Retour en Avant / Past Forward Biennale de la Danse Lyon - France

Abou LagraaBorn in Annonay on 22 December 1970, hebegan dancing aged 16 and enrolled at theConservatoire National Supérieur de Musique etde Danse de Lyon, where he worked with manyguest choreographers. From 1993-1996, he wasa member of Rui Horta’s company in Frankfurt,and was his assistant on one project. In 1997 hedanced for Denis Plassard, Lionel Hoche and RobertPoole, and founded Compagnie La Barakawith fellow dancer Aurélia Picot. He has sincecreated new works every year for his company:Les 2 (1998), Violatus (1998), Kraft (1999), Passage(2000, a hip-hop trio), Nuit Blanche (2000),Allegoria Stanza (2002), Cutting Flat (2004),Où transe (2005), R.V.B.V (2006) and Matri(K)is(2007). In December 1998 he won second prizein contemporary dance at the Concours Internationalde la Ville de Paris. He choreographedtwo pieces for the Lyon Dance Biennale Défilésin 1998 and 2000. In parallel to his work for LaBaraka, he has created Fly, Fly (2001) for the Balletde Lorraine, a piece restaged two years laterfor the ABC Dance Company in St. Pölten, Austria;Leïla (2003), for the second-year students atthe Centre National Chorégraphique in Angers;and My Skin for the students of the Hochschulein Frankfurt. Since 2002, La Baraka has collaboratedclosely with Tunis event “Les RencontresChorégraphiques de Carthage”; and with theCentre Méditerranéen de Danse Contemporaine,where the company has residencies tocreate its works. Since January 2004, La Barakahas been in a four-year residency at the ScèneNationale d’Annecy in Bonlieu,where Abou Lagraais also an associate artist.In 2006 he carried out twocommissions: a solo for theOrchestre des Pays de Savoie,Le Pas suspendu; and a piecefor 21 dancers from the Balletde l’Opéra National de Paris, LeSouffle du temps. In the summerof 2006, he was on the judgingpanel of “Dancing Show”, on theFrance 2 channel. His work has featuredin reports and in films of his pieces.D’eux sens / Premiering at theBiennale“When I engrossed myself in the delightfulpoetry of When I engrossed myself in thedelightful poetry of Omar Khayyám (1048-1131)– the Persian poet, philosopher, mathematicianand astrologer – I was amazed to discover thathe associated wine with pleasure, youth and life,whereas I had always been told that wine wasprohibited to Muslims.. This ambiguity has givenrise to the duet D’eux sens. In this piece, I drawinspiration from several of Khayyám’s verses toexplore the flight of time, the pleasures of lifeand the imminence of death. Through spiralmovements between heaven and earth, in fluidmoves impeded by breathing, it seemed obviousto reflect on love in the couple, on ardent desire,and on loving the other so deeply as to loseoneself and them. On the stage, singer HafidaMélissa Favret and a Sufi singer perform thepoems, bathed in the musical world of composerEric Aldea.Finally, dancer Nawal Lagraa and myselfconverse and explore “deep down”, so thateach person’s real truth can resonate.How can the past shape the future?My Algerian origins are etched in my philosophy oflife, and especially in my body. My gestural languageis “talkative”; movements come from my pelvis,forearms and, of course, my hands. I relate strongly tothe ground. When I was small, my family used to sit ina circle on the floor to eat. “Touch” is something that’svery present in me, my parents had no taboos; it wasalways natural for my brothers and sisters to expressaffection with tactile gestures.My education has heavily influenced my relationshipswith people and how I communicate. I have learnedto stay genuine and spontaneous while adapting toothers, just as my parents had to adapt to Frenchand Western culture. I have observed my family circleand Maghrebin culture extensively, and they havenourished me totally. In this sense, my past has shapedmy future.Abou LagraaExtra info:World PremièreCompany performed at the 1998 Biennalewww.aboulagraa.com61