Marta Navaridas and Alex Deutinger have both studied translation and dance. In 'Your Majesties', they have therefore created a piece which makes use of both these disciplines, reprising the speech made by Barack Obama upon receiving his Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, in which he talks about war, peace and hope.

The result is a unique piece which not only reproduces the American president's words but invites the audience to listen to it differently, as a sort of extract of his official persona. The speech therefore resembles a score, accentuated and emphasised by movements which either underline or divert from it. With his hands indicating directions, his legs resting on the arm of the armchair, he walks as though in a Western, hides behind his jacket, ties a shoelace. Little by little, the beautiful machine becomes unhinged and Alex Deutinger's actions become more and more extravagant for the context. That said, there is no intended parody to the piece, rather, a deconstruction, the exposure of a malfunction.

'Your Majesties' thus invites us to look at the space ‘between’, which both moves away from the text's original meaning by making it look like an absurd recital, while at the same time reduces it to itself – despite everything, we can hear the ‘Obama sound’ and the hope that he was able to create through the subtle art of deviation; the very art, in fact, of translation. 

Source : Maison de la Danse

Marta Navaridas studied translation at the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, dance at the ArtEZ College of Art in Arnhem and mime at the HKA Amsterdam Theater School. In 2010, she was involved in the DanceWEB programme. She is the co-founder of art collectives Fingersix and The Loose Collective. As a performer, Marta Navaridas has worked with "Blood for Roses", Sarah Vanhee and Sofia Mavragani. Along with Dani Brown she choreographed "The Invitation" and "It's Gonna Blow" at the Kampnagel in Hamburg.

She has also been working with Alex Deutinger since 2007. They have both studied translation and interpreting as well as dance. Up to now, they have choreographed "Look at Them Now!", "Your Majesties", "Fandango and Common Consciousness", "Speaking of Which", and "On the Other Hand". They have had residencies in a wide range of places across Europe, including Linz, Vienna, and Hamburg. Their shows have been performed in, among other towns, Stockholm, Madrid, Zurich, Amsterdam, Bern, Dublin, Vienna, Zagreb, Munich, Copenhagen, London, Cincinnati and New York. They have lived and worked in Graz in Austria since 2008. 

Source: Navaridas & Deutiger  

More information : navaridasdeutinger.com

Born in 1977, Fabien Plasson is a video director specialized in the field of performing arts (dance , music, etc).

During his studies at the Ecole Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (joined in 1995) Fabien discovered video art. He was trained by various video artists (Joel Bartoloméo Pascal Nottoli , Eric Duyckaerts , etc) .
He first experimented with the creation of installations and cinematic objects.

From 2001 to 2011, he was in charge of Ginger & Fred video Bar’s programming at La Maison de la Danse in Lyon. He discovered the choreographic field and the importance of this medium in the dissemination, mediation and pedagogical approach to dance alongside Charles Picq, who was a brilliant video director and the director of the video department at that time.

Today, Fabien Plasson is the video director at La Maison de la Danse and in charge of the video section of Numeridanse.tv, an online international  video library, and continues his creative activities, making videos of concerts, performances and also creating video sets for live performances.

Sources: Maison de la Danse ; Fabien Plasson website

More information: fabione.fr