From the instrument to the body’s involvement,

from spatial arrangement to musical creation

It is first and foremost more than twenty years of collaborations and musical compositions with Maguy Marin on twenty or so choreographic pieces between 1989 and 2013. Stage music was explored in multiple forms – with the premise that the musical work belongs to the scenic form and that it joins and merges with it. The choice of work methods, aesthetic preferences, and influences from other practices all gave rise to musical forms for the stage. For the pieces created between 1993 and 2001, for example, each sound emanating from the stage was produced live by the performers. This constraint led to the composition of multiple types of instrumental and vocal stage music in which movement, staging, and music were intimately connected. Starting in 2004, the music produced on stage was displayed using sound devices, which were visible and synchronized with the lights and the performers. Ultimately, since the choreographer was regularly using text, it became an essential ingredient in the process of musical composition.

Eh, qu’est ce que ça me fait à moi (1989), Cortex (1991), Waterzooï (1993, piece for acoustic instruments), Ram Dam (1995, piece for 12 voices and instruments), Soliloque (1996, piece for one voice), Pour ainsi dire (1999, piece for 3 voices and midi sensors), Vaille que vaille (1999, piece for 4 voices and electro-acoustic diffusion), Quoi qu’il en soit (1999, piece for 3 electric guitars and 5 voices), Points de fuite (2001, piece for 4 electric guitars and 10 voices), Les applaudissements ne se mangent pas (2002), Umwelt (2004, sound installation for 3 electric guitars), Turba (2008), Description d’un combat (2009), Salves (2010, sound installation for 4 tape recorders), Faces (2011, piece for a player piano and electro-acoustic diffusion), Nocturnes (2012, piece for 2 turntables).

But there were also other choreographic and theatrical pieces: walk talk chalk (film by Pierre Droulers based on musical gesture) and Odette, apportez-moi mes morts ! (Gilles Pastor). At the same time, he joined musical improvisation acts as a musician, playing duets with Gilles Laval and Michel Mandel. He worked with the composer Fred Frith on two pieces: Impur in 1997 (musical piece for 17 musicians) and stick figures, which they performed as a duet.His work as a composer-performer led to his participation in the creation of innovating music with: Chef Menteur, Dans le décor, La Douzaine, Le miroir et le Marteau. In 2004, he composed the boîtes noires cantata (for 10 instrumentalists and 2 singers).

More recently, he has worked by himself or in duos.

In duos, he co-created the pieces ça quand même with Maguy Marin and on pourrait croire à ce qu’on voit (2005) with Renaud Golo, a generic title that includes several chapters: si on peut dire (2005), de bons moments (2006), quelqu’un, visiblement (2007), l’homme dans la chambre (2010).

In collaboration with Maguy Marin for the staging, he created  suite (2006, piece for one body, 50 electromagnets, and 8 midi sensors), a scenic and musical offering surrounding the question: What happens to music the moment it is no longer being played?

In 2009, he wrote figures : suite et fin, a solo piece that consists of an installation with a musical score as well as a physical exploration conducted by Maguy Marin.

In 2011, he closely collaborated with Maguy Marin on the dramaturgy and staging to create the solo piece prises/reprises.

In 2013, once again alongside Maguy Marin for the dramaturgy and staging, he created minute papillon, an installation piece for one body and one player piano.

That same year, he devised parcelles, a dynamic visual and sound installation, then dérives, a performance/installation piece of 100 seconds that gets played up to 10 times a day.