In April, I was invited to the opening of a new and stylish boxing club in Paris : Le Temple.

I get dressed like a dancer, with a long and large light pink skirt and a black body. When I saw the huge leather bags, I immediately jumped on them, doing some ballet steps…

I had a strange vision then: what if Pina Bausch had made a choreography on a ring? Women, silk, leather, high heels… Such an exciting program.

Many thanks to Cyril Durand, the founder, who let us make pictures in his beautiful club. Thank you so much Stella Polaris for accepting this dancing/boxing/shooting challenge and thank you Xavier Généreux for your wonderful pictures.

1st round : Kontakthof

I haven’t seen a lot of Pina Bausch’s Ballets but I must confess I am not a huge fan of them. I am sometimes a bit bored by this women-centered modern dance, such as Carolyn Carlson’s Blue Lady. Mothers, lovers, independent women, suffering women, natural women… Well, well.

But, on the other side, I am also very attracted by her aesthetic : strong colors, long hair, expressionist dancers, huge movements. That is why I had these “Pina flashes” when I walked on the ring for the first time.

2d round : Dancing Dreams

Modern dance is a bit like modern art : one thinks it’s an easy form of art and he coud do the same but he just can’t.

To prepare the shooting, I watched a lot of videos trying to figure out what was Pina Bausch’s style. It was a very difficult exercise and I failed somehow. How to make pictures out of movements? Plus, neither Stella nor I are “real” dancers…

We did the best we can, but I am not sure Pina would have been proud of us two.

3rd round : Looking for Pina

At the end of the shooting, we were much more in a “Bettie Page on the ring” mood. What’s bred in the bone will come out in the flesh…

Inspirations

Click to enlarge images

 

 

• Kontakthof, 2000

 

• Kontakhof, 2014

 

• Orpheus and Eurydice

 

Where? 
Temple | Noble Art 
11 rue Molière – 75001 Paris

 

>>> Read here Stella’s post about the shooting!