contexts and closer to new audiences.

Over the years, MES DE DANZA has expanded its reach throughout Andalusia, highlighting its expansion in Cádiz, where the festival “Cádiz en danza” has become an autonomous event under the tutelage of the city.

Throughout its long history, MES DE DANZA has been consolidated as the autumn dance meeting in Seville, as the main forum for the development of contemporary dance in Andalusia, and as a reference festival in Spain and on the international circuit.

In recognition of its cultural work, MES DE DANZA received the First Audience Award from Canal Sur Radio in 2006, and ‘el Premio MAX de LAS ARTES ESCÉNICAS’, awarded by the critics, from ‘Television Andaluzas a la Entidad Cultural’ in 2009.

Across the years, the objectives and priorities of MES DE DANZA have evolved according to the evolution of the social and cultural context and the needs of the sector. Today, the goals the festival continues to pursue revolve around spreading the language of contemporary dance and its diversity of languages, promoting and supporting creators and artists, fostering a regular contemporary dance program in scenic Andalusian spaces and the exchange and synergies between communities.

Since 2007, new lines of action have opened up thanks to the programming around themes. It is a step further in the knowledge and reflection on dance. The public has followed enthusiastically, a gesture that encourages us to continue working hard and continue to grow.

María González
Director MES DE DANZA

Mes de Danza [Seville, Spain]. Since its first edition in 1994, the main objective of Mes de Danza Festival is to explore dance in its widest and most varied approaches and trends and to link audiences -both familiar and unfamiliar with dance- to the performances. Beyond its role as a festival, Mes de Danza has contributed to shape and strengthen the local dance scene in Andalusia and Spain. www.mesdedanza.es

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Rézodanse

Centre Rézodanse – Egypte is an independent cultural centre dedicated to the promotion and the development of dance in Alexandria. Founded in 2008 by Lucien Arino, it is registered in Egypt as a limited liability company, and is based in Alexandria, Egypt.

Rézodanse is unique in the way it combines in one location a space for training as well as a place where several artistic and cultural projects are developed and implemented. Through its activities, Rézodanse defends and promotes dance as a valuable and respectable art form deeply rooted in the Egyptian heritage.

We believe that dance has a role to play in education and that its development in Egypt contributes to the cultural diversity of the Egyptian society and to building our country’s lively and vibrant art scene.

Convinced of the role of dance in education, we believe that its development and enhancement in Egypt must contribute to the affirmation of the cultural diversity of Egyptian society and the emergence of an artistic scene of great vitality.

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Zvrk Festival

The association Zvrk and its international dance festival, with the same name, set up in Sarajevo in 2008, is a co-organizer and partner of the European project SHAPERS, which deals with the theme of contemporary choreographic art and the scene in the public space.

The project was initiated and results from the cooperation of cultural actors in the field of choreographic arts: Ex Nihilo Dance Company [Marseilles-France], Dance Center Rézodanse [Alexandria-Egypt], Artistic Organization Momkin-spaces of possible [Marseilles-France], the laboratory for in situ artistic creation Nassim el Raqs [Alexandria-Egypt], the International contemporary danse festival Mes de Danza [Seville-Spain], the dance center Espace Darja [Casablanca-Morocco], Zvrk [ Sarajevo-BiH] and the production house in’8 circle  [Marseilles-France].

Thanks to this international project, the festival Zvrk presented to the public of Mostar, Sarajevo and Banja Luka from September 19th to October 1st 2017 a full program of quality dance performances. During the festival’s marathon program, the public discovered 30 international and local artists who presented their works in different places in the public space of these cities.

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Workshop and audition in Alexandria

A workshop and audition took place from April 16th to 20th and 22nd to 26th in Alexandria (Egypt), within the Nassim el Raqs laboratory for in situ creations. The workshop was led by Anne Le Batard, Jean-Antoine Bigot and Corinne Pontana from the Ex Nihilo dance company. Following the workshop, two Egyptian dancers were selected during an audition for the training program designed around the creation of the choreographic piece SHAPERS.

The two dancers selected for the project in Egypt:

Ahmed Shamel Azmy
Shady Abdelrahman

 

 

 

 

 

 

Momkin – espaces de possibles [Marseilles, France] aims at initiating and accompanying artistic and cultural projects within cities and territories across the Mediterranean region, by creating, producing, and performing artistic works, as well as through the development of cultural and intercultural projects, of training programmes and awareness building campaigns. Since 2011, Momkin has carried out the Nassim el Raqs festival, featuring artistic initiatives linked to the city of Alexandria. www.momkin.co

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Immersion in Nassim el Raqs

With Jean Antoine Bigot, Shahd el Khattabi, and the dancers participating in the SHAPERS workshop and audition.

Nassim El Raqs #6 Teaser : Sarah Limorté, mediator of Momkin – espaces de possibles and coordinator of the training program for volunteers of the Nassim el-Raqs festival.

Images: Nassim el-raqs festival volunteers team.

Following this workshop, two Egyptian dancers were selected for the creation of the choreographic piece, SHAPERS.

Shady Abdelahrman, Egypt
Ahmed Shamel, Egypt

 

 

 

 

 

Nassim el Raqs is a festival in Alexandria, Egypt, in which artists are invited to take over a location in Alexandria and to develop a piece of work from the meeting between their art and the city. Although mainly based in contemporary dance, Nassim el Raqs also involves artists from different disciplines such as visual arts, sound composition, and theater.

 

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The square of the 7 street lamp posts or Garage Mashy

Images: volunteers from Nassim el-raqs

Concept design / filming protocole: Nicolas Bôle, Djela Samba.

Post production: Nicolas Bôle

Filming the environment, looking at the city we are in

The ‘square of the 7 lamp posts’ is a key place in the history of the festival Nassim el Raqs.  The company Ex Nihilo created the performance Mashy in 2013, and since, we call the garage and its surrounding area “Garage Mashy”.

Its inhabitants and workers have become friends and accomplices since that moment. Washing the tires to prepare them for our work, giving advice on the choreography, setting up the space to make the work easier, the Garage Mashy has become one of the most enjoyable places for creation or for rehearsals for Nassim el raqs and Ex Nihilo.

 

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Ex Nihilo

Ex Nihilo is a contemporary dance company that co-directed by Anne Le Batard and Jean-Antoine Bigot. Over the years, it has brought together a team of artists around a commun desire: to make public space a place of inspiration, of creation, and of outreach for dance.

Ex Nihilo has been touring several shows from its repertoire in France and internationally for more than 20 years. Convinced that creation is a driving force of human and collective adventures, the company is committed to long-term cooperation projects with accomplices in France and abroad.

Since 2016, Ex Nihilo has been the lead partner in SHAPERS, a Creative Europe training project for contemporary dance in public and singular spaces in the Euro-mediterranean region with a group of young dancers, with its partners Nassim el Raqs (Alexandria)/Momkin-espaces de possibles (Marseilles), the Centre Rézodanse – Egypte (Alexandria), l’Espace Darja (Casablanca), Mes de Danza (Sevilla), ZVRK (Sarajevo), in8 circle – maison de production (Marseilles). The training and artistic residencies throughout SHAPERS were led by Anne Le Batard, Jean Antoine Bigot and the company dancers Corinne Pontana and Rolando Rocha.

Since 2017, the company has moved to the Cité des arts de la rue in Marseilles, with the aim of producing and sharing its choreographic creations on a local level, while remaining permanently linked to its international partners. Ex Nihilo is subsidized by the Ministry of Culture and Communication as a National Company having an international influence.

Two performing choreographers

Anne Le Batard & Jean-Antoine Bigot

After performing in France and Belgium, Anne Le Batard and Jean-Antoine Bigot created their own dance company in 1994 in which they research and explore the relationships between dance and urban or natural landscapes through singular choreographic projects. Both share the same desire to escape from the usual frameworks by using dance as a ‘language’ to meet inhabitants and locations. Favoring teamwork, they have developped a specific writing process involving a close complicity with dancers Corinne Pontana, Rolando Rocha and Anne Reymann , musician Pascal Ferrari, visual artist Martine Derain. In parallel, they initiate new collaborations with young dancers.

Anne Le Batard, has developed a choreographic writing process focused on responsiveness, from immersion periods on site. Her approach to dance is linked to her practice of photography and video. Jean Antoine’s art works – drawing and painting – resonate with his dance. He designs the scenography of the dance pieces.

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Espace Darja

A partner in the SHAPERS project, Espace Darja is an independent space founded by the choreographer Meryem Jazouli in 2011.

The foremost motivation of this project was to set up a unique space dedicated to dance that would progressively build up as a platform for choreographic experiments and research in Casablanca. Since its conception, Espace Darja has been multiplying collaborations and drawing from other artistic fields in order to become a breeding grounds for the emergence and effervescence of ideas, actions, and encounters.

This initiative goes beyond the activities of a choreographer to confront other art forms, views, and reflections.

Helped by other artists and collaborators from many artistic backgrounds, Meryem Jazouli opens a physical space in parallel to a space for reflection, where the regular activation of circulations between artists, thinkers or curious people can experiment differently the stakes of creative acts.

Images from the SHAPERS artistic residency at Espace Darja in 2017

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Meeting at the Festival d’Avignon

As part of the professional meetings on the sidelines of the Festival d’Avignon, an initial meeting with all of the partners of the SHAPERS project took place on July 11th and 12th, 2015.

This meeting defined the intentions and objectives as well as the means to implement the project in order to write and deposit the project within the Creative Europe framework. The discussions and exchanges established the respective interests of each partner, common interests, intentions and possible ambitions to achieve through the SHAPERS project.

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A collaboration in Alexandria

Initial collaborations

The festival Nassim El Raqs and the dance company Ex Nihilo have cooperated since the first edition of the festival in 2011, exploring new territories for choreographic creation in the city of Alexandria. Every year, they experimented with new methods to teach young Egyptian dancers.

The creation of four solos

Following an initial encounter at l’Espace Darja, in Casablanca, Meryem Jazouli invited two Moroccan dancers to participate in the project in Alexandria put in place by Nassim el Raqs : 4 solos. This project invited two Egyptain dancers and two Moroccan dancers to work on their solos in situ with artistic accompaniment led by Anne Le Batard, Jean-Antoine Bigot and Corinne Pontana from the Ex Nihilo danse company, in April and May 2015.

After 3 weeks of work in situ on naval construction site Anfouchi port, a performance with the 4 young dancers Shahd el Khattabi, Ehab Mustafa, Mourad Koula and Nabil Najihi, as well as Corinne Pontana and Jean-Antoine Bigot was presented during the festival Nassim al Raqs #5.

Photo credit : Nisrine Chiba and Ex Nihilo

Choreography and dance: Shahd el Khattabi, Ehab Mustafa, Mourad Koula and Nabil Najihi, accompanied by Jean-Antoine Bigot, Corinne Pontana, and Anne Le Batard, from the Ex Nihilo company.