Soa Ratsifandrihana
+ More info- Live performance
- maison Folie Wazemmes, Lille
- 45 min
g r oo ve
Groove is the spirit, the heart of rhythm: Soa Ratsifandrihana feels it, moves it, embodies it, in a grand choreographic collage. By combining different dances which inspire her, the choregrapher creates a new, live, spontaneous energy.
g r oo ve is a dance solo consisting of a dialogue between images and a slew of intimate, popular dances. Among them is the Afindrafindrao, a 19thcentury dance, typically “gasy” (meaning from the red island, Madagascar) – which is where Soa Ratsifandrihana comes from. She also does some steps from Madison, the first choreography she learned in the 60s with the African American singer Al Brown, adding also a little tribute to Pepito, a dancer who specializes in popping, a style which includes specific quarter turns she likes …
g r oo v e is a collection of references the choreographer cites, then transforms and twists with aplomb. The music, pitched somewhere between glitch (a sub-genre of electronic music which developed in the 90s) and hip hop, responding to the lighting and the dance, creating a continuum of space-time, and driving a special energy: groove.
With the support of Onda – Office national de diffusion artistique
Biography(s)
Soa Ratsifandrihana is a Franco-Malagasy dancer and choreographer based in Brussels. After studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse in Paris, Soa began as a performer in creations by James Thierrée and Salia Sanou. She then joined the Rosas company of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. Recently, she joined the team of Boris Charmatz for the itinerant project 20 dancers for the 20th century and more. In 2021, she created her solo entitled g r oo v e, a search for spontaneity and a rigorous work of composition, on a background of history that resembles her. Soa is an artist associated with the Kaaitheater in Brussels from 2023 to 2025.
Credits
Concept, choreography, performance Soa Ratsifandrihana
Musical creation Sylvain Darrifourcq, Alban Murenzi
Creation costumes Coco Petitpierre
Assistant costumes Anne Tesson
Creation lights Marie-Christine Soma
Lights management Suzanna Bauer, Diane Guérin (alternating)
Sound management Guilhem Angot, Jean-Louis Waflart (alternating)
Archives and external view Valerian Poidevin
Outside look Thi-Mai Nguyen
Production and distribution AMA Arts Management Agency – France Morin & Anna Six
Production AMA Arts Management Agency – France Morin & Anna Six
Coproduction Atelier 210, Charleroi danse, MARS – Mons Arts de la Scène, La Place de la Danse – CDCN Toulouse Occitanie, workspacebrussels, T2G – Théâtre de Gennevilliers, Centre Dramatique National, la Soufflerie – Rezé Conventioned Stage
With the help of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation
With the support of CNDC – Angers, La Place de la Danse – CDCN Toulouse Occitanie, Charleroi danse, Centre National de la Danse, Point Culture, PARC Performing Arts Research Centre, GC De Kriekelaar, Kaaitheater, Iles asbl
