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 Lyrique
La Gaîté Lyrique is an arts center of the City of Paris, located in the very heart of Paris. Opening in March, 2011, la Gaîté Lyrique is at the crossroads of the arts, new technologies, and the audience. The 9500 square meters building, conceived by architect Manuelle Gautrand, includes two flexible concert halls (capacity of the large concert hall: 750 people standing/300 seating; capacity of the small concert hall: 100 people); an auditorium (130 seats); exhibition galeries ; creation and production studios. La Gaîté Lyrique also hosts: a video game space, a media library dedicated to the digital arts, two bars and a concept store. The creation and production hub will be specifically dedicated to La Gaîté's guest artists and will provide spaces to explore a wide array of artistic fields such as dance, video, film shooting, photography, music recording, images production and post-production, music and multimedia.
Firmly rooted in its city and its neighbourhoods while being open to the world, la Gaîté Lyrique aims to host up to 3 concerts per week, 120 performances, performing art and multimedia shows, exhibitions, artists-in-residence, focuses on cities of the world, labels, innovative festivals, media, and more. La Gaîté Lyrique will also offer recurrent moments: for example, an Ambient Sunday, dedicated to all the types of music; children specific productions; focuses on local stages; lectures by key personalities with very different backgrounds, conferences, screenings, and more. Creation, as well as the new technological uses and cultural practices, will be put into perspective. La Gaîté Lyrique is the place where creation is in motion, reflecting our times.
www.gaite-lyrique.netSadler'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