In the French language, the terms danser and danse refer to two practices with very different functions and issues. They designate both the stage dance, intended to be watched, and the festive or recreational dances, those we all practice. But if it is true that stage dance has always been inspired by ballroom dances, it is striking to see today, on theater stages, references to popular forms - clubbing dances, disco, twerk, new wave, funk...
Why do choreographers feel the need to confront these sometimes simple and raw gestures, often dependent on the record industry? This book invites us to discover the multiple faces of "dancing pop" in choreographic creation over the last few decades, through the works of artists as diverse as Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausch, Alain Platel, Marco Berrettini, Jérôme Bel, Mark Tompkins, Mathilde Monnier, François Chaignaud, Cecilia Bengolea, Maguy Marin, Christian Rizzo, Thomas Lebrun, Gisèle Vienne, and the collective (LA)HORDE. From one piece to the next, popular dances are integrated into the choreography in a singular way, while bringing out recurring motifs of pop mythology: contagion, improvisation, ecstasy and the group.
Author of several books on dance and its staging, Claudia Palazzolo is an HDR lecturer in performing arts (dance) at the University Lumière-Lyon 2.