emilio calcagno
Compagnie Eco, NOUVELLE VAGUE - Génération Bagnolet [2009]
GENERAL INFO
GENERAL KEYWORDS: Cinema, Choreography, Concours Chorégraphique International de Bagnolet, Comics, Graphic novel, Fairytales, Corporeal memory, French contemporary dance, Mediterranean, Memory, Non-danse, Repertoire, Technique, Technology, Theatre, Trace, Transmission, Video-mapping
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CHOREOGRAPHIC WORKS: Catania Catania; L'Isola; Les Quatre Saisons où Le Mariage du Loup; Les Vertiges D'Hitchcock; Nouvelle Vague - Génération Bagnolet; Peau D'Âne
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​PEOPLE: Bausch Pina, Castellucci Romeo, Chaurand Jacques, Dubois Olivier, Forsythe William, Lang Jacques, Marin Maguy, Perljocaj Angelin
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PLACES: Angers, Bagnolet, Cannes, France, Italy, Sicily, Taormina
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DOI NUMBER: https://doi.org/10.14277/unive/mnemedance/01calcagno/2019
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CITATION: Interview with Emilio Calcagno, Chernetich Gaia Clotilde, Tunis, 23/12/2019. Project “Mnemedance”, Collection Mnemedance (#Mnemedance01) URL:<https://www.mnemedance.com/emilio-calcagno>, (accessed dd/mm/yyyy).
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INTERVIEWS MAY ONLY BE REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION BY MNEMEDANCE
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ABOUT
In this interview, EMILIO CALCAGNO, choreographer of Italian origin who has resided in France since 1989, provides an overview of his training and his work as a dancer and choreographer. His creative approach interweaves current socio-political events with an in-depth awareness of topics such as memory and choreographic transmission. As a choreographer, Emilio Calcagno has focused on the reconstruction of past choreographies such as the project Génération Bagnolet that led to the remaking of handpicked choreographies previously presented at the Bagnolet choreographic competition. Another characteristic of his work is his interest in multiculturalism and specifically the Mediterranean cultures. He currently collaborates with the National Ballet of the Tunis Opera and directs Compagnie ECO, the company he founded in 2006. In addition to his career as a choreographer, Emilio Calcagno’s work revolves around dance pedagogy and the transmission of the choreographic practise to the new generations.
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Compagnie Eco, Catania Catania [2016]
INTERVIEW
QUESTIONS
Emilio Calcagno’s self-presentation
[01:27]
What kind of dance knowledge do you preserve in your body?
[04:55]
What do you mean by the notion of "repertoire" in contemporary dance?
[06:54]
What do you think you have forgotten? What remains of your career as a dancer?
[08:42]
How do you access your body memory?
[11:01]
What is included in your archive as a choreographer?
[14:06]
What are your choreographic references and the cultural contexts where you position your work?
[18:34]
In your choreographic work, what is your approach to memory and specifically to your own memory?
[22:26]
What is your relationship with the Concours International de Danse de Bagnolet? How did you work on the project Génération Bagnolet?
Compagnie Eco, L'Isola [2019]
BIOS
EMILIO CALCAGNO has lived in France since 1989 where he moved to study dance at the Rosella Hightower International Center in Cannes and later at the Angers National Center for Contemporary Dance under the direction of Joëlle Bouvier and Régis Obadia. In 1995, he joined the Ballet Preljocaj - CCN d'Aix-en-Provence and in parallel with working as a dancer, he has been involved in educational activities. From 2002 to 2005 he collaborated with D.A.N.C.E, a European project for education directed by Angelin Preljocaj, Frédéric Flamand, William Forsythe and Wayne McGregor. Interested in projects created for public and non-theatrical spaces, his work is found at the crossover between various initiatives related to the theme of transmission: dance and writing in libraries, choreographic events and performances in museums, dance workshops in prisons. He has also created a videodance course for explaining to a lay audience the process of choreographic making. In 2006, he founded Compagnie Eco / Emilio Calcagno and in 2008, he became an artist in residence at La Faïencerie - Théâtre de Creil with the BDANSE project. With his company, he created numerous productions that have been presented in international theatres and festivals in France and abroad. In 2018, he began collaborating with the Tunis Opera Ballet.
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GAIA CLOTILDE CHERNETICH is a dance scholar, dramaturg and writer based in Italy. In 2019/2020 she was appointed research fellow at University Ca’ Foscari of Venice (Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage) in order to work on the European project “Dancing Museums. The democracy of beings”. In 2017 she completed with honours a European Phd in Arts, with a specialization in Dance, at the University Côte d’Azur (France) and in Humanities at the University of Parma (Italy). Her first book Architetture della memoria. L’eredità di Pina Bausch tra archivio e scena is going to be published in 2020 (Accademia University Press, Italy). Her research and published writings deal with contemporary dance, epistemology and dramaturgy. She collaborates on Ormete - Oralità, Memoria, Teatro, an expanded research project conjugating the methodology of oral history and performing arts history. She has curated “Archivio Anno Zero” for the associated artists of Associazione Culturale VAN (Italy) and she has worked on different educational projects dealing with the choreographic practice. As a dance dramaturg, she works in Italy, France and Spain collaborating both with independent artists and resident dance companies. As an author, she regularly contributes to Doppiozero, Teatro e Critica and Springback Magazine.