Dance Reflections by VCA is presenting Corps extrêmes by Rachid Ouramdane at The Arts Center at NYUAD on Friday and Saturday, May 12-13 at 7:30pm in The Red Theater.
Corps extrêmes brings to life the desire to “dance” in the air using a climbing wall and tightrope. Athletes and artists perform dramatic mid-air choreography that conveys a sense of flight and a state of weightlessness and suspension. Through acrobatic sequences, choreographer Rachid Ouramdane reveals what extreme sports enthusiasts attempt to reach in their quest to defy gravity, holding a mirror to humankind’s fascination with the notions of taking flight.
The show is accompanied by documentary footage of astonishing feats of physical daring in dramatic landscapes, which are projected onto the climbing wall. Presented by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels as an extension of the ongoing support of dance at The Arts Center, Ouramdane’s piece pushes the definitions of dance to incorporate the verticality of rock climbing, in a piece that explores evocative and philosophical themes about life lived at the edge.
The Arts Center Executive Artistic Director Bill Bragin said: “In keeping with this season’s theme, ‘Stories’, Corps extrêmes is both spectacular and introspective, conveying the tales of people who put themselves into extreme danger, as part of an ongoing story of humans trying to challenge nature, and themselves.”
Commenting on the addition of the show to The Art Center’s schedule, Bragin added: “The inclusion of Corps extrêmes reflects the success of the collaboration between The Arts Center and Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels. The curatorial contribution adds a major element of groundbreaking contemporary dance work, which helps bring our season to brave new heights. Through public and school performances, dance workshops in both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, artist talks, and Q&A sessions, this residency will continue to contribute to the contemporary dance ecosystem of the UAE in significant ways.”
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Director of Dance and Culture Program Serge Laurent added: “Choreography, like all great forms of art, varies greatly in style – from graceful to athletic, subtle to visceral – and in doing so it provokes a huge variety of emotions. The artists in Corps extrêmes give a dramatic physical performance that speaks to the yearning for the utopia of escaping one’s condition of a human being stuck to the ground. It is a bold, arresting piece that continues the commitment of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels to the creation, transmission, and education of dance as an art form, and we are honoured to partner with The Arts Center in their mission to bring ground-breaking artists to the UAE for the first time.”
