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CLOSE-UP ON CHRISTOPHE GARCIA

From February 18 to March 1ᵉʳ, 2025, choreographer Christophe Garcia and the talented performers of Ballets Jazz Montréal invite you to discover moving stories through dance in the intimate setting of Hôtel Germain. Learn more about the French creator behind the bold proposal NIEBO HOTEL.


A LETTER LEFT UNDER THE TV

A few years ago, while Christophe Garcia was on tour, he found a letter in his hotel room. It was written by a woman named Magda, and addressed to the next person to occupy the room. In these few lines, she shares the happiness she experienced during her stay, where she could live at her own pace, move around in whatever clothes she wished and shower as long as she liked. She also enjoys imagining a life for the lonely man in room 438, the young couple in 502, the jaded lovers in 112... This vast imagination inspires the choreographer, who keeps the letter, waiting for the right moment to include it in a future project.


A UTOPIAN SHOW

A number of years later, in order to inspire the creative fibre of his artistic team, Christophe suggests the exercise of brainstorming together on a show that would never take place. That's when Magda's letter came to mind. Together with his team, he envisions a creation in which the audience could meet fictional figures in the privacy of their hotel room, and thus gain access to their most intimate secrets. This utopian show allows him to dream of a sensual, close-up movement.

While the creator consigns this idea to the realm of fantasy, a change of guard is taking place at the Centre dramatique national le Quai in Angers. Its new artistic director, Thomas Jolly (whom you may know from his staging of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games), caught wind of the bold project Christophe was considering. Together, they defined a framework for turning this dream into reality. Thus was born the first version of NIEBO HOTEL, presented in October 2022 at the Hôtel Saint Julien in the heart of Angers.




A SINGULAR CREATOR

Christophe Garcia is a leading figure in contemporary dance, renowned for his ability to fuse diverse artistic disciplines, creating works in surprising and immersive forms. Born in the Haute-Savoie region of France, he was introduced to theater and music at an early age, before training in dance at the École Rudra Béjart. As a performer, he worked with such diverse artistic personalities as Robert Wilson, Robert Lepage and Cas Public. He then turned his attention to choreography, founding his company La Parenthèse in 2000. 


With La Parenthèse, Christophe Garcia pushes back the boundaries of conventional dance presentation frameworks, in search of spaces of proximity with the audience and intimate sharing. Over the years, his creations have unfolded on the marble of monuments, in museums, in country halls, in arenas and, with this show, in the hushed rooms of Hôtel Le Germain.


Christophe Garcia's writing is precise, embodied and multifaceted. He explores his writing in dialogue with other artistic disciplines and creators. The singularity of his work is ultimately imprinted in a form of exhilaration, luminosity and the discreet poetry that he always lets us glimpse, whatever the subjects and forms he takes on.



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