Charleroi/Danses
Choreographic Centre of the French Community
An off-shoot of the former Ballet Royal de Wallonie, the Centre Chorégraphique de la Communauté Française Wallonie-Bruxelles has taken a radical turn towards contemporary creation. Frédéric Flamand, its director from 1991 to 2004, made it a leading institution on an international level.
It has been directed since 2006 by a quartet of artistes: Michèle Anne De Mey, Pierre Droulers, Thierry De Mey and Vincent Thirion. This new management set up an open project – a broad association of artistes with an interdisciplinary dimension – centred on artistic work shared with choreographers and artistes from the choreographers and artistes from the French-speaking community but also from the international scene, while maintaining a continuous interaction with audiences.
While the creative work of the three artiste-directors lies at the heart of the activity of Charleroi/Danses, the Centre offers custom-made residencies in accordance with the specific requirements of the artistes.
The activities of Charleroi/Danses take place in the Écuries of Charleroi and at the Raffinerie in Brussels: the production and diffusion of the work of the artiste directors and residents, the programming of various events such as the dance Biennale.
Charleroi/Danses is an active partner of D.a.n.c.e, an interdisciplinary European programme for the professional integration of the dancer. It offers a year-round training programme for professional dancers in the form of classes and workshops, and it organises masterclasses and ‘laboratory spaces’ led by the various creative artistes of the Centre.
In collaboration with the schools of Molenbeek Charleroi/Danses has also set up a programme of artistic workshops under the ægis of the D.A.S. (Dispositif d’Accrochage Scolaire) in Brussels as well as a series of interventions for dance appreciation with the schools of the Hainaut region of Belgium.
www.charleroi-danses.beLa Gaîté
La Gaîté is a new art centre of the City of Paris. Located in the heart of Paris, in the former theatre of La Gaîté Lyrique and on the Internet, La Gaîté will present new works in the field of digital cultures and music. The opening is planned for December 2010 with the website scheduled to go on line in spring 2010.
The building, designed by the architect Manuelle Gautrand, is currently under construction. It will form a complex of around 8000 m² including two spaces that are totally modifiable for performances, concerts and immersive works, exhibition spaces and listening rooms, a conference and projection room, a media library, workshop spaces for the public, a shop, a cafe and a restaurant. La Gaîté will also offer studios for dance, video shoots, photography, musical recording, multimedia production and post-production.
Firmly rooted in its city and its neighbourhood while international in its outlook, La Gaîté will develop a multidisciplinary project of artistic creation, production, circulation, training and education. The programming will be diversified: music, sound arts, installations, interactivity, new cinema, video games, software art, net art, motion design, design, graphic design, illustration, animation, videoclip, audiovisual performance, dance, theatre, technological and scientific research. Other fields not mentioned here which have their place in La Gaîté in their relationship to digital technology, complementing the activities of other Parisian cultural venues.
more infoUne équipe pour la Gaîté lyrique
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells is a theatre with a strong, dynamic contemporary programme, uniquely dedicated to bringing the very best international and UK dance to London audiences. The present building on Rosebery Avenue in Islington opened in 1998, after a major fundraising programme, supported by Lottery funding.
Sadler's Wells breaks new ground in theatre design with its stylish, accessible front-of-house areas, flexible auditorium and purpose-built entertaining and meeting spaces. But behind the stylish glass, brick, wood and steel of the new theatre is a history of over 300 years and six previous theatre buildings which have all carried the Sadler's Wells name and occupied the same site since the very first Sadler's Wells theatre opened in 1683.
From cutting-edge performance to mainstream contemporary dance, tango to tap and flamenco to family shows, the joy of movement and celebration of dance are always at the heart of Sadler's Wells.
www.sadlerswells.com