MIRAGE

A mirage is an optical phenomenon caused by atmospheric refraction, which deflects the rectilinear trajectory of light beams passing through superimposed layers of air of different temperatures. The deviation of rays gives the impression that the object seen, inverted, is in a location different than its actual location. This projection is visible to the eye; the displaced image is not just an optical illusion; it is not a hallucination; it really exists as a ‘spectral’ reflection.

This idea of the displaced image taking shape in the air is at the origin of this project, in which I wish to reinvest the body and explore the possibility of a double score, in order to give shape to a scenic object made of physicalities and of visible embodied dynamics, while relying on images and invisible, convened within the mental space.

I resume with the exploration of this physical language long kept on hold, to throw it forward and so make of it something new, full of experiences and driven by the notion of mirage. I also go back to my research on movement, dynamics and body states (which have been suspended somewhat these past years). And finally, joined by a team of five dancers, I continue my artistic work and my research into perception, thanks to a first incursion into the worlds of the Belgian visual artist Sophie Whettnall and the Italian composer Fausto Romitelli.

The performance Mirage has been conceived in such a way that it can be shifted from the theatre’s stage to the exhibition space, thus becoming Mirage Displacement. The two works, Mirage and Mirage Displacement, contain some similar elements but exist as separate entities, each reflecting the distinct frameworks of their presentation.

read more…

Mirage was nominated for the Prix Maeterlinck de la Critique, in Belgium (French-speaking Community) in the category of "Best Dance Performance".

DOSSIER | COMPLETE DOSSIER upon request

Although she has brilliantly incorporated documentary into many of her recent pieces, unmitigated dance is offered in Mirage, whose visual elements were designed with the complicity of Sophie Whettnall. […]

Far from imposing itself, the device integrates subtly within the choreography, the group and these women, with their propulsion and releasing movements. Integrating with time also, a capital ingredient of this opus. The force of Mirage, its intense, discreet elegance, lies in the formidable generosity with which the piece invites everyone into its space-time. 

Marie Baudet, “Mirage" or the Infinite Generosity of Space-Time, La Libre Belgique, February 25, 2019

concept, choreography and documentation Olga de Soto
dancers Albane Aubry, Edith Christoph, Talia De Vries, Meri Pajunpää and Maria de Dueñas Lopez
lighting Philippe Gladieux
sound creation Benoît Pelé
music Fausto Romitelli, An Index of Metals (extraits), recorded by Ictus and conducted by George-Elie Octors / Cypres Records
artwork creation - scenography Sophie Whettnall
costumes Line De Munnynck

created with Albane Aubry, Benoît Pelé, Edith Christoph, Maria de Dueñas Lopez, Olga de Soto, Talia De Vries, Philippe Gladieux, Line De Munnynck, Meri Pajunpää and Sophie Whettnall

première : February 22 and 23rd, 2019 at Charleroi danse, La Raffinerie, Brussels.

© Stanislav Dobák

TOUR CALENDAR

22 FEB 2019, Charleroi danse, La Raffinerie, Brussels (BE) — PREMIERE
23 FEB 2019, Charleroi danse, La Raffinerie, Brussels (BE) — PREMIERE
25 MAY 2019, Mirage - displacement, Centrale for Contemporary Art / Exhibition by Sophie Whettnall & Etel Adnan La banquise, la forêt et les étoiles, Brussels Art Summit, Brussels (BE) — PREMIERE
27 NOV 2019, Festival NEXT, Le Vivat - Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national art et création, Armentières (FR) — FRENCH PREMIÈRE