Phoenix

Between beauty and danger : dancing with drones

"This creation reveals the contrasts and boundaries between realities (...) to change the way we look at Gaza. And perhaps even the way dance is seen..."   (Thomas Hahn, Danser Canal Historique)

These days man lets himself be massively surrounded by drones and other (semi)autonomous devices. Meanwhile their use reaches much further than the initial programming. Fantastic when you see how performers mobilize these machines as an element of play and even as a dance object. But dangerous too, if you consider the possibilities of drones for espionage and warfare.

Phoenix perfectly grasps the ambiguity of the modern technology. Via a webcam and a hacked server the audience makes a connection with a region which otherwise would be hard to access : we get to know dabke dancer Mumen Khalifa who grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp. He tells us, live from his flat in Gaza, about his experience with the surveillance drones. And allows us to follow the breakdancers of Myuz GB Crew in the middle of a destroyed decor.

In Phoenix by Eric Minh Cuong Castaing a surveillance tool forms the basis for a dance documentary.  An intelligent clash of the dancing and rebellious body, of technology and ethics. Suspense guaranteed. 

Trained as an illustrator, Eric Minh Cuong Castaing makes both films, dance performances and visual art. In his choreographic work he explores the connection between dance, technology and ethical issues. At the centre is 'the rebellious body' and more particularly the expansion of corporality by means of technology. From 2016 to 2018 he was connected to the Ballet National de Marseille.