On Contemporary Dance: A Conversation with Mathilde Monnier

DESCRIPTION

Mathilde Monnier will share her producer and curator’s experience in the field of contemporary dance in France from the artist’s viewpoint.

Among other things, she will discuss the values her practice was established upon, the strategies she, as a choreographer, was fostering in major institutions, and the forms in which her contribution to the development of contemporary dance is preserved today, following her resignation from the director’s position. The talk will also focus on the evolution of dance in France, the country’s existent systems of financial support, the performance of infrastructure, as well as the trends and strategies that dance as an art form will develop in the future.

For five consecutive years, Mathilde Monnier was the general director of the National Dance Center in Paris, and prior to that, she was the head of the Choreographic Center of Montpelier Languedoc-Roussillon.

With the support of the Institut français of the Embassy of France in Russia.

ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS

Mathilde Monnier is a role model in French and international contemporary dance’s landscape. From piece to piece she defies expectations by presenting a work in constant renewal. Her appointment as head of the Choreographic Centre of Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon in 1994 marked the beginning of a series of collaborations with personalities from various artistic fields (Jean-Luc Nancy, Katerine, Christine Angot, La Ribot, Heiner Goebbels...). She created more than forty choreographic works presented on the great stages of the Avignon festival, the biggest theaters of Paris, New York, Vienna, Berlin, London… and received several awards for her work : The French Ministry of Culture prize, the SACD Grand Prix. She was appointed in 2014 to guide the general direction of the National Dance Centre in Pantin until June 2019.

Dina Khuseyn is a choreographer and dance activist. She graduated in Ballet from the Choreographic Lyceum (Moscow), Dance Academy Rotterdam, and EX.E.R.CE program in experimental choreography (France) under tutor Mathilde Monnier. Since 2005, Khuseyn has been producing works in the realm of contemporary dance, performance, and contemporary art. Often involved in collaborations with artists, directors and theorists, she also initiates her own platforms, festivals, and research projects. Recipient of scholarships from Jardin d’Europe, DanceWEB, and American Dance Festival. She has worked with renowned choreographers as a dancer, including Tino Sehgal, Loïc Touzé, Anouk van Dijk, Philippe Jamet, Regis Obadia, etc. Her own pieces have participated in many European, American, and Russian dance festivals. Based in France since 2009, Khuseyn visits Moscow while working on projects there.