Tipi At Pompidou Houses Experimental Solos - solo ballet performances continue at the Pompidou Center in Paris, France, despite the center's ongoing renovations - Brief Article

PARIS--Despite the "Closed for Renovations" sign that greets visitors at the entrance to Paris's Pompidou Center, closed doesn't necessarily mean quiet in this city. Rather than disappear during the two-year reconstruction period, the heart of this cultural magnet was transmuted within the white vinyl walls of a large, cone-shaped "tipi."

With its circular shape, minimal lighting, and nonexistent seating, it is a difficult place for dance performances. Spectators are invited to sit on the floor; only two technicians work for each event; and only two options for lighting exist: brighter or darker. According to Marcel Bonnaud, the director of performing arts at the center since its 1976 opening, "Dance at the Pompidou has always existed, it is biological. Putting it into the tepee, however, was not an easy task.

"I invited a lot of dancers and choreographers to visit the space before we invested it with choreography. What interested them most was the chance to have a new relationship with the audience." With their input, Bonnaud came up with the idea of bringing solos under the tent; then he came up with the catchy name "Solitipi." A new ongoing festival was born.

Since its inception in January 1998, the dancers who have braved this unusual setting have included Sylvie Guillem, who performed on top of a pole; young Vietnamese dancer Yuan Shang Lin; and Violaine Vericel, who did an unusually repetitive yet engaging tap dance number alongside her collaborator and pianist Yann Servoz.

In June, British dancer-choreographer Wayne McGregor was Solitipi's sixteenth featured dancer. "They said it was a tent, a large wigwam kind of thing," he says. What he found was the oversized tepee with no in-house plumbing or changing rooms. "It was a very different feeling coming in," he added, "and finishing as well. What was really interesting about this place was that when you actually made eye contact, you could communicate certain phrases directly. You are aware of everybody's movements, their boredom, you can see it all."

The final Solitipi will take place October 20 to 22 when Tunisian dancer Imed Jemaa performs the eighteenth solo. Dance at the Pompidou will resume in January in the Center's newly refurbished theater and new experimental studio.

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