Sitting cross-legged in the courtyard of the Lycée Colbert, students observe five men with strange gestures. Fists raised, hands open, they turn in circles. The high school students, puzzled, laugh, stir. Then the music resonates and the dancers begin a war choreography. For twenty minutes, the faces are captivated. Then come heavy applause, specific questions.
The Relevant Company came to present an excerpt fromUpshot, their first original creation. In a few days, the students of 1st techno will follow a practical workshop with the dancers, will attend the show Emergency room, at the end of which they will be able to discuss with the artists. A project proposed in partnership with the
House of Dance, as part of its solidarity and cultural education interventions, and co-financed by the Diagonale Foundation.
Experiences outside the walls
“At the Maison de la Danse, we try as much as possible to get out of our walls and meet the public in high schools, universities, nursing homes,” explains Marion Coutel, in charge of public relations. “We chose the Lycée Colbert because we are concerned about having an establishment in the 8th district, which is our neighborhood! It is also that of the Cie Relevant, made up of six boys who discovered dance in an MJC in the 8th arrondissement, who have since become professionals.
For Séverine Allorent, French teacher at Colbert and relay teacher at the Maison de la Danse, “education through art is extremely important in terms of openness, especially for students who do not attend cultural places at all” Projects are compulsory to force the hand of teenagers a little, who are not always enthusiastic about going out at night, having to write reports… “Every time I put on a show at the beginning of the year, I come up against fairly negative reactions. And over the course of the project, I see them evolving… ”
Emancipate oneself through culture
Madame Allorent took care to choose a show and artists who could speak directly to her 23 1st techno students. “I saw the show Emergency room, which features three Relevant dancers, and I realized that for them, it was perfect. It is a play on emancipation paths, on how one can become a dancer when one comes from a disadvantaged background, little turned towards art. We want to tell high school students that we can fight against social determinism, and that art can be a vector of emancipation. “
For this, teens are invited to get out of their comfort zone. The first few minutes of the demonstration in the courtyard are more contemporary dance than the hip-hop they expected; during the workshop, they will be able to learn some movements to better understand them. “It requires an effort from them,” admits their teacher, “it is not easy, because of the gaze of others …” Going out at night to the show is not easy either: “They are prejudices, they are not. will not go spontaneously. But the idea is to prove to them that this openness is possible, that they do not believe that the world of performing arts, and of culture in general, is not for them. “
Students are assessed on their presence, concentration and investment. “This project is more to promote than to sanction,” recalls Ms. Allorant. Perhaps, with the key, the awakening of a vocation.
School phobia, a still taboo disorder that must be treated as soon as possible