The overview of French "nouvelle danse" offered this year by the Rovereto Festival aims to bring together some of the newest faces of this phenomenon, daring to present a series of names largely unknown to the Italian audience, often representing the "second generation" compared to the first wave of choreographic experimentation that exploded in France in the late 1970s (the leading figures of that wave were presented in a festival edition dedicated entirely to France three years ago).
The selection has taken into account not so much the similarities, but the differences, aiming to demonstrate the stimulating heterogeneity of this trend and the variety of stylistic influences it has undergone.
Alain Buffard and Dominique Brunet, recipients of a special jury prize at the International Competition in Paris (January '87), are two dancers from the Compagnie Astrakan led by Daniel Larrieu: their style is light, unpredictable, iconoclastic, playful, and often subtly humorous. Their dance embraces post-modern disguises and reflects a distinctly French taste that is very much "à la mode."
