Les Arts Florissants and the Amala Dianor Company are joining forces for a new production that blends a cappella early music with contemporary dance, centered on the haunting music of the Neapolitan composer Carlo Gesualdo (1566–1613) and the drama of the Passion.
Gesualdo’s work, which recounts the final days of Christ, is intrinsically linked to the body and the many sufferings endured for love.
My research focuses on the energy that flows through the dancers’ bodies and connects them to one another. Furthermore, the many physical states inspired in me by listening to Carlo Gesualdo’s *Responsoria Tenebrorae*—states induced by physiological or spiritual conditions—represent, in my view, an inexhaustible wealth of possibilities for movement and gesture. I am moved by the beauty and complexity of Gesualdo’s work, which, in my view, draws upon the multiple layers offered by the voice. I interpret the voice as an organ and analyze it according to its muscular mechanics, much like my research on the internal energy that flows through dancers’ joints. I am interested in the movement of the vocal cord muscles—from contraction to stretching, from tension to relaxation. The resulting elasticity becomes a source of dance that engages in a dialogue with the vibrations and textures of the a cappella voices of the six singers.
Treating this journey into darkness as a physical path reveals fascinating contrasts: hope and fate, self-sacrifice and letting go, mind and sensation… The four dancers I select will be committed to presenting a contemporary and multifaceted dance inspired by classical, contemporary, and urban techniques, bridging the gap between the aesthetics of the past and those of the present. Amala Dianor
A self-taught hip-hop dancer with a brilliant career, Amala Dianor enrolled in the advanced program at the National Center for Contemporary Dance in Angers, from which he graduated in 2002. For ten years, he performed as a dancer, drawing inspiration from a wide range of techniques. In 2012, he founded his own company after winning two awards at the 2011 Reconnaissance competition for his first choreography, Crossroad.
The choreographer quickly made a name for himself in the dance world for the uniqueness of his elegant and organic style, which is rooted in a formal exploration of movement at the intersection of various styles. Gliding with virtuosity from one movement vocabulary to another, he strips choreographic techniques of their spectacular elements, retaining only the raw movements. Drawn to encounters and dialogue between people, he develops a fusion of dance that blends forms and opens up a poetics of otherness. Since 2014, he has collaborated closely with electro-soul composer Awir Leon, who creates the music for his performances. He occasionally partners with musicians, visual artists, actors, writers, and calligrapher
In 2019, he was awarded the Medal of Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.
In 2021, together with visual artist Grégoire Korganow, he created a collection of dance films titled CinéDanse, which already includes six short films that have been selected for prestigious festivals.
In 2022, he was among the four European choreographers selected by the Big Pulse Dance Alliance network. That same year, he presented the Siguifin collaboration project in Europe, aimed at showcasing the creativity of artists based in West Africa, and created a piece for the South African urban dance group Via Katlehong, which had its French premiere at the Avignon Festival. For 2023, the choreographer is creating a large-scale work for 11 dancers from around the world featuring live music, DUB, and a filmed dance concert titled *Love You, Drink Water*, in collaboration with composer Awir Leon and visual artist Grégoire Korganow.
His company now has 21 works and 6 short films in its repertoire and performs an average of 90 shows per year in France and around the world, with the support of prestigious institutions.
A prolific artist, he enjoys grounding his artistic exploration in enduring themes and passing on his knowledge.
“Centered on the repertoire of the Neapolitan composer Carlo Gesualdo, the musical excellence of Les Arts Florissants meets the artistry of choreographer Amala Dianor. The intensity, power, and passion of the six singers’ voices will be echoed by a dance that mirrors the modulations of the vocal cords, like layers of muscle that tense and relax.”
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