After his first play, Superheroes Cry Toopresented in December at the Ausgang Plaza, the multidisciplinary collective FRGMNT returns with a brand new proposal, Never Not Moving aka d**gs. This time, it’s the artist of streetdance and a member of the Victoria Mackenzie collective who signs the artistic direction, a great first for the dancer who had only choreographed solos and short group pieces in her career.
“I was inspired by the moments that happen in clubs, in raves. I’ve always found it to be an interesting place, where anything is possible, and I’ve always enjoyed people-watching there,” says Victoria Mackenzie. Indeed, to create the part Never Not Moving aka d**gs, she returned to her memories of nightclubs, which she frequented when she was much younger. “I grew up in clubs, all my adolescence, I was there, she remembers. I find that in the dance scene, even in the street dancing, there is a lack of representation of club dancers. I wanted to bring those moments to our community. »
To mount this new creation, Victoria Mackenzie surrounded herself with five artists from the contemporary world and mostly trained in street dancing. “I know them all outside of this project. The choice for the piece was made in a very organic way,” she says.
The collective of which she is a member, FRGMNT, has its roots in street dances. Formed in 2020, it aims to be a “multidisciplinary, sometimes interdisciplinary” space and aims to work with the community of streetdance. “Our format is called heterarchy. This means that we change leaders for each project, explains Mr.me Mackenzie. For Superheroes Cry Too, Celine and Shash’u were in charge. Ja, Néné, J-Style and I were performers in the room. This time, I’m in the artistic direction, Shash’u in the music, and the other members of FRGMNT are outside eyes, consultants…”
Pure and structured improvisations
For her first group piece, Victoria Mackenzie decided to set up “very technical sections” separated by moments of improvisation, sometimes pure, sometimes structured. According to Anaïs Chloé Gilles, one of the performers of the show, “it really creates a universe that goes beyond movement. There is a balance between execution, accounts, mathematics and the possibility of letting go at the same time”.
On the movement side, Mackenzie did not want to choose one or more particular dance techniques. “I didn’t want it to be a representation, a foundation choreography of the street dancing. It was important to me. The dancers go precisely to the raves, in the clubs to be more free, simply to connect with the music rather than representing a style”, she adds.
Delande Dorsaint, another performer of the show, even believes that the choreographer has developed “a style in itself”. “We do not recognize a technique. On the other hand, individually, this dance allows us to bring out our personality, our way of moving. We detect more qualities of movement than techniques,” he says. Anaïs Chloé Gilles also abounds in the same direction. “We detach ourselves from our bodies as dancers. We are not looking for a form, we have an approach of a person who wants to free themselves, ”she says.
Model an experience
In addition to dance, music plays a major role in never not Moving aka d**gs. “We also work a lot on the lights. The idea is really to create an environment, an atmosphere,” she says. Indeed, according to Jaleesa Coligny, one of the dancers, the music plays the role of another performer in the piece. “The very precise and physical sections allow the creation of a visual effect that accompanies the music. It allows the public to understand, to undo the formula or just to get carried away, she develops. It’s really loud and complex, what’s going on, and the music takes up a lot of space. On stage, several objects are also found. However, on the scenography side, Victoria Mackenzie prefers to keep the mystery. “You’ll have to come and see the play!” ” she says.
In addition to the creation of “a universe”, the choreographer also created characters, developed and embodied by each performer. “The process is how each character will find their own freedom, through the different influences, and the bewitching atmosphere,” says Anaïs Chloé Gilles.
According to the latter, the spectator feels “completely involved in the rave “. “There really is something that will fetch every person, whether they know it or not. We create a universe where everyone feels understood,” she adds.
Through these different elements, Victoria Mackenzie hopes to give spectators an “experience”. “We want everyone to come together, like in a club. We no longer distinguish the dancers from the spectators. It has to be really immersive,” she concludes.