Press Reviews

... Suspended by invisible wire, steel bars obstruct the space and appear to float in air, truly instituting a volume, a depth and a space of three dimensions. Two generations follow one another : Philippe Tréhet first of all, in his solo, embodies the experience, the weight of life, followed by the eight dancers who represent youthfulness. Lined up in front of the audience, exposed in halos of light, the bodies move violently, discovering life with its joys, its sorrows and its disillusions. Little by little the space becomes free, the cage opens, the bars disappear and the movement becomes more fluid. The movements appear to guide the thoughts and the dancers, all excellent, leave their isolation to slowly form couples and like robots who have had a taste of life, they take the relationship to its paroxysm. ... The interpretation itself is particularly touching. Yoona Crals, Dorian Crétey and Patrice Leroy amaze us every minute, thrusting the talent of the choreographer into a vast spotlight and rendering his work profoundly human. The hand steers the movement, which appears, like a rapidly incoming tide, freeing the entire body to the sound of a haunting, almost hallucinatory incantation. This is “Trahison”*, a piece that bewitches with profound effect. Philippe Tréhet had good training. A disciple of the Graham technique and Alvin Nikolaïs, he has created works for Jiri Kylian’s N.D.T., the San Fransisco Ballet, the Opera of Warsaw and in Mexico, the Compania National de Danza and the Ballet National de Mexico. Resident in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, we will have the opportunity to follow his journey which we will undoubtedly find to be full of marvellous surprises. Jérôme Frilley An autobiographical solo, “La Cage”** marks the return to the stage of Philippe Tréhet, after two years dedicated to choreographing and directing his company. Daggers of light pierce the shadow, locking in the dancer, imprisoning him. Looking for a way out, he struggles and rolls on the ground. Erratic movements, hallucinations of a trapped man. Expressive choreography without being drawn out, inspired by anguish, fear, disappointment, rebellion - of a creator and the injured man. A strong and disturbing work… * Betrayed / ** The Cage Jaquemine Guilloux From where does Philippe Tréhet take this force, this power which overflows from the first minutes of each of his performances? Indeed, since 1988, he has been awarded the top prizes in all competitions he has entered. The Prix special du Jury du Concours International de Danse de Paris in 1989, the Premier Prix du Concours International de Groningen in the following year, and in 1993 he won first prize in the Tokyo International Choreography Competition. Each new creation causes a shock. Perhaps because death is almost always present in his works. “La Cage”** and “Trahison”* are no exception. The first of these two pieces is an autobiographical solo, a prelude for the second. The curtain opens on a man who looks as though he is tangled up in steel, which appears to want to swoop down on him as if it was being moved by a diabolical machine. That evokes not only the image of the burning bush, dear to the romantics, that the Prince must cross in order to awaken his Princess, but also all of the dangers which are scattered along his path, lying in wait for a man, alone, facing his destiny. Only by overcoming his fear and acquiring life saving reflexes will he reach his goal and survive. One is not surprised to witness a tormented dance, desperately trying to outrun “death”, dotted with calmer interludes which he allows to follow a cognitive approach to force the destiny. The movement is violent and powerful, jerky but beautiful, direct and exact, without flourishes or detours. Created in November 1998 in Le Havre, “Trahison”, which follows “La Cage”, is of an identical workmanship. Made for eight dancers, this work finally comes down to a pas de deux which exacerbates the feelings, Yoona Crals and Patrice Leroy being the two lively performers, while the other six dancers are there only as a leitmotiv, a backdrop, increasing the power of this duo to an immeasurable force. If the dance appears sharp, violent, jerky, haunted by images of death, it is only to better demonstrate the tenderness which rises from all the pores of the skin, the animated force of love. The choreography, sensual and original is sometimes bestial, to the extreme, close to martial arts, but it is also marked with generosity and kindness, leaving however an aftertaste of despair. The work ends with the image of death who comes by three times to bear down on the couple, asleep in their happiness. * Betrayed / ** The Cage Jean-Marie Gourreau It is this slow evolution, this rising darkness towards the light, of the most profound despair towards the joy of life regained, that the dancers express by their movements… To the repetitive and haunting music of Jean-Jacques Schmidely, the limbs of the dancers twist in pain, the interpreters simulating in turn the loss of the use of an arm, then a leg, scenes marked with suffering and an almost unbearable violence but soon finding again the joy of movement and the pleasure of dance, alone or in couples, in wild body to body movements that express the triumph of beauty and shared love, of life over death... Bernard Perrot The work of the company is a true success, music haunting and hallucinating, lighting carefully placed rendering the bodies at once deformed and majestic. The interpretation is profoundly touching… François Hauguel To the sombre low droning sound of the didgeridoo, interspersed with repetitive music echoing that of Latin America, the choreographer from Le Havre demonstrates a remarkable sense of image and light and composes superb friezes in semi-blackout. The company is composed of four men and four women, as energetic as they are elastic. The choreography is static or vehement, sometimes desperate. The group is well ordered with a perfect sense of aestheticism and equilibrium… René Sirvin An autobiographical solo, “La Cage”** is, as it were, the coda of “Trahison”*, even though this solo was given as an introduction. Extremely rapid and virtuoso arm movements, steps flowing together with imperceptible transitions : Philippe Tréhet gives an impressive demonstration of his qualities as dancer - choreographer. Without transition, eight isolated dancers, crudely on display, defined by halos of light, within a décor of cold metal, regard the audience. They seem to be struggling, battling with their own will. How can willpower and power coincide without betraying others or oneself? The movements used to convey this are all powerful and “Trahison” begins with force. One reaches the paroxysm from the very first minutes… * Betrayed / ** The Cage Agnès Izrine