Frédéric Flamand and dancers from the BNM are recreating “Titanic”, a showmade in collaboration with the famous Venetian visual artist and video-maker Fabrizio Plessi.

The second part of a trilogy comprising “La Chute d'Icare” (1989), “Titanic” (1992) and “Ex Machina”, “Titanic” was created amid the tall furnaces of the Museum of Industry in Charleroi, Belgium, in homage to one of
the mythical figures of the industrial revolution. The work is positioned at the very heart of the promethean dilemma in modern society in which art and technology are in opposition to one another. The sinking of the Titanic? No. A rebirth. And an anniversary too (1912-2012)!

Simple and grandiose. POLITIKEN

In 1973 Frédéric Flamand founded the group Plan K: here he questioned the status and representation of the human body by integrating plastic arts and audiovisual techniques into live performance.

From the outset Plan K developed its activities on an international scale, and the recognition from which it benefited abroad allowed it to establish its status.  Convinced of the importance for a company to be tethered to a place which allowed meetings and gatherings, in 1979 Frédéric Flamand opened a multi-arts centre in Brussels in an old sugar mill. Artists from various disciplines were welcomed here, such as Bob Wilson, William Burroughs, Charlemagne Palestine, Steve Lacy, Pierre Droulers, Philippe Decouflé, Marie Chouinard, Michael Galasso, Thomas Schütte, Joy Division, Eurythmics, etc… ‘La Raffinerie’ (The Refinery) is also a place of work, where an international dialogue between dance, plastic arts, music, and audiovisual arts takes place, hence perpetuating Plan K’s initial mission.

In 1987 Frédéric Flamand met the venetian artist Fabrizio Plessi.  Together they would develop a trilogy which approached the problem of technology envisioned in three different time periods: “La Chute d'Icare” (The fall of Icarus) (1989) considers the Renaissance and craft techniques.  The creation of Icarus at “La Monnaie” would reinforce Frédéric Flamand’s presence on large international stages.

Next were “Titanic” (1992) which talks about the industrial revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century, and “Ex Machina” which evokes the end of the twentieth century and the spread of image and communication technologies.

In 1991, Frédéric Flamand was appointed as the artistic director of the “Ballet Royal de Wallonie”, a neoclassical company which he renamed “Charleroi/Danses, Centre chorégraphique de la Communauté française de Belgique”.

In 1996, Frédéric Flamand begun his consideration of the relationships of dance and architecture, both being arts of structure and space.  For the show “Moving Target”, he chose to work with New York architects Elisabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, taking inspiration from the uncensored diaries of Vaslav Nijinsky, one of the first classical ballet dancers to build the bridge towards contemporary dance.

Following this was the creation of the shows “E.J.M 1” and “E.J.M. 2”, based on the works of Edward James Muybridge and Etienne Jules Marey, still in collaboration with Elisabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio. “E.J.M. 2” was staged for the “Ballet de l’Opéra National de Lyon”, while “E.J.M 1” was made for the “Compagnie Charleroi/Danses – Plan K”.

In 2000, Frédéric Flamand created “Metapolis” with the iraqi-british architect Zaha Hadid, the 2004 winner of the Pritzker Prize, which is equivalent in architecture to winning the Nobel Prize.  This same year he met Jean Nouvel. Their collaboration resulted in the creation of “The Future of Work”, a show which would be viewed by over 600 000 people during its five month run.  This achievement adhered perfectly to Frédéric Flamand’s preoccupation with gaining the largest possible audiences for the art of dance.  In 2001 he created the double show “Body/Work” and “Body/Work/Leisure” as an extension of his collaboration with the architect Jean Nouvel.

The Venice Biennale entrusted to him the artistic direction of the First International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Venice Biennale in 2003.  He opened the festival with the creation of “Silent Collisions”, directed with californian architect Thom Mayne.

In September 2004, he was jointly appointed as General Director of the “Ballet National de Marseille” by the minister of Communication and Culture in the City of Marseille and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region.

He created “La Cité Radieuse” (The Radiant City) with french architect Dominique Perrault, “Metamorphoses” with the renowned brazilian designers Humberto & Fernando Campana, and “La Vérité 25X par seconde” (The Truth 25X per second), with chinese architect-plastic artist Ai Weiwei.

Frédéric Flamand also enriched the Ballet National de Marseille’s repertoire by inviting external choreographers including William Forsythe, Lucinda Childs, Nacho Duato, the french Thierry Malandain, Michel Kelemenis, and Olivia Grandville & Eric Oberdorff, and the belgian Michèle Noiret, …

Frédéric Flamand is an Official in the “Ordre des Arts et Lettres de la République Française”.

Fabrizio Plessi is one of the most famous contemporary artists in the world. From  Venice to Berlin, from New York to Madrid, from Paris to Beijing, via  New Dehli, London, Budapest, Hong Kong or Moscow, from the Pompidou  Centre to the Guggenheim, the largest cities and museums have celebrated  the forces of nature that it puts on stage, the bubbling of its  streams, the murmuring of its forests and always the originality of its  creations. On the Brenner motorway, an important museum bears his name and is entirely dedicated to him. Fabrizio Plessi is one of the few artists who in their lifetime are thus consecrated.

Having trained at Rosella Hightower in Cannes and at the ‘École nationale de danse de l'Opéra de Paris’, Yannick Rayne’s first career as a dancer was rich and varied. Having swapped focus, video, filmed shows, advertisements, musical clips, institutional films and interviews now play an important part in his work.  Mainly linked with the Marseille National Ballet, his activity develops around the body and vision of each choreographer.  Very attached to the idea of the conservation of patrimonies, for the last few years Yannick Rayne has worked to promote the audiovisual history of the “Ballet National de Marseille”, while developing the principles of intangible heritage and memory of choreographic works, thanks to testimonies and items belonging to the archive.

Back in 1972, Roland Petit created the Ballets de Marseille. Having lost  its -s, the Ballet has become a Centre Chorégraphique National in 1984  wille  be run by the collective (LA)HORDE. 

The creation and  dissemination of shows by the Ballet and guest artists are at the heart  of what it does. Very much rooted in our time, curious about and open to  the world, the BNM is also a prestigious part of Marseille’s cultural  heritage, close to Parc Borély.

Source: BNM

En savoir plus: www.ballet-de-marseille.com/en