Choreographer Serge Bennathan

We stole some time with Serge to discuss Elles, his inspiration, and his approach to capturing the individual memories and raw energy of eight incredible dancers.

SC: Elles is last year’s recipient of the Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award. What does winning this prestigious award mean to you?

SB: As a creator, it has offered me the beautiful possibility to create a work that would have taken me such a long time to build because of its complexity and ambition. In normal circumstances, a work of this size would be impossible for my company. On the personal side, it has given me the great feeling of being part of this community.

SC: Elles uses the “visceral, raw physicality of women coming from different geographical points.” Can you talk about how you explored the idea that dancers from around the world move in different ways?

SB: I believe that you keep in you the essence of the approach towards movement that your first teachers passed on to you. Of course you evolve; you mature, you refine yourself, but watching you dance we still see how you learned dance. So, what is the essence of a movement for one dancer or for another that comes from a different background? The piece, in this sense, is visceral because the goal is to be in the moment and reach into what is the essence for each of these women, of their movement.

World Premier of Elles at The Cultch

SB: Since I founded my production company, Les Productions Figlio, five years ago, almost all of my creations have been with men. During the creation of The Strange Adventure of Myself with Sylvain Senez, I began to feel drawn to work with women again. With Elles, I am attempting to show the memory of dance. Like an emotional history. What is the essence of a jump? An arm that lifts itself up? What is it to turn? To go through these layers I wanted the energy of female artists, diverse in terms of maturity and background; each one having their own movement accent. I even wish I could have gone further in terms of diversity, but who knows, maybe Elles is only the beginning of something bigger.

SC: What is it about female dancers that you find so captivating and powerful?

SB: As a male choreographer, I simply wanted to be confronted directly and solely to [female] energy. In fact, one of my points of departure when I started to think about the piece, as strange as it may sound, was the Willis in Giselle (I always dreamed to do a version of Giselle). I find them extraordinarily complex and simple. I find them crazy, fearful, and fearless. Facing these eight women, I think and feel the same way. They move me when they dance and when they are motionless. They have all a formidable tenderness in their skin.

SC: How do you feel Vancouver dancers stand out against dancers from other areas of the world?

SB: I do not think like that. There are absolutely beautiful dancers here. The sad part is, do they have to leave to find work? The ecology of dance is suffering from this. Why such a rich province and city does not invest more in its cultural creativity is a mystery to me.

SC: Your last two pieces, The Strange Adventure of Myself and Conversations were created for male dancers. How would you explain the difference in dynamic between a female-driven dance performance when compared to a dance piece centered around men?

SB: Again, I do not think like that. If I make the deliberate choice of working with men or women, what I am looking for in them is more part of the unconscious. I loved the femininity of Sylvain Senez, and I love the warrior side of the eight women in Elles. My work speaks about dance and dancers in a way that I do not otherwise see being attempted these days and through this, I hope to bring joy, mystery, and power.

SC: In returning to Vancouver, what are you looking forward to the most in performing Elles at The Cultch?

SB: I try to be in the moment and enjoy this unique opportunity of having eight powerful female artists dancing my work. I do not know what the future holds for this work but I wish that for some people it could open new ways to look at dance and to feel dance. As I always say, there is nothing to understand but everything to feel.

Elles runs March 13 – 17 with post-show talkbacks on March 14 and 15. Tickets start at $16 and are available online at tickets.thecultch.com, by phone at 604.251.1363 and in person at 1895 Venables Street.