Forever French: Contemporary dance performance in Surry Hills

Bérengère Fournier et Samuel Faccioli are a couple. In life and on stage. Together, they created a dance company, La Vouivre, based in the centre of France. On Friday 23December, they present at the Tom Mann Theatre in Surry Hills, oups+opus, a contemporary dance performance using poetry and humour to portray the ups and downs of a couple’s relationship.

Sustaining the drama of this narrative with precise and energetic movements – the two-person company of acclaimed dancers Bérengère Fournier & Samuel Faccioli – create a captivating interpretation of a couple’s journey for the audience. The soundtrack is put together live by a talented composer Gabriel Fabing, using the recordings of the dancer’s rhythms, breathing, voices and steps to create a breathtaking atmosphere.

A show in two acts, the first act oups portrays the clumsiness that can be found in the early stage of a relationship. From sweet naïve touches to unbridled passion, the choreography of oups is inspired by everyday gestures that are extraordinarily transformed into an alternative sign language through the skill and of each performer.

The second act, a conclusion called opus is the place where both dancers fall apart, erase themselves and escape from what they have been to reach what they may become. The stunning finale is expressed with two sumptuous solos that share with the audience the growth of the couple.

“We don’t show people trying to make their life, we show what life has made of them. We don’t fear beauty or ugliness. We rumage through what people prefer to keep concealed; the darkness of social kindness, of guilty desires and swallowed bitterness. We use everything that we are, even if we mock ourselves,” says Bérengère Fournier and Samuel Faccioli.

Date: Friday 23 December 2011, 8pm

Duration: 1 hour including the support act

Address: Tom Mann Theatre, 136 Chalmers Street, Surry Hills, NSW

Tickets: $25 at the door