Open Classes Partnership with Lalanbik / CN D Lyon

Lalanbik, a national choreographic development center (CDCN) in the Indian Ocean, based in Réunion Island, has been invited by the CN D Lyon for a carte blanche in collaboration with local cultural partners: the CCN Rillieux-la-Pape, the Goethe Institute, the Maison de la Danse, Les Subsistances, and the CRR. During this event, Lalanbik will showcase the work of 3 companies it supports and closely follows, perfectly demonstrating the diversity of choreographic styles rooted in the geographic, cultural, and historical context of the CDCN. From January 20 to 28, regular dancer training sessions, amateur and professional workshops, residencies, residency showings, roundtables, and performances will be held.

Biographies

SR Dance – Stephen Bongarçon
Technique Sagam

Stephen Bongarçon is a dancer, choreographer, and founder of SAGAM, an international dance festival in Mauritius. As a dancer, choreographer, trainer, producer, and pedagogue, he founded the SR Dance Company and School in 1995, based on the SAGAM dance style he personally created: a fusion of contemporary dance, Kathak (a traditional dance from North India), and Mauritian séga. This style has earned him regular invitations to international stages through tours and moments of sharing and teaching his unique technique. Stephen Bongarçon started with Hip Hop dancing in the street, then practiced traditional séga within his family circle before training in classical Indian dance, Bharata natyam, in South India for two years. There, he discovered the narrative traditional dance, Kathak, which became the cornerstone of his personal choreographic style.

Collectif Lookatmekid – Marion Schrotzenberger
Dance, Theatre, and Video

Marion Schrotzenberger is a choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker. With her dual roots between Réunion Island, her homeland, and Brussels, she has a deep appreciation for the everyday lives of people, cooking, humor, and the stories shared late at night. Her work is based on autofiction, dance, theatricality, and imagery to create a portrait of herself and those close to her.

In 2008, she co-founded the Lookatmekid collective with Ismaël Colombani and Cosima Jentzsch. Since its inception, the collective has enthusiastically developed a body of work led by/with/in collaboration with amateurs, residents, and people from all walks of life, more or less distant from the artistic scene. The projects undertaken, however diverse, all share the same core belief: everyone has the right to a poetic life.

Marion Schrotzenberger practices dance-theatre and explores the notion of “performing.” How does one adopt a stage presence from warm-up to improvisation or composition proposals? The exploration of engagement on stage will be deeply investigated, both rigorously and playfully.

Cie Danse en L’R – Eric Languet
Integrative Dance

Éric Languet, dancer and choreographer, explores the complex terrain of the human psyche in his works. He is particularly interested in the individual’s difficulty in finding their place within a group and positioning themselves between norms and normality. After starting dance in Réunion, he pursued a classical dance career, performing at the Paris Opera and later with the Royal New Zealand Ballet, where he was a principal dancer for 10 years. Transitioning to contemporary dance, he worked with companies such as the Australian Dance Theatre of Meryl Tankard and DV8 Physical Theatre of Lloyd Newson. His company, Danses en l’R, founded in 1998, continues to explore the intricacies of human relationships in an aesthetic combining theatre, physicality, performance, and the captivating power of dance.

Integrative dance is historically based on the work and research carried out by the Danses en l’R company since 2004.
Integrative dance is a collective artistic practice aimed at building social connections through the enhancement of each member’s value within the collective.

Its ultimate goal is to contribute to the fight against any form of exclusion based on name, ethnic origin, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, physical appearance, or health status. Integrative dance is not therapy. It is primarily an artistic and pedagogical approach that guides the collective process throughout each workshop.