Known as one of the leaders of the New French dance and non-dance movements in France in the respective 1970s and 1990s, renowned French choreographer Boris Charmatz will be leading London’s Tate Modern through a transformation of kinetic prowess. With a team of over 75 dancers, the 48 hours spanning May 15 and 16 will be filled with series of performances throughout the museum building, asking the question: what if Tate Modern became the Musée de la danse?
Charmatz’ professional trajectory heretofore has demonstrated his inclination for pushing the boundaries of convention. Upon being appointed director of the Centre Chorégraphique National de Rennes et de Bretagne in 2009, he renamed it Musée de la danse, from which BMW Tate Live’s eponymous “takeover” of the Tate’s halls draws its inspiration.
With dance and live performance filling its halls and exhibition rooms, the choreographed and the still art, in cooperation, challenge conventionality in a museum setting. In a grand defiance of spatial restrictions, the limitations of interaction, of traditional artistic milieu, of viewership and engagement are drawn from exclusivity and intertwined, inclusively and interactively.
“The public space will constantly transform from the dance lesson to performance, from participation to a party, and from performance’s set-up to its take-down and set-up again,” says a Tate spokesperson. There’s a lot going on, a lot to explore in these confined 48 hours of a kinetically-charged, unique museuming experience.
The commission at Tate Modern will coincide with the UK premiere of Charmatz’s new work Manger at Sadler’s Wells, as well as the UK premiere of Partita 2, a work by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, in which Charmatz is performing.
Images courtesy of Tate Modern and Mr Charmatz
For more information on the BMW Tate Live partnership or series of performances, visit the programme web site. You can find public information on If Tate Modern was Musée de la danse? and tickets here.