After ten years at the head of the CCNRB (National Choreography Centre of Rennes and Brittany), in early 2019 choreographer Boris Charmatz passed the torch of his (ex-)Museum of Dance to the FAIR[E] collective and its many choreographers. A provocative participant in the contemporary dance scene, FAIR[E] works to generate social connections and promote the values of experimentation and research. Strongly influenced by hip-hop culture, the FAIR[E] collective is taking part in Ecuador's Urban Culture Month in September 2019 alongside local artists and the company YZ, Y as in Yanka Pedron and Z standing for Bouside Aït-Atmane (also a member of the FAIR[E] collective).

Action as a way of seeing the world

The FAIR[E] collective is composed of eight members: Six choreographers and dancers — Bouside Aït-Atmane, Iffra Dia, Johanna Faye, Linda Hayford, Saïdo Lehlouh and Ousmane Sy — and two producers — Céline Gallet and Marion Poupinet. Together, they have taken charge of the National Choreography Centre of Rennes and Brittany.

“We promote the use of action as a way of seeing the world. As a way of appropriating our immediate environment through action-reaction and of injecting, where we can, desire, poetry, equality, imagination, joy, sharing and collaboration” explains the collective. Significantly influenced by different hip-hop aesthetics, FAIR[E] presents shows at the crossroads of breakdancing, Krump and house dancing, while also drawing on Latin influences and contemporary dance.

Hip-hop in Ecuador

To celebrate the Month of Urban Cultures, the Ecuador Alliance Française invited the FAIR[E] collective and the YZ company to the city of Quito for an artistic and educational project divided into three stages. Two internationally renowned artists take the reins as artistic directors: Laetitia Ponce (DJ T-Sia), a dancer specialising in breakdancing, and Ousmane Sy, the co-director of the Choreography Centre of Rennes and Brittany and one of the greatest French performers of house dance and Afro-house.

To begin with, spectators will be able to attend dance presentations on the history of hip-hop from 1970 to the present day and on the new generation of Francophone choreographers. Led by experts, talks about hip-hop in Ecuador and Latin America will also present local artists. At the same time, many battles (crew v crew, 7 to Smoke, 1 v 1, in other words group versus group or dancer versus dancer duels) will punctuate the festivities. A final feature is the “Jams”, evenings of hip-hop improvisation.

This large-scale project will expose a diverse audience to the different aesthetics of urban dance and will also notably present an opportunity to facilitate partnerships between local actors and French institutions and artists.