Continuing to connect the Luxembourg performing arts sector with those of neighbouring countries, Kultur | lx organised a second field trip to Belgium, following the visit to Brussels in May 2022. This time, the meetings focused on the French-speaking area.
This meeting was organised with the aim of allowing artists, independent collectives and production companies from Luxembourg to discover their peers with the aim of nurturing cross-border collaborations.
A delegation of twelve artists and other performing arts professionals from all disciplines took advantage of this unique opportunity to meet the managements and discover the venues of the Wallonia-Brussels federation: the Théâtre and CCN of Namur, the Théâtre National Wallonie-Bruxelles, the Théâtre des Martyrs, the Halles de Schaerbeek, MARS – Mons arts de la scène, Charleroi danse, the Théâtre de l’Ancre and the Théâtre de Liège.
This visit was an opportunity for some to strengthen ties forged during their studies in Belgium or through past collaborations, and for others it allowed them to open doors that were previously difficult to open. It was certainly a reminder of the geographical and cultural proximity and the many areas of exchange that exist and can be developed between Belgium and Luxembourg.
“I very much appreciated this field trip of the performing arts in Wallonia. The meeting between several cultural actors from different countries was greatly facilitated by this initiative. I also discovered more about the directors’ vision of their cultural institution, which allowed me to better understand their respective expectations. The meetings were also very enriching thanks to the sharing of experiences and the discovery of each other’s projects. This initiative is very relevant for the deployment of Luxembourg’s performing arts, thank you!” commented Paloma Georges from Bombyx, an artists’ collective, about this trip.
View this post on Instagram
The production HEAR EYES MOVE. Dances with Ligeti by Elisabeth Schilling will be presented as part of the Festival ” On (y) danse aussi l’été ! “, at the invitation of Isabelle Martin-Bridot, director of Les Hivernales – CDCN d’Avignon and with the support of Kultur | lx, the TROIS C-L – Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois and the Ministry of Culture. This programme completes the Luxembourg selection for the 2023 Avignon Festival OFF.
Created in 2020, HEAR EYES MOVE. Dances with Ligeti choreographically interpretes all 18 Etudes pour Piano by renowned composer György Ligeti, which is unprecedented to date. Devised for 5 dancers and accompanied live on piano by Cathy Krier (ECHO Rising Star), HEAR EYES MOVE. Dances with Ligeti is envisioned as a dance-concert concert-dance full of captivating multi-sensorial imagery.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Ligeti’s death in 2023, the show will resume its international broadcast, and will be performed on the Hivernales stage from Sunday 9 to Wednesday 19 July in a version adapted to the conditions of the Festival, notably with an audio recording by Cathy Krier whose piano cannot be accommodated on the Hivernales stage.
Have ever two forms of art entered a closer and more intricate relationship than music and dance? But how does music actually move? How does dance sound? And where do these sounds and movements meet, once they are liberated from their purported duty to mimic or mirror, to illustrate, to produce an atmosphere, to provide a backdrop, or even to merely coexist, in neat separation?
The Hungarian composer György Ligeti said of his virtuosic Études pour piano that in the process of composition “tactile concepts were almost as important as acoustic ones”. The movements and developments of music, in other words, are not merely a matter of hearing but of sensation, they come to be felt “as a tactile form, as a succession of muscle tensions”. Through these forms and successions, Ligeti’s pieces thus behave like “growing organisms”, and it is following this line of thought that the choreographer Elisabeth Schilling has created an unprecedented take to choreographically interpret those Etudes pour piano. Treating dance and music as contiguous forms that grow alongside and into each other, Elisabeth has produced, together with five dancers and the pianist Cathy Krier, a dance-concert and a concert-dance full of captivating multi-sensorial imagery.
Biography
Elisabeth Schilling is a dancer and choreographer. In close collaboration with an international team and across various collaborations, she develops transdisciplinary projects between movement, design, visual arts and music, making the disciplines dance among themselves and with each other.
We have thus tasked ourselves with making contemporary dance happen in established dance spaces as well as in unusual places. Accordingly, our productions tour European metropolises as well as more rural areas, black box theaters as well as museums, galleries, concert halls, historic buildings and public spaces. Dance is thus, almost in passing, rendered accessible to a new public.
At the same time, an important part of our work consists in different formats of creative learning, audience engagement and development. For each production, we develop an accompanying framing programme for various audiences, ranging from specifically devised post-performance discussions with the audience to accompanying workshops, symposia and catalogues.
Petit frère, a play written and produced by Laure Roldàn and Gaëtan Vassart, was selected by an independent jury of renowned experts from the Luxembourg and French theatre scene to represent French-language theatre from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg at the 2023 Avignon Festival OFF. With financial support from the Ministry of Culture and Kultur | lx, the play will be staged at the Caserne des pompiers, the venue for events from the Grand Est Region under an agreement with the Luxembourg Ministry of Culture. Performances shall run from 7 – 29 July 2023.
The jury included Serge Basso de March (author and poet), Pablo Chimienti (communication and PR director at THEATER FEDERATIOUN), Godefroy Gordet (journalist, author, director and president of Le Gueuloir, a cross-border collective of playwrights), Lee Fou Messica (artistic director of the Espace Bernard-Marie Koltès – an official national theatre in Metz and co-president of the Quint’Est network) and Ian De Toffoli (author and director selected by Luxembourg for the 2022 Avignon Festival OFF).
Laure Roldàn’s submission met the jury’s criteria in terms of artistic quality, adaptation to the constraints in Avignon, and the potential for distribution. The jury commented on the sensitivity of the performance and the excellent cabaret-theatre format, combining the dramatic with the narrative and exploring both history and biography. In addition to being a tribute to Charles Aznavour and a touching account of his life, Petit Frère is also a timely reflection on brotherly love, artistic creativity, a bohemian lifestyle, migration and integration.
Produced by Laure Roldàn’s company, La Compagnie Juana La Loca and Gaëtan Vassart’s company, Cie La ronde de nuit, as a co-production with the Bombyx collective, supported by Luxembourg City Theatres through the Capucins Libre residency to complete the project, Petit frère is an adaptation of a book with the same title by Charles Aznavour’s sister, Aïda Aznavour-Gavarentz. In her book, Aïda described the peregrinations of the Aznavourians, a family saga spanning the great history of the 20th Century with Charles as the main protagonist. Laure Roldàn and Gaëtan Vassart have made the text their own and brilliantly brought its themes to the stage: the Armenian genocide; the exile of the Aznavourian parents; poverty in Paris; Nazi occupation; and Charles’ key relationship with Edith Piaf before he conquered the music halls. Highlighting this unique story, the play looks back at a history of integration though language and by dint of talent and desire. If Charles Aznavour’s fate seems universal, it’s because it is the song of exile.
About La Compagnie Juana La Loca
La Compagnie Juana La Loca is a theatre company based in Luxembourg that creates and produces live theatre performing art. Founded in 2018 by Laure Roldàn, it explores the themes of exile and cultural appropriation through language. More specifically, the company adapts texts and material that were not initially written for theatre and is particularly interested in urban spaces and interactive productions. Petit frère – la grande histoire Aznavour (Little Brother – The Great Story of Aznavour) is the company’s first production. It was followed by Les bancs publics, un intinéraire urbain inventé (Public Benches, An Imaginary Urban Walk), a musical and poetry performance offering an intimate historical and musical portrait of the city of Luxembourg during a guided walk. The next production, Les murs parlent (Walls Talk) which explores urban graffiti, marks and scars, will be a co-production between Hammana Artists House (Lebanon), St Ouen sur scene (France) and KulturFabrik (Luxembourg), supported by the Commission Internationale du Théâtre Francophone and Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg.
About Laure Roldàn
A French, Spanish and Luxembourg national, Laure Roldàn studied at the Conservatoire national supérieur d’art dramatique in Paris. She has acted under various directors, including Muriel Mayette, Hélène Vincent, Arthur Nauzyciel, Christian Benedetti, Silviu Purcarete, Vincent Goethals, Carole Lorang, Laura Schroeder, Laurent Contamin, Matthew Lenton, Myriam Muller, Pascale Noé-Adam, Laurent Guttman, Fabio Godinho, Yann Colette, Jean Boillot and Frederic Maragnani. She has also acted for cinema for directors Jean-Michel Ribes, Jean-Paul Civeyrac, Artus de Penguern, Pascal Bonitzer, and Catherine Castel. In 2011, she directed Voilà donc le Monde !, based on Lost Illusions by Balzac, at Théâtre 13. She staged Dolce inferno, an adaptation inspired by Fellini’s Dolce Vita at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg as part of TalentLAB and assisted Yves Beaunesne on Ruy Blas by Victor Hugo. She also assisted Calixto Bieito at the Repertory Theatre in Birmingham for the performance of The String Quartet’s Guide To Sex And Anxiety. She collaborated with Gaëtan Vassart on Anna Karenine – les bals où je m’amuse n’existent plus pour moi at the Théâtre de la Tempête with Golshifteh Farahni in the lead role. During a Capucins Libre residency, Roldàn created Petit frère, la grande histoire Aznavour, an adaptation of the book by Aïda Aznavour-Gavarentz. The play will go on tour to France and Armenia. She co-directed La rue des fleurs n’existe pas with Aude-Laurence Biver and Christine Muller for TalentLAB goes city at the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg in September 2020. In spring 2021, she designed, wrote and produced Les bancs publics, an itinerant musical and poetry performance at symbolic locations across the city, in collaboration with composer Camille Rocailleux. In 2021, with Gaëtan Vassart she wrote a short film, 1 heure 30, and a feature film, Love, which is currently in production. In October 2021, she participated in the project incubator run by the Commission Internationale du Théâtre Francophone in Hammana, Lebanon, where she met artists from French-speaking countries with whom she forged strong artistic bonds.
About Gaëtan Vassart
Born in Brussels in 1978, Gaëtan Vassart is an author, director, and actor who now lives between Paris and Bastogne. He studied directing at INSAS before joining the Conservatoire National Supérieur d’Art Dramatique in Paris in 2001. He has acted on stage under the direction of Philippe Adrien, Bernard Sobel, Eric Ruf, Gérard Desarthe, Michel Didym, Joël Jouanneau, and Laura Shroeder and performed texts by Handke, Ostrovski, Shakespeare, Valetti, Olecha, Gombrowicz. He has acted for cinema and been directed by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, Laurent Herbiet, and Pierre Schoeller (L’Exercice de l’Etat). Gaëtan Vassart released several albums before becoming a playwright. He wrote and directed Toni M., a text that received a CNT creation grant and a residency at the Chartreuse and was presented at the Théâtre des Halles in Avignon; Peau d’Ourse, based on the Italian tale Pentamerone, at the Maison de Radio France with Anne Alvaro; and Danseuse (support from CNT) created at the Comédie de Picardie. In 2015, he adapted Anna Karénine – les bals où on s’amuse n’existent plus pour moi, the first stage adaptation in France of Tolstoy’s novel Anna Karenina which he directed at the Théâtre de la Tempête in 2016 with Golshifteh Farahani in the lead role. The same year, with Jean-Claude Carrière, Gaëtan Vassart wrote a stage adaptation of the novel Elle joue by Nahal Tajadod. In 2018, he directed Miss Julie by Strindberg at the Comédie de Picardie, a co-production with the Scène nationale d’ALBI. That year, he also directed Home, partie by Naghmeh Samini at the Théâtre Aftab Hall at Fajr International Festival Théâtre in Teheran in partnership with the Cultural Department of the French Embassy in Teheran. In 2019, he directed Bérénice by Jean Racine at the Manufacture des Oeillets, at the Théâtre des Quartiers d’Ivry, Centre Dramatique National du Val-de-Marne, in a co-production with the Théâtre du Jeu de Paume d’Aix- en-Provence, with Valérie Dréville in the lead role. In 2022, he adapted L’art de perdre, based on the novel by Alice Zeniter at the 11 Avignon.
Pursuing its efforts to connect the Luxembourg performing arts sector with those of neighbouring countries, Kultur | lx organised a programme of professional meetings in France with the main actors of the Strasbourg Euroregion.
This meeting was organised with the aim of allowing artists, independent collectives and production companies from Luxembourg to discover their peers in order to foster cross-border collaborations.
A delegation of eight professionals took advantage of this unique opportunity to discover the theatres of Strasbourg and its region, even beyond the German border. Le Maillon, TAPS, Théâtre Baden Alsace, CDCN Pôle-Sud and Schiltigheim culture all opened their doors to this delegation. In addition, the Agence Culturelle Grand Est and the production and support office Artenréel#1 gave advice on how to get Luxembourg productions circulating in France and develop collaborations between the two countries.
“The visit to the performing arts sector in and around Strasbourg was very interesting because it gave us the opportunity to meet various structures that were very different in size, mission and vision. This gave us a fairly representative spectrum of venues with which we could collaborate and also an understanding of the mechanisms of production and dissemination in the territory. The directors and representatives took the time to meet with us and we had a lively and interesting discussion, which gave some of us the opportunity to talk about projects in progress that had already been sent. I also found that the eclecticism of our group, which brought together several disciplines, made it possible to open up several enriching discussions during the presentations of our work. It’s a wonderful ‘laboratory’ for encounters“, commented Sophie Langevin of the company JUNCTIO.
As the Strasbourg area has become a neighbour of Luxembourg through its integration into the Grand Est region, and as it already shares great similarities with Luxembourg, notably in its French-German bilingual dimension, these first meetings will hopefully lead to many more.
After 4 grants awarded in the fields of Visual Arts to Vera Kox, Eric Schumacher, Yann Annicchiarico and Anne-Mareike Hess for performing arts, the selection committees of Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg met in October to study the applications received for the Porfolio Grant. From the 5 applications received, the committees selected the projects of Elisabeth Schilling and Albena Petrovic.
Elisabeth Schilling, Choreographer
In 2020 the choreographer Elisabeth Schilling created the show “HEAR EYES MOVE. Dances with Ligeti“, a dialogue between dance and music. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Ligeti’s death in 2023, the show will be performed internationally again. The choreographer wanted to accompany this tour with a publication that analyses her creative work from a scientific perspective.
The book will be published in spring 2023.
Statement by the selection committee
This publication will provide an in-depth look at Elisabeth Schilling’s overall artistic approach, detailing the relationship she develops between music and dance through the expert analysis of Univ. Prof.in Dr.in habil. Stephanie Schroedter. The publication will look at the creative process of Hear Eyes Move as well as at the future of Elisabeth Schilling’s work on the perception of sound and movement.
Biography of the artist
Elisabeth Schilling creates dances beyond dance. Together with an international team and through various collaborations, she creates transdisciplinary projects between movement, design, visual arts and music, making disciplines dance with each other. In this way, contemporary dance is performed in established dance spaces as well as in unusual locations. Productions tour in European metropolises as well as in more rural areas, in underground theatres, museums, galleries, concert halls, historical buildings and public spaces. In this way, dance is made accessible to a new audience, almost as a matter of course. At the same time, an important part of her work consists of various creative learning formats. For each production she develops a programme for different audiences, ranging from specially designed discussions with the audience after the performances to accompanying workshops, symposia and catalogues.
Albena Petrovic, Composer
MY OPERA WORLD / BEYOND THE NOTES (working title) is a retrospective of the work of the composer Albena Petrovic, providing a detailed look at her creative process and the richness of her repertoire for opera.
The book will be published in autumn 2023.
Statement from the selection committee
The comprehensive dossier presented by Albena Petrovic shows great relevance to the development of her artistic career. The Selection Committee believes that this book will enable her to continue to develop her career and will be a valuable tool for highlighting her operatic works.
Biography
Bulgarian-born Albena Petrovic has a place among Luxembourg’s composers with more than six hundred works in different musical genres in her repertoire. Deciding to start playing the piano at the age of ten (too late for the Eastern European educational system), Albena was already composing at the age of eleven… (too early for the same system…). A brilliant student, she never had any obstacles and mastered the skills in all areas of music. Following the example of her grandfather, the composer Andrey Vratchansky, she decided to become a professional composer. Albena created her first public work in 1979 at the age of 14, for the International Children’s Assembly. This event was followed by numerous concerts, which were a real laboratory for creative research and a source of motivation. After completing her general and musical studies at the National School of Music “P.Pipkov”, Albena continued her studies in composition, conducting and music writing at the National Academy of Music “Pancho Vladigerev” in Sofia. She is a student of composition teachers Plamen Djouroff and Alexander Raychev. Albena holds the position of musicologist and Music Manager for the International Festival “Apollonia”, and at the National Music Agency in Sofia. Like many musicians of the Berlin Wall generation, she was forced to move abroad to pursue her profession as a pianist. Since 1996, Albena has lived and worked in Luxembourg. There she perfected her skills in contemporary composition, analysis and computer music with Mr. Claude Lenners, adopting and developing a style strongly influenced by his “Cult of Research”.
The next call will be launched in 2023.
“Music, performing arts, literature and visual arts – in addition to cinema, which is strongly represented at this year’s Cinémania festival, Luxembourg has a rich and diverse culture, which I am happy to see exported this autumn in several venues in Montreal“, highlights Sam Tanson.
Within the framework of Luxembourg, the country of honour of the CINEMANIA festival, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg invites to discover other aspects of Luxembourg’s creation between music, performance, dance and literature. Beyond the highlight at the PHI centre on November 3, Kultur | lx is expanding its programming and allowing artists to present themselves at major platforms and festivals on the Montreal scene. The establishment of a new partnership with the Centre des auteurs dramatiques de Montréal opens a three-week residency to two authors.
03.11.2022 | PHI Centre
17h : Networking Event
Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg invites professionals from the Quebec cultural scene to come and exchange ideas about Luxembourg’s creation and to share their desire for cooperation.
6pm – 9.30pm: Performances
Free registration HERE
A/V performance (duration 33′)
MINERALS | Andrea Mancini (creation 2022)
Copyright – Yves Conrady
An exploration of the fascinating world of minerals in an audiovisual and sound performance.
Concert (duration 40′)
THIS IS KARMA
Copyright – Shade Cumini
Pop, folk or electro, the musician draws from a multitude of influences to build dense, soft and yet powerful pieces.
Dance performance (duration 30′)
ART. 13 RUNWAY / EDDI VAN TSUI COMPANY
Copyright – Eddi van Tsui
In “Art. 13 Runway” the theme of migration merges with that of fashion. A hybrid form created and adapted for the PHI centre that integrates its architecture, consciously playing with the audience’s perception to move and exceed the limits of the stage.
Continuing the discovery…
04.11 | 18h | Darling Foundry, Montreal
Open Studio With Suzan Noesen
As part of her residency at the Fonderie Darling (September-November 2022), Suzan Noesen opens the doors of her studio to discuss her project and her research.
fonderiedarling.org | suzannoesen.com
07.11 – 12.11 | Luxembourg delegation at the CINARS Biennial
Every two years since 1984, CINARS has organised one of the most important international meetings of the performing arts in Montreal with more than 1900 professionals from 54 countries, including 433 of the most important presenters in the world. This year, the artists invited to the PHI Centre and the Machine Room Festival will be accompanied by Kultur | lx to meet international professionals.
cinars.org
07.11 – 28.11 | Centre des auteurs dramatiques
Author in residence: Sophie Langevin and Ian De Toffoli
Founded in 1965 by six authors, the CEAD now has over 290 members. An association of authors serving authors, CEAD is a centre for the support, promotion and dissemination of French-language drama in Quebec and Canada. It occupies a unique place in the theatrical landscape, both in terms of the number of its members and the objectives of research and excellence that it pursues. The CEAD is involved in collaborations with other countries. Luxembourg is invited for the first time to benefit from these programmes.
www.cead.qc.ca
17.11 | 4pm | Quai des Brumes + 10.45pm | Casa del Popolo
C’est Karma – M for Montreal Festival
For the past 17 years, M pour Montréal has acted as an essential catalyst for the Quebec and Canadian music industry, both for emerging artists and those developing their careers outside of Quebec. The event offers a series of conferences where local and international music industry professionals gather. For this first Luxembourg participation, the artist C’est Karma will be honoured.
mpourmontreal.com
19.11 | 5pm | Centre du théâtre d’aujourd’hui
Perspectives d’auteur-rices: l’écriture en chantier. With Sophie Langevin and Ian De Toffoli
Festival la Salle des machines
La Salle des machines is a unique event organised by the Centre des auteurs dramatiques. As part of this festival, authors offer the public dramaturgical meetings around their texts in progress. Ian De Toffoli and Sophie Langevin, in residence at CEAD, will discuss writing in progress and their respective practices.
lasalledesmachines.net
Kultur | lx would like to thank its partners for the opportunity and the realisation of this programme: the Film Fund Luxembourg, the Cinemania Festival, the Phi Centre, the Fonderie Darling, the M for Montreal Festival and the Centre des auteurs dramatiques de Montréal.
In November, let’s spread our imaginations and meet around the artists and creations of Luxembourg!
To mark the beginning of the season and of a year of support and promotion, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg invited the performing arts sector to meet and exchange ideas on 27 September 2022.
This sectoral meeting was an opportunity to present to about thirty professionals gathered at Rotondes the different support and accompaniment mechanisms offered by Kultur | lx, their evolution during this first year of existence and how they have been allocated.
At the same time, this preliminary assessment enabled the actions envisaged for the future to be outlined, while ensuring the involvement of the sector’s actors in their design and implementation.
Thus, two working groups were formed to reflect on how Kultur | lx’s mechanisms could respond to the needs of the performing arts sector and on the creation of events to promote the Luxembourg scene internationally.
It emerged that while Kultur | lx’s support mechanisms for internationalisation seem to be adapted (Support for mobility, research and career development; Tour support; Support for Participation in Fairs; Luxembourg focus programme, Promotion support), the sector’s needs involve aid and support at a national level for the development of artistic companies, the professionalisation of cultural professions (production, distribution, administration, mediation) as well as the mechanisms, between companies and artists, for the production and promotion of Luxembourg creations in international networks.
As an anticipated response to this last point, Kultur | lx has proposed to Luxembourg production managers to set up an annual programme for foreign professionals to promote the Luxembourg scene. Entitled Focus, and initiated in December 2021 with a Focus on Dance and in February 2022 with a Focus on Theatre, this programme will consist in presenting Luxembourg’s performing arts venues and creators to international guests in order to create links that could eventually lead to collaborations.
The next Focus Performing Arts will be held from 23 to 25 March 2023 and will be repeated in the autumn from 2024.
In addition to the coordination of the Luxembourg selection in Avignon taken over by Kultur | lx and the national stand “Dance from Luxembourg” at the Tanzmesse presented in cooperation with Trois C-L, Kultur | lx is committed to develop new opportunities on similar platforms such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the CINARS biennial, the Performing Arts Market Seoul and the Yokohama Performing Arts Market.
Furthermore, Kultur | lx proposes to continue exploring the territories of our neighbours with annual programmes of encounters with those who bring the performing arts to life in Germany, France, Belgium, but also in Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Finally, as part of its missions, Kultur | lx will contribute to reinforcing the professionalisation of the sector through a series of webinars and workshops.
It remains to be noted that all these projects could not exist without the important collective cooperation of all the actors of the sector at whose service Kultur | lx positions itself.
Establishing links with the Francophonies, Kultur | lx welcomed and met Hassane Kassi Kouyaté, Director of the Francophonies – Des écritures à la scène during the Focus Theatre last spring. On this occasion, we had the opportunity to talk with him about the festival that started on September 20th with a tribute to Monique Blin, founder of the Francophonies in 1984.
Kultur | lx: What does the Francophonies mean to you? What are the challenges?
Hassane Kassi Kouyaté: There are as many Francophonies as there are people. Language is a cultural object that expresses a combination of cultures, Francophonie is a cultural act. The accent, the way in which a sound is pressed, creates a word and also expresses different Francophonies.
What interests me is to hear authors who tell the world differently, who shed a different light. How, through these different francophonies, they tell the same world.
How do you see the programming and your relationship to plural Francophone writing?
We choose to focus on one region so that the audience can see the difference between the Francophonies from which political, academic or sociological discussions emerge (Editor’s note: the heart of the Festival will be at the Archipelago this year. Islands of words and songs, islands of music and dance, islands of terrestrial and literary nourishment. And above all, encounters, links, beyond borders to make an archipelago).
We are always on the lookout for other ways of conceiving, of saying. The different theatrical and written forms allow the artist to express his or her truth, which can be found in a universality.
We are in the craft business, every project is special and we take the time it takes to bring these projects to life.
What are your first relations with Luxembourg authors?
The meetings held during this focus have opened up perspectives and ideas for future collaboration. There is a real desire to support authors in this territory, a very positive dynamic.
Moreover, for the first time, we are welcoming a Luxembourg author in residence, Ian de Toffoli, for 6 weeks for his next project, Léa et la théorie des systèmes complexes, which will be the subject of a theatrical production, co-produced by the Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg and Les Francophonies de Limoges at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season.
With the Festival des Zébrures d’automne des Francophonies de Limoges in full swing, Ian de Toffoli, who is currently in residence until 22 October, finds this festival inspiring: “Every day you can see music, concerts and, above all, plays by French-speaking authors from all over the world, from the Caribbean, Africa, Switzerland, Belgium, Canada and – soon – even Luxembourg. It’s a great place for exchange, for dialogue, a place that promotes cultural diversity and openness to the world, which we all need in these dark times. It is a festival like a breath of fresh air! I have the chance to attend performances there, to make rich and inspiring encounters, to feed myself artistically from what I see and experience.”
On 8 September, choreographer Elisabeth Schilling presented her production Hear Eyes Move – Dances with Ligeti at the renowned Kunstfest Weimar festival in Germany, a dialogue between the excellence of the choreographic language and the virtuosity of the music, performed by pianist Cathy Krier.
“György Ligeti was inspired by scientific, literary and philosophical concepts in composing his Études, and for me this was a great material to transcribe into the choreography“, explains Elisabeth Schilling.
Treating dance and music as contiguous forms that develop alongside and within each other, she produced a dance-concert and a concert-dance full of captivating multi-sensorial imagery produced with five dancers and pianist Cathy Krier.
“Cathy Krier played this repertoire, which is one of the most virtuoso, like a star, the dancers were magnificent in their interpretation and we received a very warm welcome from the public” confided the young choreographer after the performance at the Kunstfest Weimar, before adding that a tour is planned for next year to celebrate the composer’s 100th birthday.
This is particularly good news for this production, which had to be postponed from 2021 to the Kunstfest Weimar.
Hear Eyes Move – Dances with Ligeti is supported by Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg
From August 31rst to September 3rd, Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg and TROIS C-L – Centre de Création Chorégraphique Luxembourgeois present the great variety and diversity of the Luxembourg contemporary dance scene on a national booth in Düsseldorf (Germany) as part of the international tanzmesse nrw 2022.
Cancelled in 2020 due to the health crisis, the international tanzmesse nrw is the largest professional meeting for contemporary dance. It offers a unique space for exchange between choreographers, dancers, programmers and dance lovers and brings together up to 2,000 international exhibitors and visitors in Düsseldorf to present a broad spectrum of aesthetic expressions and artistic practices through a market space and a programme of conferences and performances.
After 12 years of Luxembourg’s presence accompanied by the TROIS C-L, the booth “Dance from Luxembourg” (booth n°7), result of a collaboration between the TROIS C-L and Kultur | lx, brings together 7 companies to represent Luxembourg’s creativity: AWA As We Are (Catarina Barbosa & Baptiste Hilbert), Sarah Baltzinger, Jill Crovisier, Anne-Mareike Hess, Elisabeth Schilling, Simone Mousset and Léa Tirabasso.
This booth will be an essential meeting point for all actors of the Luxembourg scene who will have the opportunity to make contacts, exchange knowledge, dialogue with international professionals and present their current and future projects. Support modules and communication tools (visuals, brochures, presentation videos, etc.) have been developed for each choreographer in order to assist the artists in the promotion and dissemination of their work.