Straight out of the woods

Christian Ben Aim, Laurent Patissier, Laurent Puren, Luc Beril and Gilles Viandier are probably one of the most gifted contemporary artistes today. Their performance has inspired creative minds across the world and now they will be in the city for a performance called Dance — The Dishevelled Forest.

In collaboration with Attakkalari Centre for Movement, they will present an unusual story of a little boy. The viewers embark on a poetic journey into a strange world in which the beings imagined by the little boy, the fantasy setting, and the dancers’ bodies all belong to the same universe.

The story revolves around Racine who is not an ordinary boy. No one noticed that a tree grew up in his head. Each step allows Racine to grow and tame his world. The viewer travels to Racine’s side from universe to universe, from discovery to discovery.

Talking about the inspiration behind The Dishevelled Forest, Christian Ben Aim explains, “We were invited to create a piece for young audiences as part of their residency in Saint-Ouen. Projecting new ideas and being surprised by the directions and universe they generate is often a source of enrichment and discovery in their creative process.

When we began developing the project, we invited author and illustrator Mélusine Thiry, a collaborator with the company, to write a story that would provide the central theme for the piece. The result was La forêt de Racine, written and illustrated by Thiry.

The book has since been co-published by the company and the author, and is the literary accompaniment to the piece. In this overwhelming forest, changing according to his emotions, he will go through unexpected adventures. Helped by his friend Meï, he will grow up gradually and learn how to fight his darkest fears, so he can go and face the world.

Their meeting lays the foundation for their company, which operates in the brotherly duo of François and Christian: the reflection of one crosses the instinct of the other, in a confrontation that calls for constantly changing art projects.”
Laurent Patissier admits that the challenges came in the form of building a show that integrates dance and video projections, integrating images, between natural environments and universe, to create a true decor for dancers.

Explaining why the metaphor of a tree has been used to depict the upheavals in human mind, he shares, “The forest represents retreat and escape, danger and wonders, and as soon as night falls, it feeds our imaginations. For Racine, it becomes an ambiguous place that he must discover and conquer in order to grow up and know himself better.”

The dance reflects the different emotional and physical states experienced by Racine, either embodied or transposed, and invites the young audience to identify and physically empathise with the boy so that they can take part in his epic journey.

The performance will take place on June 2 at 7.30 pm at Ranga Shankara.