Emmitouflé

Boris Charmatz is a fan of collective forms that combine genres – dance, music, text and song – and he has conceived Emmitouflé as an open-air performative attempt; an invitation to dance outside, whatever the weather: to add layers to better feel the body warming up to the words and gestures. Alternating between participatory moments and open-air performances, Emmitouflé crosses genres and eras, overlapping layers of clothing and aesthetics. From Tarkos training, invented during the experimental Bocal school to infuse poetry into ski suits, to dancers Marion Barbeau, Johanna Elisa Lemke and Marlène Saldana traversing materials from Boris Charmatz’s repertoire, to Philippe Quesne’s mole DJs, Emmitouflé invigorates bodies, eyes and ears. Balaclavas, mittens, jackets, undershirts, socks, hats: “come covered, really covered – and once you’re well covered, add another layer!”

Boris Charmatz

As a dancer and choreographer, Boris Charmatz puts dance to the test of formal constraints that redefine its range of possibilities. He uses the stage as a draft for embodying concepts, amplifying voices and intensifying body perception, as in 10000 gestes and Liberté Cathédrale. Through experimental projects such as Bocal and Musée de la danse, he has created concentrates of collective experience that redefine the relationship with the public, the urban space and the choreographic repertoire – a multi-faceted approach that he has continued to develop with Tanztheater Wuppertal.