The twentieth century marked a break with the image of the virtuosic dancing body. This selection of films highlights the ways in which choreographers connect their practices with societal issues, proposing a renewed approach to dance.

Shortly after popular uprisings took place in Watts, a poor neighbourhood of Los Angeles inhabited mainly by African Americans, Anna Halprin was invited to present a show there. Instead, she proposed to come and work with a group of young people from the neighbourhood. She brought together this group of black dancers and her group of white dancers. This anti-segregationist project gave rise to Ceremony of US in 1969.

The film directors capture a performance by Japanese dancer Butô Tanaka Min, invited to La Borde clinic by psychoanalyst Félix Guattari, in front of an audience of residents, nursing staff and friends. A discussion led by Félix Guattari ensues with the residents and other spectators, who express their feelings.

Anna Halprin created a dance therapy process which she shares in collective projects with cancer and AIDS patients. The first project, in 1989, involved around a hundred women and men, patients and carers, and resulted in the piece “Dancing with Life on the Line”. “Care me Home”, the second project, was the result of seven workshops. This programme was developed using resources from the Contredanse association.

This programme is made up of archives (1972-1983) edited by Videoda and dedicated to Contact Improvisation. They cover a key period of exploration and discovery through narrated documents on the performances of its founder, Steve Paxton, and other founding practitioners. Between games of weight/counterweight that lead to loss of balance, falls and momentum, this dance gives access to a state of awareness of one’s own vulnerability in contact with others, thereby developing flexibility and adaptability of the body.

• Where? Room 37
• When? April 9–18, 2027
• How? Access with a valid exhibition ticket