In her solo “Le Récital des Postures”, Yasmine Hugonnet explores the body as if it were an instrument. What we see is not the body of a dancer, but a symbolic, archetypal and social body created by Yasmine Hugonnet through forms and relationships that we can communicate with, because it awakens images and associations in our minds. With impressive slowness, the 50 music-less minutes evolve into a ritual choreographic image cycle that, especially in the stillness of the poses and at the transitions between the sculptural forms, expands our horizons and, occasionally, brings a smile to our lips. Since its première at the Printemps de Sévelin festival in Lausanne in 2014, the work has embarked on a highly successful national and international tour. In July 2017, “Le Récital des Postures” was chosen for the second edition of the Séléction suisse en Avignon.
“Yasmine Hugonnet is interested in the relationship between form, image and sensation, in the (de)construction of the language of choreography, and the process of incarnation and appropriation. In ‘Le Récital des Postures’ she exposes the uncanniness of a body without a face, folded and dressed, a body that shows itself while revealing nothing, the mystery of a voice that makes itself heard without being projected. The world she opens up is one of taut thread, suspended breathing, extreme focus. Movements are accomplished with infinite delicacy, through intense concentration and by intelligently breaking things down into minimal elements. In the end the humour shines through, making this artist’s world even more personal.”
Yasmine Hugonnet
Yasmine Hugonnet was born in Montreux in 1979 and now divides her time between Lausanne and Paris. Between the ages of three and six she grew up in Mali. She then took ballet lessons and, in her youth, went to Paris to study contemporary dance at the Conservatoire National Supérieur. Her interests at the time also included contact improvisation, butoh and choreographic research. From 2003 to 2005, while working as a dancer, she completed a master’s degree in choreography in the Netherlands entitled “Dance Unlimited”. 2006 saw the creation of the trio “RE-PLAY”, which garnered international acclaim. Following an extended period of research between 2009 and 2013 she produced a number of solos, including “Le Récital des Postures”. From 2015 to 2017 Yasmine Hugonnet spent two seasons as an associate artist at the Théâtre Sévelin 36 in Lausanne and has benefited from the Swiss arts council Pro Helvetia’s YAA! programme, which brings talented young choreographers together with leading Swiss theatres.
