Dominique Hervieu will be leaving Lyon at the end of February to take up his new functions. Director of the Maison de la Danse and director of the dance biennial for almost 11 years, she will join the capital to become the cultural director of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. entrusted to 20 minutes to review his career in Lyon, his decision to leave and the new missions that await him.
Will you miss Lyon?
Yes (laughs). Besides, I keep my house here, because I’m only going for two and a half years. In this rush, I will always be between Lyon and Paris.
Are you talking about haste, you didn’t think you would leave Lyon so quickly?
No, it’s a bit of a combination of circumstances, as it often happens. Before me, there was a director who did not stay. Little by little, through my networks and over the discussions, the spark sprang into my head. I applied, and that’s it. There was a moment when I said to myself that I couldn’t refuse this offer (laughs). It’s once a century. It’s completely out of the ordinary: the size, the ambition, the three billion viewers… It’s good to live an experience like that. Me, I like things that unite with a lot of people. So there, I am really served on the popular dimension (smile).
It is also powerful in terms of values, especially as solidarity and excellence are values that I have always defended. Cultural diversity, universalism, these are things, and the people of Lyon know it well, that have gone through my artistic and programming proposals. So, it is very logical that I am interested in Olympic values, in the relationship between all the arts and sport. I like mixtures, I like hybridizations. And then, indeed, there is a change of scale which is very stimulating.
In what state of mind are you at the dawn of starting this adventure?
I have to say that I’m having a bit of a schizophrenic period (laughs). Obviously, I have a pinch in my heart to leave Lyon. My predecessor Guy Darmet did wonderful things, I added things to his project. I like to build. So, when you’ve built something, it’s still a bit difficult to turn around to see what you’re leaving. Of course, there will be someone good to succeed me. But, it is a pang in the heart in relation to the teams, in relation to the work that I have done with everyone.
I have had many testimonies of attachment. When the spectators come to ask me how it will be after my departure or to tell me that it will not be the same, it touches me. Finally, it’s when you leave that you realize what you are doing. I have a lot of energy, I work, I work, I work. Usually, I don’t look behind me too much. I advance but there, I have to look behind me. I had not really taken the measure of the project that I embodied during all these years, nor of the link that I had established with the spectators. So these marks of attachment are extremely touching, it gives me great pleasure.
There’s a bit of nostalgia, but there’s also the unknown and this incredible blank sheet that I’m going to have to fill out. It’s exhilarating. It’s important, at some point in our life, to update, like with a phone (laughs), to reproach yourself. I danced for 20 years, I choreographed. I practiced creation until the age of 50, I continue my artistic reflection. This opportunity forces me to question myself. I am very happy with what I did here, I could have stayed another 5 years. But it’s not in my temper. It is not my way of being which is always linked to creation. There, I built and now I will try to build something at the Olympic Games even if there are many unknowns. I will do whatever I can and I am extremely motivated.
One of the first decisions of the new municipality was to abandon the project of dance workshops at the Guimet museum, which you were carrying. Recently, the metropolis of Lyon announced the recovery of the Fagor-Brant factories, in which the dance biennial has its offices, to make it a tram maintenance center. We get the impression that these decisions were taken without consultation. Could this have prompted you to leave Lyon?
… There is also the issue of the Maison de la Danse car park, which will be greened. We learned about it in the press! So to answer your question, no, I’m not leaving out of frustration. I’m leaving because I have a project that suddenly hits me. I want to take up this challenge. Afterwards, in fact, I dreamed a lot about the Guimet project. There, there was nevertheless a dialogue with the municipality since there is this new project of dance workshops in the 8th arrondissement of Lyon. And I understand this change in philosophy. It was very important for me that the workshop project be maintained. It is being maintained, so I am very satisfied because it is essential that international, national and local artists be able to work in Lyon. It was an aberration not to have a dedicated place. A total aberration. But this was heard by the new municipality and I am really grateful to them. Then, it is true that there was this Fagor quack… It is important to know the alternatives before decisions are made…
Which was not the case for Fagor…
Yes, it was not. We were allowed to stay until 2023, so much the better. Now we have to work for 2024. And the alternative for 2024 is not yet clear.
What is perhaps the most proud thing here in Lyon?
A project which had mobilized all the teams of the Maison de la danse and which was called Babel 8-3. 300 amateurs took part whereas it was thought that there would be 100. The national orchestra of Lyon was in the pit to play Mozart. For me it was a nice balance between the director of the institution and the designer that I am. I was very happy. It was a great moment of artistic development, especially as I have this fiber of openness to everyone. I know art can change people’s lives. It can help you feel better. It is an extremely deep conviction. Afterwards, I am proud not to have let go of this supreme objective of having dance workshops (laughs) to show the vitality of an art that I love so much. Once again, if we want dance to be a vector of inclusion, we have to work with the creators. And for creators to create, they need a place.
Regarding your new missions, what will they consist of in concrete terms? We talked about the opening show that will take place on the Seine, will you be associated with it?
No, I am not a partner. Fortunately, because I haven’t been named yet (laughs). It is not me who is in charge. The cultural Olympiad is something that unfolded in Antiquity. The three pillars of the Olympic Charter are sport, culture and education. Before, this artistic presence took the form of competitions: poetry competition, music competition, etc. But this dimension of competition has gradually faded to turn into a cultural Olympiad. The cultural Olympiad serves to show that at the time of the Games, and even throughout the preparation for the Games, culture makes it possible to convey the values of the Games. This makes it possible to show that this great popular festival can be increased, reinforced by the dimension of imagination and sensitivity. Culture adds other sensations, other emotions to the sports festival.
The second, very important thing is that not everyone will go to the stadiums since there are 12 million tickets on sale. We cannot push the walls even though a lot of people would like to come. The fact that there are other practices, such as artistic practices (dance, circus, music, plastic arts), will allow people to be associated with this global celebration. This makes it possible to contribute and participate in the Olympic Games in this way.
How will it work out on the ground?
As I am not yet a post and I am at the very beginning, these questions are not settled (laughs). But the idea is to share this celebration. There, I will take the measure, which is a little out of the ordinary or even XXXXXL to develop a project. I have almost three years for that, with fireworks at the time of the Games in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis. It’s a major editorial, budgeting, planning job that I haven’t done yet.
You said you kept your house in Lyon. Can we imagine a comeback for Dominique Hervieu in three years?
(Laughs) Oh no, absolutely not. But, I will come to Lyon for fun, to see the work that my successor will have done and to see these future dance workshops, which will change everything. I would have watered the plant a lot for it to flourish in 2025. It’s normal to come back to see the flower (laughs).
I don’t know if you will have a say, but do you already have an idea of who might succeed you?
When I left Chaillot, I was mostly asked to take care of nothing (laughs) and it went well. But the politicians know that I am at their disposal if they wish to have very simple, very informal discussions. I have a large address book, they know that. We will see, but I am completely neutral and calm with this.