By
Avinash Yadav
Photography: JC Carbonne & Studio
Constance Guisset; courtesy Studio
Constance Guisset
Read
Time: 2 mins
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Designer and scenographer, Constance Guisset’s latest offering is a
mesmerizing multi-media composition that revolves around the Chinese symbol of
feminity - the ‘hair’…
When you deal with a story, where a woman is the pivotal part
of your narrative, whose mysterious, fascinating, palpable range of emotions
need to be captured as the metaphoric core of a layered timeline, the
theatrical representation has to capture and convey the essence, evoking empathy
in the audience.
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La Fresque is the ballet adaptation of the Chinese tale, ‘The
Painting on the wall’, where the central idea of the narrative is woven around
the symbol of femininity. The ballet traces the story of two travellers, who take refuge in a
temple on a bad day. Here, they discover a fresco depicting several young women
playing in a field of umbrella pines. Struck by love for one of the young
women, the first traveller magically enters the fresco and marries the character.
Forced to leave the picture, he leaves behind his beloved. But this passage of
time transforms the canvas... The young woman with long hair is now wearing a
bun - hairstyle characteristic of married Chinese women.
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What takes the
narrative to another level is the compelling visual design of the set between
installations and projections. Constance commendably rises to the challenge of
stage confines with a flawless scenography that blends the metaphor with the
narrative. She creates magic. In one instance, where the dancers do not move an
inch, the scene is simply magnetic.
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‘Hair’ unfolds
and draws living landscapes: No longer mere curls of hair; they become
undulating hills, evanescent smoke, enveloping jungle... The swirls mingle and
disentangle following the choreography, between appearances and holograms.
Running parallel, on a thin canvas that separates the dancers from the audience,
are projected videos of hair that float in the water.
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The storytelling (ably supported by Angelin
Preljocaj’s choreography) simultaneously blurs and maintains the transitory
line that differentiates between reality and fantasy; establishing a palpable
connect with the audience; leaving them with an experience!
Dates: Nov. 29 – Dec. 4, 2016
Venue: Royal
Opera of Versailles
The show will then be on tour throughout France.
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