À mon bel amour

Production 2019 – Duration: 60 min



À mon bel amour questions our perception of the individual, the couple and the collective by exploring different conceits about identity and beauty. Eight dancers, four men and four women, toy nonchalantly with the poses they strike with their bodies and the symbolism of their dances to assert their identity and challenge the limits of our gaze. The gesture and purpose of the eight virtuoso dancers reflect different cultural references, different archetypes, different perceptions of the self and of others. From classical ballet to voguing, krumping, popping, contemporary dance and waacking, their dance cultures and on-stage movements allude to the fashion show, or photographic or cinematographic representation, the clubbing scene, the tradition of theatre, or to society’s trappings, thereby presenting manifold ways of approaching the audience. In À mon bel amour, everything is symbolic, not just dance movements and posture, but also appearances and clothing. Daring to show off, be flirtatious, assertive, dominating, to cock a snoop, to show love, they transcend themselves in order to exist. Like parading animals, the eight dancers advance towards us tirelessly, alone, in pairs, or collectively. In a world where we struggle to agree on values, can we arrive at a consensus about the concept of beauty? À mon bel amour is a manifesto about diversity, that takes into account individual identities in a respectful manner.


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Cast

Choreography: Anne Nguyen
Performers: Sonia Bel Hadj Brahim (waacking, popping), Arnaud Duprat (popping), Stéphane Gérard (voguing), Pascal Luce (popping, locking, waacking), Andréa Moufounda (contemporary dance), Sibille Planques (contemporary dance), Emilie Ouedraogo (krump), Tom Resseguier (ballet)
Understudy dancers: Fabrice Labrana, Santiago Codon Gras, Valentine Nagata-Ramos, William Delahaye, Janice Bieleu, Dominique Elenga, Vassiliy Evlacheve
Original musics: Jack Prest
Fashion design: Manon Del Colle, Arya Haliba
Lighting design: Ydir Acef
Stage manager on tour: Matthieu Marques

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> A collection of pictures by Patrick Berger, from the rehearsals to the premieres of À mon bel amour.

Partners

Coproduction: La Villette, Paris; PACT Zollverein; Fonds Transfabrik – Fonds franco-allemand pour le spectacle vivant; Espace 1789 – Scène conventionnée danse.
Action financed by la Région Île-de-France; l’ADAMI.
With the support of: Théâtre 71 – Scène nationale de Malakoff; La Briqueterie – CDCN du Val-de-Marne; Centre des arts – Scène conventionnée pour les écritures numériques d’Enghien-les-Bains; Chaillot – Théâtre national de la danse; Centre de la danse de la Communauté Urbaine Grand Paris Seine & Oise; Scènes du Golfe, Théâtres Arradon – Vannes, Scène conventionnée; agnès b.; Théâtre de Choisy-le-Roi – Scène conventionnée d’Intérêt National – Art et création pour la diversité linguistique; Les Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers; CND Centre national de la Danse – mise à disposition de studio; La Maison des Arts de Créteil et du Val-de-Marne – Scène nationale; Théâtre Louis Aragon – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national Art et création danse de Tremblay-en-France; Théâtre de Rungis.

The par Terre Dance Company is funded by l’Aide pluriannuelle du Ministère de la Culture / DRAC Ile-de-France, la Région Ile-de-France for “Permanence Artistique et Culturelle” and l’Aide au fonctionnement du Département du Val-de-Marne.
In 2023/2024, the par Terre / Anne Nguyen Dance Company is an associate artist to Théâtre Molière -> Sète scène nationale archipel de Thau (34), La Manufacture CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux • La Rochelle, with the support of ministère de la Culture, Théâtre de Choisy-le-Roi, Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national – Art et création pour la diversité linguistique (94), and is taking part in an artist-in-residence program in Ivry-sur-Seine, in partnership with la briqueterie – CDCN (94).


« Anne Nguyen’s latest piece contains a powerful lyrical statement. […] Her hip-hop choreography probes the very premise of what gives individuals, couples, collective entities their personal and cultural identity. ”In a world where we struggle to agree on values, is it possible to reach a consensus on the idea of beauty?” »
Télérama – Rosita Boiseau (29 November 2019)

« Anne Nguyen is back with a warriors’ dance to beauty, exploring the ways in which the body transcends itself in images and postures to find its true existence. There is not the slightest hint of lyricism or romanticism in Anne Nguyen’s latest piece, despite the title. It is to be perceived rather as a declaration of love and a tribute to dance, the beauty of the physical gesture, an ode to movement and other cultures. […] Daring to expose and claim the body’s identity, the piece questions both the canons of beauty and our ways of existing, while interrogating the spectator’s gaze. »
La Terrasse – Nathalie Yokel (30 October 2019)

« The whole of the stage bristled with hypnotic, unfathomable gestures. Were they mirroring our own? »
Ouest France – Marie-Sophie Lehalle (12 October 2019)