Précipitations is less changing than the weather in spring. This piece is broken down into 4 short parts (6’-20’) accompanied by drummer, percussionist, Christian Lété and served by choice dancers like the intriguing Jesus Sevari , Takashi Ueno, recently seen with Raimund Hoghe in Pas de deux, and not to forget the hip hop virtuoso, Orin Camus, in a sensual and enigmatic duet with Chloé Hernandez.
Sevari’s obvious free spirit contrasts well with the very refined and sketched interactions in Vincent Deletang and Sylvère Lamotte’s duet, as well as the initial « pas de trois » between Paco Dècina, Ueno and Noriko Matsuyama. But the real miracle occurs elsewhere. Only minutes are needed for the dancers to blur the notion of time in their very fluid slow motion movements, allowing us to go trough undefinable spheres, weightless. From beginning to end the bodies seem to arrive in parallel states of consciousness, as if carried by mystical energies, completely controlled yet close to a transe. One rarely travels so far in so little time. Paco Dècina invites his audience on a crossing of one’s self.
Who would have thought that these kinds of “precipitations” would generate this much bodily heat, the boiling, the deafened, yet contained strength, perfectly controlled? This theme that Paco Dècina has chosen as the framework of his latest work should by all means not be mistaken as an urgency or velocity like a violent, devastating rain storm, nor should it be confused with a slow transformation resulting in a fusion of two physical bodies interacting upon contact.
If that is in fact the choreographer’s intentions, far from purely obeying the simple laws of chemistry or witchcraft, it has given birth to the most noble and pure version of Life, one of vibrant and shivering flesh, of humanity, an incomparable voluptuous sensuality, in bodies pressed against one another and whose gestures are suspended in serenity and in dazzling, sublime beauty.
Paco Dècina always knows how to find great talent in all disciplines, whether it be the performance – what a joy to find Jesus Sevari, Takashi Ueno and the famous hip-hopper, Orin Camus – or the conception and realization of his projects. The success of Précipitations is as much due to the inexpressible tenderness emanating from the almost scientifically precise sculptural grasping, equally achieved by Noriko Matsuyama, Paco himself, Chloé Hernandez and Orin Camus, as to this slow paced choreography, the calligraphy of the soul’s sentiments, as well as the impulsive music, and its stage plan and lights.
The soothing atmosphere, the charm and harmony that this piece offers is a result of the wise combination of these crucial elements, each in its own field. The uncluttered scenography, the dancers, wrapped around a simple steel circle at the far end of a balancing pole plunging them in a fascinating spatial atmosphere with dreamlike beauty procured by Laurent Schneegan’s light creation. It is all crowned by Fred Malle’s and Christian Lété’s bewitching monochromatic musical score, which naturally unfolds in perfect harmony. A piece which possesses the power to take us away from existential worries, helping us forget, while glimpsing at a world dear to Baudelaire, where beauty calm and voluptuousness reigns.
Paco Dècina’s new piece is at the Théâtre 71. Better yet, the Company is in residency at the theater, becoming part of its multidisciplinary dynamic.
Paco Dècina’s new pieces are awaited with affection: the pleasure of seeing the exceptional dancers again, the pleasure in witnessing the evolving finesse of his writing, the pleasure to plunge into the sensory atmosphere where nothing is left to chance. Judging by the way the choreographer always takes the time to embark the audience on a journey to an interlude where you can feel a palpable pulse, Précipitations doesn’t seem a fit title. This new project seems more like a precipitate of his work, concentrating on three states, three artistic territories, with the music as a lining to the beat of a drummer-percussionist.
A collaborative piece on Dècina’s dance. Each part allows the public to go from one state of being to another, shattering our bearings, and questioning yet again the shapes in ongoing movement. Trio, duet, solo, one after another with stage settings overshadowing the abstract dance and anchoring it to an environment of sound and visuals. The work of Paco Dècina’s collaborators is key. Laurent Schneegans, light creator and artist, offers an authentic installation whereas Serge Meyer, stage designer and video director, reveals the movement and the interaction between image and dance.