Witch Hunting
Production for 6 dancers Premieres on October 10 & 11, 2025 at Opéra de Massy (91, near Paris) Duration: 55 min – All audiences
Witch Hunting explores the human being’s desire for empire and its capacity for self-sacrifice. On the bare stage, six dancers, women and men, divided into pairs of different dance styles – krumping, hip-hop and African urban and traditional dances – are spread across the space. On the principle of the battle, they make use of the virtuosity of their dance to define their zone of influence and to affect the other dancers’ movements. Individuals find fractions of common vocabulary and converge physically, consenting to uniting against those who oppose the fabricated consensus. In conditions where one can only win by putting others aside, the dynamics of scapegoating play in a cyclical manner, to the profit or detriment of each. The peculiarities of individuals submit to the authority of the united mass and fade away to tend towards conformity, whose continuity is ceaselessly challenged by dissidence.
Witch Hunting highlights the mechanisms by which groups are formed, dissolve and transform, and the principle of multiculturalism within the concept of the Nation. By confronting different dance styles, which represent different visions of the body, different means of communicating and different worldviews, Anne Nguyen explores the tensions between the notion of cultural identity and universalist principles, in light of a competitive system with limited opportunities.
The original music for Witch Hunting, composed by Pierre Demange and Grégoire Letouvet using percussion and prepared piano, offers a very broad contemporary interpretation of the Marseillaise French national anthem, interspersed with ‘Ode to Joy’ from Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, in the style of a modern epic.
Performers: Lisa Boudard aka “Lady Noscript”, Arnaud Duprat aka “Aaron EVO”, Dominique Elenga aka “Mademoiselle Do’”, Joseph Nama aka “Jo Kiero”, Tony Ndoumba aka “Tonynoscript”, Emilie Ouedraogo aka “Kween Madskillz”
Original soundtrack: Pierre Demange & Grégoire Letouvet
Costumes: Simon Huet
With the support of: Théâtre Molière -> Sète scène nationale archipel de Thau.
The par Dance Company is funded by l’Aide pluriannuelle du ministère de la Culture / DRAC Île-de-France, la Région Île-de-France for “Permanence Artistique et Culturelle” and l’Aide au fonctionnement du Département du Val-de-Marne. In 2024/2025, the par Terre / Anne Nguyen Dance Company is an associate artist to La Manufacture CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux • La Rochelle, as part of the associate artist residency program by the ministry of Culture, and to Théâtre des 2 Rives de Charenton-le-Pont. In 2024/2025, the par Terre / Anne Nguyen Dance Company is in residency at l’Opéra de Massy.
BOOKINGS: AVAILABLE FROM AUTUMN 2025 AND THROUGHOUT THE 2025/2026 SEASON, AS WELL AS FOR THE NEXT SEASONS.
CAST
Choreography: Anne NguyenPerformers: Lisa Boudard aka “Lady Noscript”, Arnaud Duprat aka “Aaron EVO”, Dominique Elenga aka “Mademoiselle Do’”, Joseph Nama aka “Jo Kiero”, Tony Ndoumba aka “Tonynoscript”, Emilie Ouedraogo aka “Kween Madskillz”
Original soundtrack: Pierre Demange & Grégoire Letouvet
Costumes: Simon Huet
PARTNERS (ONGOING)
THE PAR TERRE / ANNE NGUYEN DANCE COMPANY IS CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR PARTNERS AND CO-PRODUCERS FOR THIS PROJECT. Production: par Terre / Anne Nguyen Dance Company Coproductions (ongoing): Opéra de Massy; La Manufacture CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux • La Rochelle.With the support of: Théâtre Molière -> Sète scène nationale archipel de Thau.
The par Dance Company is funded by l’Aide pluriannuelle du ministère de la Culture / DRAC Île-de-France, la Région Île-de-France for “Permanence Artistique et Culturelle” and l’Aide au fonctionnement du Département du Val-de-Marne. In 2024/2025, the par Terre / Anne Nguyen Dance Company is an associate artist to La Manufacture CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux • La Rochelle, as part of the associate artist residency program by the ministry of Culture, and to Théâtre des 2 Rives de Charenton-le-Pont. In 2024/2025, the par Terre / Anne Nguyen Dance Company is in residency at l’Opéra de Massy.