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 Image - Frederic Stoll
“Physically ingenious movement-theatre” TIME OUT LONDON 2007
Sydney Opera House presents French dancer Pierre Rigal’s new solo work, PRESS, 2 – 7 September in the Playhouse.
Discovered by Mikail Baryshnikov, this former athlete, music video director and choreographer, was commissioned in 2007 by UK’s Gate Theatre to design a work in a very small space. Rigal responded to the challenge by reducing the area in which he performs even further.
Exploring how our personal space is confined by the pressures of modern life, Rigal sets himself a Houdini-esque choreographic challenge.
PRESS sees Rigal in a white walled cube set accompanied by a robotic arm and a plastic chair. A surveillance camera sits on the wall of his cell, watching and recording his every move. As the ceiling lowers and the box contracts, Rigal contorts his body in increasingly amazing ways. We witness the panic and loneliness of a diminished sense of space -both physically and metaphorically.
Working in collaboration with lighting designer Frédéric Stoll and sound designer Nihil Bordures who perform live and in response to him each evening, PRESS contains illusion and physical trickery to offer audiences an intense yet subtle take on the way we live now.
“PRESS is linked to danger and death” said Rigal. “It explores how our personal space is confined by the pressures of modern life.”
Last seen in Sydney in 2007, Rigal was an international athlete who specialised in the 400m sprint and hurdles. Not surprisingly, he is renowned for his physical explosiveness and prowess.
Having studied mathematics, economics, and cinema studies, Rigal approaches dance as a purely physical discipline rather than an expressive tool. In 2004, Rigal founded a dance and technology group, Compagnie Dernière Minute. His works showcase his inventiveness as a choreographer and unique use of live mixed sound.
“Rigal’s hypnotic, robotic movements are often as comic as they are visually striking, ….suddenly appearing to have no head at all.” muicOMH.com
SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE ADVENTURES 08
PRESS
PIERRE RIGAL
Venue: Playhouse | Sydney Opera House
Date: 2 – 7 Sept
Duration: 1hr
Tickets: $30 - $48.
Bookings: 02 9250 7777 / sydneyoperahouse.com
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