Cie Mossoux-Bonté on ice

(© Mikha Wajnrych)

Migrations: seven dancers on ice. Extremely poetical, more discretely political, this piece created by Mossoux-Bonté evokes global freedom of movement.

Performed for the first time during the last Charleroi Danses biennale, in a genuine ice rink, Migrations is now being set for the first time in a real theatre, at the Varia. An “armchair travel” version, explains its choreographer Nicole Mossoux. An ice rink in a theatre!? It’s possible thanks to the same weight-saving techniques that allow ice rinks to be set up for the duration of a Christmas market. Far from being a winter wonderland, this icy setting is well suited to an exploration of the theme of migration/immigration, specifically within the context of collective displacement. This is a sensitive piece, which travels to the very heart of these issues.

Did Migrations have its origins in a dream of figure skating?
Nicole Mossoux: Oh no! In fact I find the aesthetic of figure skating outdated. On the other hand, I’m fascinated by the idea of gliding, of being able to move without restraint. The body flies. Plus, a floor of ice possesses its own scenography: whiteness, cold, etc. But the idea really took shape because of a book by Henri Michaux, La nuit remue, where an athlete has a recurrent dream that he is gliding across the country, beyond the crowds, and through landscapes. The image of the migratory bird became associated with this dream, giving me the theme of migration. Then, when the show was being developed, the relevance of human migrants became clear. I wanted to simultaneously portray the beauty of the mixing of populations and cultures and the fragility of a place, of separation with the past and roots, etc. Here, the piece takes a melancholy turn. We couldn’t talk about migration without including all the violence that surrounds it, like refugee camps, or the process of uprooting when at a certain point, even lonely souls can no longer connect.
How did you work?
Mossoux: One of my collaborators and I went on a speed skating course. Then, I met with Pierre Trente, who coaches the French junior figure skating team. He translated what I had in mind into technique. Finally, I chose seven performers who each had experience of skating, as well as their various different disciplines (circus skills, dance, mime, etc.). And since ice rinks are very much in demand during the day, we worked at night.
We didn’t notice any high-speed “sports” skating in the piece…
Mossoux: No, but at times we go very fast. We do 50 metres in three seconds, without friction of sports effects. It’s a crossing, with its own obstacles. The dance tells the story of these distant people (the performers) who must cross an icy expanse to reach us (the audience). That’s the basic spatial idea of Migrations, which then develops with variations into an impossible migration…
Is it a challenge for the dancers?
Mossoux: It’s easy to run on ice, and to throw yourself onto the ground. Group movements and nuances of movement are more difficult. Since the body is resting on two blades, slight shifts of your weight forwards, to one side, or backwards will have an influence on how you move.

Migrations
24/5 > 2/6 • 20.30 (30/5: 19.30), €12/15/20,
Théâtre Varia Scepterstraat 78 rue du Sceptre, Elsene/Ixelles,
02-640.82.58, www.varia.be