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PLACCC Festival

The PLACCC Festival, Budapest, Hungary

 

The PLACCC festival, organized by the Artopolis Association, supports site-specific performance and art in public space. The festival showcases work by both Hungarian and international artists. It is a member of the IN SITU network.

Director : Fanni Nánay

The theme of PLACCC 2018 was Body and Technology; during this edition, the performance SHAPERS  from the Ex Nihilo dance company was presented:

SHAPERS – public space dance performance
3 September 2018. 6 PM.
Venue: Rákóczi tér

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Hayyou’Raqs – Tunis

Hayyou’Raqs is an association that aims to reinforce the training possibilities and professional integration in Tunisia’s dance community.
حيّوا الرقص هي جمعيّة تسعى إلى المساهمة في تعزيز عرض التدريبوالإدماج المهني في قطاع الرقص في تونس.
Hayyou’Raqs est une association qui entend contribuer au renforcement de l’offre de formation et de l’insertion professionnelle dans le secteur de la danse en Tunisie.
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in’8 circle

in’8 circle • maison de production is a production powerhouse dedicated to the fields of theater, dance and circus. It is a resource for thinking about development, putting in place an organization or creating management and decision-making tools. in’8 circle engages with artists in the development of their projects and their careers.

Created in 2010, in’8 circle • house of production has set up, through encounters with artists, different working methods, adapting its practices in relation to the realities of artistic teams. From support for “permanent” companies to occasional work days with artistic teams in transition or companies in structuration, a whole range of working methods are thus invented.

COOPERATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

A partner within the SHAPERS Euro-Mediterranean cooperation project, in’8 circle • ​maison de production gave its support to all of the partners for the application to the European Union and throughout the project. Ex Nihilo is the lead partner of the SHAPERS project, which is receiving European Union funding from 2016 to 2018 as part of the Creative Europe programme.

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Momkin-espaces de possibles

Created in 2012, the association Momkin – espaces de possibles aims to initiate and support atypical and innovative artistic and cultural projects in cooperation with Mediterranean cities and territories, by supporting the creation, production and dissemination of artistic works, the design of cultural and intercultural cooperation projects, as well as the development of training and awareness activities.

The in-situ creation laboratory, Nassim el Raqs, organized by Momkin, offers  artistic initiatives in interaction with the city of Alexandria every year since 2011.

Emilie Petit, founder of Momkin – espaces de possibles, is a visual artist living and working between Marseilles and Alexandria. Starting from a personal artistic practice based on the experience of geography, developed since 2001 after graduating from the School of Fine Arts in Bordeaux, Emilie Petit has since developed experimental collaborative projects initiating creative processes in atypical and innovative territories and spaces.

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Nassim el Raqs

Nassim el Raqs is an artistic project that takes place in Alexandria each year (April and May) since 2011. The project is designed and produced by Momkin – Espaces de possibles (Emilie Petit, Marseilles, France).

With a desire to impose experimentation, research and creation in a changing city and in a changing political context, Nassim el Raqs -a laboratory for in situ artistic creation- proposes to open new creative and production frameworks for artists in Alexandria, by inviting them to seize pieces of city to question their practices, their desires, their impulses, their gestures in unpredictable and innovative working contexts.

The project welcomes Egyptian and international artists each year to take over various symbolical locations throughout the city and transform them into unusual venues for performance. Although mainly based on contemporary dancers and choreographers, the project also involves multidisciplinary arts.

Since 2011, Nassim el Raqs hosted more than 20 original performances by artists from Egypt, France, Germany, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and USA. The performances and activities were attended by more than 4,000 people.

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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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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.