CORPS EXTRÊMES is a poetic work that perfectly unfolds boundless practices within extreme sports and dance. It is deeply inspired by choreographer Rachid Ouramdane’s desire to “focus on the fascination produced by the notions of flying, weightlessness, suspension, soaring…” Two emblematic extreme sports enthusiasts—a highliner and a climber—meet on stage, far from their habitual playgrounds, with eight acrobats.

 

 

Light and often swirling, this extraordinary community of freedom-lovers, whose members embody in different ways the Icarus dream in today’s world, evolves between the sky and the earth, with an impressive climbing wall at the back of the stage as a fulcrum. The stage, above which is a long high wire, is sometimes transformed into a vast screen, onto which are projected literally vertiginous images of the world-class highliner Nathan Paulin and the renowned Swiss climber Nina Caprez in action in magnificent natural landscapes.

 

 

 

The voice-overs of these exceptional athletes also play a part, each giving a personal account of their practice. Sometimes soaring, sometimes rousing, Jean-Baptiste Julien’s musical score further enhances this multi-layered, subtly evocative piece.

 

Rather than giving into the facile attraction of virtuosity, the piece delves deep to uncover the existential—perhaps even metaphysical—dimension of these dances with the void. Simultaneously anchored in reality and dreamlike, both intimate and larger than life, it sheds a striking artistic light on extraordinary human experiences.

 

 

“CORPS EXTRÊMES is a meditation on risk, vertigo and fear. The show draws a graphic and chiselled picture where the fragility of the body, one’s own and that of each co-performer, is never forgotten even at the height of physical prowess.”
- Rosita Boisseau, Le Monde, June 2021

 

“Ten adventurous performers, extreme tightrope walkers, climbing pros or speed lovers, throw themselves into the void and quite literally fly through a video set that takes us up and over trees and mountains.”
- Mouvement, April 2021

 

“A vertiginous ode to freedom and to release where the circus arts and contemporary dance coalesce.”
- Filles de Paname, June 2022

 

 

 

Production: Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse
Since 2008, Chaillot has been the first national theater predominantly dedicated to dance productions, placing it in the vanguard of the dance scene both nationally and internationally. Headed by choreographer Rachid Ouramdane since April 2021, Chaillot presents every year over 60 artists from around the world, nearly 40 shows and 220 performances, and offers multiple outreach actions for educators, facilitating the connection between artists and audiences. The mission of Chaillot is to engage with diverse forms, aesthetics and audiences in order to make dance central to society. Fostering hospitality “from within and out” by utilizing the Art Deco building in different ways, bringing in a plethora of artists in residence all year round, curating events to facilitate interaction, experimentation and reflection, these are the tenets of the Chaillot spirit and experience. A hospitable venue that champions diversity, Chaillot is a place for experimentation and togetherness.

 

Conception/Choreography: Rachid Ouramdane
At the age of twelve, Rachid Ouramdane discovered dance through hip-hop. He also took intensive courses in classical and modern dance. In the early 1990s, he dropped out of his studies in biology to devote himself fulltime to dance and joined the Centre national de danse contemporaine in Angers. As a performer and choreographer, he has worked with Meg Stuart, Odile Duboc, Hervé Robbe, Alain Buffard, Christian Rizzo, Julie Nioche and Emmanuelle Huynh. Rachid Ouramdane's creations are often marked by the seal of testimony and intimate experience (refugee children, victims of torture or natural disasters, amateur athletes, etc.) from which he weaves a structured choreography. Rachid Ouramdane collaborates with circus artists (Compagnie XY), authors (Pascal Rambert, Sonia Chiambretto), visual artists (Nicolas Floch' and Mehdi Meddaci), and musicians (Jean-Baptiste Julien and Alexandre Meyer) for his own creations as well as for commissioned works and workshops. With an ambitious project based on diversity and hospitality, he has been director of Chaillot - Théâtre national de la Danse in Paris since April 2021.

 

Video: Jean-Camille Goimard
Born in 1987, Jean-Camille entered the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse in Lyon in 2006. Specialising in contemporary dance, he tackled the repertory of Odile Duboc, Michel Kelemenis, Pina Bausch, and performed in several productions of the choreographers Julien Monty, Yan Raballand and Nina Dipla. At the CNSMDL, he set out to create and develop his own projects. Ever since he graduated from the Conservatory in 2009, he has also been working for the choreographer Yan Raballand. In parallel, he practices sliding and grip sports like sailing, skiing, climbing, and road longboard. His own company Au Delà Du Bleu was founded in January 2012. He directs artistic projects which combine dance, extreme sports and video. In 2016, he set up ADDB production (specialising in photography, video and aerial images), with the photographer Guillaume Ducreux.

 

Music: Jean-Baptiste Julien
Musician and composer born in 1977, Jean-Baptiste works or has worked with Antoine Antoine Antoine, Pascal Battus, Alex Beaupain, Bertrand Belin, Blast, Yannick Butel, Jean-Marc Butty, Marylène Carre, Arnaud Churin, Thomas Ferrand, Grand Parc, Yves Godin, François Lanel, Fiodor Novski, Katel, Sophie Lamarche-Damour, Frédéric Leterrier, Bernardo Montet, Antonin Ménard, Seijiro Murayama, newpauletteorchestra, Rachid Ouramdane, Palo Alto, Pink Crash, Alexandre Plank, Virginie Vaillant...

Conception: Rachid Ouramdane/Compagnie de Chaillot
Music: Jean-Baptiste Julien
Video: Jean-Camille Goimard
Lighting: Stéphane Graillot
Costumes: Camille Panin
Highliner: Antoine Crétinon
Climber: Camille Doumas
Flyer: Tamila De Naeyer
Acrobats: Chloé Frappat, Löric Fouchereau, Joël Azou, Valérian Moutier, Maxime Seghers, Charlie Hession, Owen Winship
Stage Manager: Sylvain Giraudeau
Production: Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse
Coproduction: CCN2 – Centre chorégraphique national de Grenoble, Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy, Théâtre de la Ville – Paris, Festival Montpellier Danse 2021, L’Estive – Scène nationale de Foix et del’Ariège, Le Bateau Feu – Scène nationale de Dunkerque, Le Carreau – Scène nationale de Forbach, MC2: Grenoble, Théâtre Molière – Sète, Scène nationale Archipel de Thau, Le Théâtre Scène nationale de Saint-Nazaire

 

Thanks to: Patricia Minder, Xavier Mermod, Guillaume Broust, Romain Cocheril

With the technical support of Espace Vertical and Music Plus Grenoble
With the support of MC93 – Maison dela Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis

With the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels