There are 12 of them on the stage: 11 artists from the Le Wetr group and Régine Chopinot. Since childhood, every member of Le Wetr has learned how to dance, sing and accompany themselves with modest percussions made from vegetable matter and bamboos with deep, muffled sonorities. Traditionally, it is the oldest who sing and the youngest who dance. For the creation Very Wetr!, Régine Chopinot suggested that they modify their customary approach. They are ready to adopt these changes and approach them calmly and open-mindedly. Their dances are always accompanied by a stamping of feet on the ground which enhances the sense of force and precision. Their physical engagement is both shrewd and generous, freely and dynamically exploiting the fields of movement open to the body. Their eyes focus in orientations that are both complex and complementary to their movements... Their songs are polyphonic and vivid for the public, their interwoven voices alternating between major and minor modes, using assonance and head-voice to repeat in unison a simple melody in which all the voices harmonize. Their words juggle between Drehu and French. Régine Chopinot moreover has asked Walles Kotra, a long-standing friend of Le Wetr and director, author and professional journalist, to help her write a text that she will speak during the performance of Very Wetr! Jean-Paul Gaultier is once again designing the costumes, looking to find the right balance between palm tutus and town clothes, and working with body paints to underline the architecture of the bones and muscles of the dancers' bodies with a sort of graphic landscaping. Régine Chopinot's loyal collaborators for many years, Maryse Gautier (lighting) and Nicolas Barillot (sound), will work alongside her in a constant search for innovation. During all these experiences so far from here, Régine Chopinot has been in the process of clarifying and developing the outlines of a piece that will see one of its fruitions in July. With Le Wetr at her side, it is very likely that the result will be joyful and Very Wetr! RB
Distribution
choreography Régine Chopinot and Umuissi Hnamano
texts Walles Kotra, Régine Chopinot
lighting Maryse Gautier
sound Nicolas Barillot
costumes Jean-Paul Gaultier
scenography Gilles Seclin
with Le Wetr (11 interpreters) and Régine Chopinot
Production
production Cornucopiae - the independent dance
coproduction Festival d'Avignon, National Centre of Dance (Pantin), Cultural Centre of Tjibaou (Nouméa)
with the support of: Institut français, Ministry of Outre-Mer, Government of New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands Province