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Blue Lady Duo Carlson-Saarinen

Carolyn Carlson Company Director : Picq, Charles

Choreographer(s) : Carlson, Carolyn (France) Saarinen, Tero (Finland)

Present in collection(s): Carolyn Carlson Company

Video producer : Maison de la Danse, Lyon

en fr

Blue Lady Duo Carlson-Saarinen

Carolyn Carlson Company Director : Picq, Charles

Choreographer(s) : Carlson, Carolyn (France) Saarinen, Tero (Finland)

Present in collection(s): Carolyn Carlson Company

Video producer : Maison de la Danse, Lyon

en fr

Improvisation - Blue Lady

Carolyn Carlson revisits Blue Lady, her legendary solo, by transmitting it to Tero Saarinen, an interpreter with a unique presence and gestural technique. Carolyn Carlson had been planning to revisit Blue Lady for several years.

Carlson, Carolyn

California-born Carolyn Carlson defines herself first and foremost as a nomad. From San Francisco Bay to the University of Utah, from the Alwin Nikolais company in New York to Anne Béranger’s in France, from Paris Opera Ballet to Teatrodanza La Fenice in Venice, from the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris to Helsinki, from Ballet Cullberg to La Cartoucherie in Paris, from the Venice Biennale to Roubaix, Carlson is a tireless traveller, always seeking to develop and share her poetic universe.

She arrived in France in 1971 the beneficiary of Alwin Nikolais’s ideas about movement, composition and teaching. The following year, with Rituel pour un rêve mort, she wrote a poetic manifesto that defined an approach to her work that she has adhered to ever since: dance that is strongly oriented towards philosophy and spirituality. Carlson prefers the term ‘visual poetry’ to ‘choreography’ to describe her work. She creates works that express her poetic thoughts and a form of complete art within which movement occupies a special place. 

For four decades, Carlson has had significant influence and success in many European countries. She played a key role in the birth of French and Italian contemporary dance through the GRTOP (theatre research group) at Paris Opera Ballet and Teatrodanza at La Fenice.

She has created over 100 pieces, a large number of which are landmarks in the history of dance, including Density 21.5, The Year of the Horse, Blue Lady, Steppe, Maa, Signes, Writings on Water and Inanna. In 2006, her work was rewarded with the first ever Golden Lion given to a choreographer by the Venice Biennale.

Nowadays, Carolyn Carlson is director of two organisations: the Atelier de Paris-Carolyn Carlson, an international centre for masterclasses, residencies and creating new works, which she founded in 1999 and the National Choreographic Centre Roubaix Nord-Pas de Calais until December 2013, which produces and tours shows all over the world.


More information: en.carolyn-carlson.com

Saarinen, Tero

Dancer-choreographer Tero Saarinen began his career as a dancer at the Finnish National Ballet in 1985. His solo career took off in 1988, after he won first prize in contemporary section of the “Concours International de Danse de Paris”. Despite his success as a soloist, he left the Finnish National Ballet in 1992 to seek new influences in contemporary dance in Western Europe and Japan, where he studied traditional Japanese dance and Butoh from 1992 to 1993. He has worked with several internationally renowned choreographers and is still considered one of the world's most significant dancers of his generation.

Saarinen has made more than 30 creations during his career. He founded his own group in 1996 as a canvas for his choreographic work. Apart from his work for Tero Saarinen Company and teaching his movement technique, his handiwork can also be seen in the premieres  commissioned by several other prominent dance groups.

As a choreographer Saarinen is known for his unique movement language that plays with balance, and off-balance. Influences ranging from Butoh and martial arts to classical ballet and Western contemporay dance can be seen in his style. His works, which have won wide international acclaim, are characteristically total artworks : combinations of unique choreography, strong performers, striking visu    als, and often, live music.

Source : Tero Saarinen Company 's website

More information

terosaarinen.com

 

Picq, Charles

Author, filmmaker and video artist Charles Picq (1952-2012) entered working life in the 70s through theatre and photography. A- fter resuming his studies (Maîtrise de Linguistique - Lyon ii, Maîtrise des sciences et Techniques de la Communication - grenoble iii), he then focused on video, first in the field of fine arts at the espace Lyonnais d'art Contemporain (ELAC) and with the group « Frigo », and then in dance.
   On creation of the Maison de la Danse in Lyon in 1980, he was asked to undertake a video documentation project that he has continued ever since. During the ‘80s, a decade marked in France by the explosion of contemporary dance and the development of video, he met numerous artists such as andy Degroat, Dominique Bagouet, Carolyn Carlson, régine Chopinot, susanne Linke, Joëlle Bouvier and regis Obadia, Michel Kelemenis. He worked in the creative field with installations and on-stage video, as well as in television with recorded shows, entertainment and documentaries.

His work with Dominique Bagouet (80-90) was a unique encounter. He documents his creativity, assisting with Le Crawl de Lucien and co-directing with his films Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux and 10 anges. in the 90s he became director of video development for the Maison de la Danse and worked, with the support of guy Darmet and his team, in the growing space of theatre video through several initiatives:
       - He founded a video library of dance films with free public access. This was a first for France. Continuing the video documentation of theatre performances, he organised their management and storage.
       - He promoted the creation of a video-bar and projection room, both dedicated to welcoming school pupils.
       - He started «présentations de saisons» in pictures.
       - He oversaw the DVD publication of Le tour du monde en 80 danses, a pocket video library produced by the Maison de la Danse for the educational sector.

       - He launched the series “scènes d'écran” for television and online. He undertook the video library's digital conversion and created Numeridanse.


His main documentaries are: enchaînement, Planète Bagouet, Montpellier le saut de l'ange, Carolyn Carlson, a woman of many faces, grand ecart, Mama africa, C'est pas facile, Lyon, le pas de deux d'une ville, Le Défilé, Un rêve de cirque.

He has also produced theatre films: Song, Vu d'ici (Carolyn Carlson), Tant Mieux, Tant Mieux, 10 anges, Necesito and So schnell, (Dominique Bagouet), Im bade wannen, Flut and Wandelung (Susanne Linke), Le Cabaret Latin (Karine Saporta), La danse du temps (Régine Chopinot), Nuit Blanche (Abou Lagraa), Le Témoin (Claude Brumachon), Corps est graphique (Käfig), Seule et WMD (Françoise et Dominique Dupuy), La Veillée des abysses (James Thiérrée), Agwa (Mourad Merzouki), Fuenteovejuna (Antonio Gades), Blue Lady revistied (Carolyn Carlson).


Source: Maison de la Danse de Lyon

Blue lady, duo Carlson-Saarinen

Choreography : Carolyn Carlson

Interpretation : Carolyn Carlson, Tero Saarinen

Live music : René Aubry

Other collaborations : Michel Esquirol, Gérard Sergent

Production / Coproduction of the video work : Fabien Plasson, Maison de la Danse de Lyon

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