Abîmes

“We are made up of a great deal of the past, quite a bit of the present, and what we project of the future,” says Linda Hayford. And she adds: “Everything is expressed through the body.” It is therefore through the bodies of her seven performers that she creates an “embedded narrative” of the different spaces and times coexisting within every human being, ranging from the social and normalized everyday life to its “supernatural” inversion. After transitioning from solos to trios in three stages (Shapeshifting (2016), AlShe/Me (2019), and Recovering (2021)), the choreographer shifts, for her first group piece, toward an immersive and socially engaged fiction. Abîmes features hybrid creatures that could exist in a world parallel to our own, whose shared movement language is imbued with as yet unknown archetypes. They form a chorus whose profound symbiosis drives a series of precise movements, in a whirlwind of temporalities and presences. Fueled by wide shots, organic ensembles, and meticulously choreographed movements, the piece layers images and situations, close-ups and wide shots, organic ensembles and meticulously choreographed movements. It also serves as an opportunity to showcase its creator’s expressive gestural vocabulary, “shifting pop,” derived from the contractions and releases of popping. Xavier Lescat’s set design highlights this with an ingenious arrangement of lights and mirrors, which multiplies perspectives and illusory effects at will. 

Linda Hayford

Linda Hayford is an associate artist with CN D in 2025 and 2026.

Co-director of Collectif FAIR-E / CCN de Rennes et de Bretagne, the dancer and choreographer has been developing her personal projects with Cie Inside Out since 2015. Her dance, based on the “base of popping” and marked by the world of battles, relies on complex gestures while dealing with intimate subjects. From piece to piece, including her trio Recovering created in 2022, she develops a specific vocabulary called shifting pop, a sensory and emotional exploration of the performer's inner metamorphoses.