À bras-le-corps

À bras-le-corps,the first show by Boris Charmatz and Dimitri Chamblas, freed itself from choreographic conventions. In 1993, Boris and Dimitri had in common their training at the Conservatoire de Lyon and a desire to break away from it. Far removed from the rigid formation of bodies, distinction between dancer and choreographer and isolation of the audience, in a square surrounded by chairs, Boris and Dimitri breathe their liberatory youth into a dance that seeks renewal. The piece has been circulating ever since. Over 30 years, it has carried every emotion and walked every floor. The dancers have seen their suppleness evolve and their power affirmed. Audiences have changed, but they have remained intimate. Today, in the ring where the bodies of the two dancers clash, play and juggle, they exude an exhilarating power that continues to defy time and gravity.