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A kind of flying puppet show made of plastic bags to enjoy in family.

What is the life expectancy of a plastic bag? For how long is it actually in use? Not long at all, compared to the length of time it will then stray across the planet, blown and buffered by the wind.

This is where its real life begins, autonomous.
Little anonymous plastic bag amongst the world’s countless little plastic bags, on its way to a rotproof eternity.
Let’s hope there’s a strong wind to help it overcome any obstacles.

What if we humans, so firmly anchored to the ground, what if we too could escape the pull of gravity and fly with the wind, free at last, carried along by the arbitrary waltz of the air ?

At the theater X Cai (ryogoku)
on October 30, 2011
Hours : Open at 2:30 pm start at 3pm

This performance piece uses a simple turbine in order to create a vortex. The little plastic bag characters evolve in the air space, responding to the movement of the air which is in turn controlled by the protagonist

As a part of the French Dance Year, the French Institute of Tokyo will present at the Aoyama Round Theater, on September 13th and 15th two of the works of Héla Fatoumi and Eric Lamoureux.

Manta deals about the very controversy question in France of the Hijab (burqa). With wearing the hijab being so largely commented upon the media these years, Manta shows the expression of the mind and the body through this veil.
Just to dance, by bringing together dancers from different background and countries (Congo, Japan…), refused the borders (of languages, nations, culture…) and attempts this very improbable act: transforming the experience of “living together” into dance.
These 2 projects have in common the deep search on “personal identity” and offer a political and social approach in a poetic way. “These two projects were prepared even before the debates were taken up on the news. In a way, we can say the news have finally caught up with us. This timing with the social debate was not intentional.” —Héla Fatoumi

Manta (first performance : 2009)：Solo inspired by the islamic hijab, presented during the Montpellier Dance Festival. “I ended up assuming the risk of buying one of these garments, I slipped it on, I placed myself inside it, to feel. Sensations began to invade me, guide me, lead me. Staying still, risking a movement, a step, a dance. I then realized it was with my body that I must seek and explore: I understood I was now ready to attempt an artistic act stemming from this garment.”— Héla Fatoumi

Just to dance (first performance : 2010)：At the same moment that France is set to open a debate that would define the concept of identity as something immobile and limitative, the two choreographers have brought together dancers from Congo, Japan and France, for a symphony of otherness. Just to dance reveals a stage landscape born from the shifting fluctuating
Choreography of bodies in movement imprinted with and metamorphosed by the rich and vivid personalities of the assembled individuals. From traditional music to improvised music, blended with electronic music; the different imaginative universes nourished by the eleven performers merge into an intensely human stage experience.

Héla Fattoumi/Eric Lamoureux：
Choreographers
They met while attending René Descartes University together, in the physical education and sport department. In 1988, Héla Fattoumi and Éric Lamoureux founded the company Urvan Letroiga. The duo Husaïs immediately received the award for best first work at the Bagnolet International Choreography Competition in 1990, bringing them international recognition.
Appointed directors of the Caen National Choreographic Centre (CCNC/BN) in 2004, they continued their creative approach with pieces more focused on subjects with a strong societal tone. Works such as La Madâ’a (2004) with the Palestinian oud virtuosos the Joubran brothers, La Danse de Pièze (2006), concerning the concept of “homosensuality” in the Arab Muslim world; 1000 départs de muscles (2007), where they divert objects from the fitness world from their original functions in a critique of performative society; and finally Manta, solo premiered at the Montpellier Dance 2009 festival, exploring the problematic raised by the Islamic veil.
In 2005, they initiated the Danse d’Ailleurs festival – Dance from Elsewhere – intended to bring into perspective the concept of universalism by questioning the referent frameworks of modernity in art. Concerning Japan, after being resident artists of the Villa Kujoyama (in Kyoto), they keep coming regularly for workshops.

Informations :
Date/Time　 : Manta, on september 13th at 7pm (doors open at 6 :30pm)
Just to dance, on september 15th at 7pm (doors open at 6 :30pm)
Place　　　 : Aoyama Round Theater　03-3797-5678　
Tickets　　　: Normal 3500Yens, Members of the French Institute and students 3000Yens,
2 days tickets (in advance) 5000 yens. (non-reserved seat)
Tickets and informations : French Institute of Tokyo　03-5206-2500
Organizer : French Institute of Tokyo, THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN
Cooperation with： Aoyama Round Theater　

The French Institute of Tokyo will celebrate the Bastille Day on July 10th.

The Bastille Day is a French national holiday commemorating the storming of The Bastille on July 14th 1789.
This National Celebration is also for French people a way to welcome summer and vacations.

This year, the live concert of the French leading Salsa band Deldongo, the rakugo show in both French and Japanese of Ryuraku Sanyutei, the closest disciple of Master Enraku Sanyutei and also the performances of the Chindon* band Junmakido (*costumed street musicians that traditionnaly advertise the opening of new stores and other venues, or promote special event such as price discount) are being planned for this entry free summer festival…

Deldongo: Between salsa, merengue, bossa nova, samba, and Latin-jazz, Deldongo captured the hearts of the French and Latinos. With his very ”Frenchy” lyrics Deldongo proves that the language of Bossuet could marry with all the Latin rhythms.
He is the first French to have played Frenchy’s Salsa on the ”La Feria de Cali” in Colombia in 2005.

Junmakido (chindon): The word “Chindon” consists of the onomatopoeia “chin” and “don” to describe the sounds of the traditional Japanese percussion instruments used. The troup Junmakido was formed in 2010, after years of experience with first, the establishment of the Neo Chindon Kabocha Shokai (1991-2005) and then, the 3 members’ formation Chindon Usagya (2005-2009). With the active support of their members they offer ‘happy’ performances that can only be played by Chindon and participate as well to live or recording events of artists from different fields.

Ryuraku Sanyutei : He is the closest disciple of Master Enraku Sanyutei, and has performed largely through Europe. He performs mainly in the Edo Rakugo style, and is appreciated for his detailed gestures. This time he will perform in French and Japanese at the French Institute for the first time.

Bastille Day 2011 　
★Live concerts, Rakugo, food and beverage stalls, Chindon, The « Kampai » of the French Ambassador, Dj Set★
Guests ：　Deldongo, Ryuraku Sanyutei, Junmakido
Date & time： July 10 th from 3PM to 11:30 PM
Place ： The French Institute of Tokyo　
Entry Free (beverage and food not included)
Information : 　The French Institute of Tokyo tel.03-5206-2500　www.institut.jp

As a part of the French Dance Year 2011, the French Institute of Tokyo (Iidabashi) will present on July 8th and 9th the work of the half French half Japanese dancer and choreographer Mie Coquempot.

This performance, first planned in March 2011, has been delayed due to the earthquake of March 11th.

『MD 00-10』 performance is the result of 10 years of research between 2000 and 2010 (00-10) on the relation between Music and Dance (MD), Mie did. Ten years of deep investigation, highlighting her doubts and giving answer to the problem of music in contemporary dance.

3 solos will be presented played in their original version: TABLE SOLO, TRACE / PIANO, and A-MUSE. Each in their own way offers an original score between gesture and sound, when the body becomes phrasing, when the visual aspect becomes audible when the two become one. Dance is music, it is immaterial, it is time and space on the same time..

Mie Coquempot：She received in 1993 the go1d medal and the Nijinsky award at the Japan International Ballet & Modern Dance Competition held in Nagoya. From 1995, she started to work also as a choreographer and then created her company “K622” in 1998. She contributes to push the boundaries of the contemporary dance, as a performer but also as a dance teacher.

Contemporary dance / Mie Coquempoty『MD 00-10』
Choreographer／Dancer：Mie Coquempot
Date & Time　　　 　：July 8th and 9th from 7PM (doors open 6:30PM)
Place 　　　　　：French Institute of Tokyo　03-5206-2500　
Tickets 　　 ：Normal 1500Yens, Members of the French Institute and Students 1000Yens.　
Organizer 　　　　　 : The French Institute of Tokyo、The Yomiuri Shimbun
Subvention： : Fondation Franco-japonaise Sasakawa、Asahi Beer Arts Foundation
Official Partners of the French Dance Year 2011 : AXA LIFE INSURANCE, Institut Français