FACT

PRESS

“[…] Black Sheep is the name of this French troupe, and it is a black sheep to remember because it is making something new happen - changing familiar movement material, developing it and reshaping it. […] Their chosen movement canon: hip hop. The young company under choreographers Johanna Faye and Mustapha Said is not only inspired by it but, and this is where their potential lies, goes far beyond it. The familiar circling of the head and shoulders, the robotic arms and power moves, all of this is mostly suggested, then reshaped into an independent, distinctively individual, entirely contemporary dance idiom. Its vocabulary includes some wonderful movement sequences that recall contact improvisation but are carefully composed and can be repeated at will. […]”
Neue Presse, 2 September 2017

preview TEXT

B-Boy meets B-Girl: For Saïdo Lehlou and Johanna Faye, this was a fateful encounter that led to them winning a choreography prize and founding their own company, Black Sheep. For their second appearance in Hanover – the young duo previously impressed the festival audience as dancers with the Wang Ramirez company – they are presenting their first independent ensemble piece, performed by themselves and five other dancers. This is an intense exploration of urban survival and the search for one’s place in the world, approached through their roots in hip hop. With their own unique movement vocabulary, “FACT” not only tells of anonymity and isolation, but also of exchange and communication in an urban context. In front of the architecture of the fascinating, constantly changing stage set, scenes full of poetry are distilled from the conflicts and clashes of everyday life, translated into dance.

(approx. 60 mins)

Watch a video on vimeo

cast & credits

Choreography: Johanna Faye, Saïdo Lehlouh
Dance / performance: Ilyess Benali, Théophile Bensusan, Johanna Faye,
Maria McClurg, Lauren Lecrique, Saïdo Lehlouh, Kévin Moulin
Composition: Awir Léon
Light design: Cyril Mulon
Sound direction: Loïc Letort
Set design: Jeanne Boujenah
Bookings: camin aktion

Executive production: Garde Robe
Co-production: Espace 1789, Saint-Ouen / Houdremont, La Courneuve / Initiatives d'artistes en Danses Urbaines (Fondation de France – Parc de la Villette with the support of Caisse des Dépôts and Acsé) / CCN Créteil et du Val-de-Marne - Compagnie Käfig / La Briqueterie – Centre de Développement Chorégraphique Val-de-Marne, Vitry-sur-Seine / Award Hip Hop Games Concept 2014, supported by Initiatives d’Artistes en Danses Urbaines, Cie Art-Track, Maison Folie Wazemmes and FLOW, Lille

Supported by: DRAC Ile-de-France / CND Pantin

Company Black Sheep is supported by county Seine-Saint-Denis.

This event was made possible with the support of the Institut français and the French Ministry for Culture/ DGCA.