In a Colombia ravaged by violence, choreographers fight with what weapons they have: body and dance. Tino Fernández, a Spaniard who has lived in Bogota for nearly eight years, is constantly devising allegories, sometimes unknowingly, for Colombia: a country where it is increasingly dangerous to set foot. The instability of the land in this zone of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and landslides is well known and feared. Of course, this also brings to mind the current guerrilla war, the fact that Colombian citizens are confined to their towns, that it's impossible for them to go down a road without fear of being kidnapped. Every Colombian carries the marks of violence within.

Source : Maison de la Danse programme

“Without wishing to justify barbarism, of course,” Tino Fernández explains, “I have tried to show the poignant poetry, the tragic beauty, like on the face of a mother whose children have been killed. I have followed the drama of the ‘desplazados', peasants torn from their land by the violent excesses of FARC, the paramilitaries and the greed of big land owners. They have fallen into the most abject poverty, and have nothing more than a scrap of waste ground on which they attempt to survive. In short, I also wished to evoke the impossibility of dialogue when every word is annihilated in fury and tumult. By bringing out the emotions of the audience, who applaud us with tears in their eyes, and identify here with the drama that Colombia is living through, with the twisted, mud-spattered bodies of the dancers, found in the myriad of abandoned shoes on stage, evoking the multitude of the disappeared: yes, in this emotion, I find my ‘raison d'être'.”

Accounts collected by Raphaël de Gubernatis for Nouvel Observateur (September 2002)

Tino Fernández was born in Navia (Spain). After studying drama in Madrid from 1977 to 1980, he began his professional career with the Trasgú theatre company, taking part in three of their productions. Later, he turned to contemporary dance and moved to Paris in 1983, where he continued his studies with the teacher-choreographers Jacques Patarozzi, Éléonore Ambash, Catherine Diverrès, Sara Sugihara and Jacqueline Fynnaert. As a dancer, he premièred new contemporary pieces with various companies, including François Larochevalière, Jean-Marc Colet, Gilles Mussard and Catherine Berbessou. He was also a member of La Règle d'Or (The Golden Rule), a Parisian contemporary choreographic research group. In 1991 he formed his own company, L'Explose, with which he produced and staged several pieces: "Con los ojos cerrados” (With Your Eyes Closed), his first solo "El silencio de las palabras" (The Silence of Words), "El secreto de Inés" (Inés's Secret), “Contre-cœur”. In Bogota he made his first short film on similar themes entitled "L'Attente". Since it was founded, L'Explose has based its working methodology on research which aims to take the energy of movement beyond form, with a theatricality which is able to speak of the human being in order to move the audience. In 1995, Tino Fernández moved to Bogota and created the L'Explose Foundation. With their strong and violent energy, the company emphasizes emotion over movement. Between 1996 and 2002 he created many pieces which have been performed in numerous venues throughout Colombia and as part of international events: “Sol a solas” (Lonely Sun, 1996), “La irrupción de la nada” (The Invasion of the Void, 1997), “La huella del camaleón” (The Chameleon's Footprint, 1998), “Háblame de amor” (Talk to Me of Love, 1999). In August 1999 he won the Pasos Para el Umbral (Towards the Threshold) competition of the Instituto Distrital de Cultura y Turismo de Bogota. This prize allowed him to create the piece “Sé que volverás” (I Know You Will Return), performed to great acclaim in August 2000 at Bogota's Teatro Nacional. To celebrate its ten years of existence, L'Explose created a new piece in 2001, "¿Por quién lloran mis amores?” (For Whom Do My Loves Mourn). In November the same year, Tino Fernández produced his first work in the field of musical comedy when he directed the piece "Electroshock" with Juliana Reyes. In August he was awarded the Towards the Threshold prize for a second time, which allowed him to create "La Mirada del Avestruz” (The Ostrich's View), premièred during the 8th Latin American Theatre Festival in Bogota.

Source : Biennale de la Danse program

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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