Precision of gesture and power of templates, rugby between dance and sumo, by Philippe Decouflé – Libération

2023-10-02 12:56:39

2023 Rugby World Cup in FrancedossierEach week that the World Cup lasts, “Libération” invites a personality to give their personal, offbeat look at the event. The choreographer and dancer Philippe Decouflé observes, (falsely?) candidly, the bodies and movements as he particularly followed them, on TV, during the match between Japan and the Samoa Islands.

My knowledge of rugby began in the Gers where, when I was young, I took body expression courses. But the otherwise friendly boys that I saw there were also strong, while I was more of the slender, fragile type. End of story, since, since then, I have never gone to see a match, maybe training sessions, at most.

However, thanks to the World Cup, I immersed myself in this sport again, through a small screen, paying particular attention, to satisfy the chronology of this post, to Japan-Samoa [28-22, disputé jeudi 28 septembre, à Toulouse, ndlr]. About which, conscientiously taking notes, I noted that:

– the first analogy that comes to mind refers to sumo, where the idea of ​​power also predominates, nevertheless with the specificity that it is a contact sport in which we transmit an object, the ball ;

– many situations are reminiscent of the choreographic world, such as scrums or line plays, the precision of the final gesture, sometimes achieved in a fraction of a second, contrasting with the massive appearance of the templates and the violence of the shocks to which they are subject. So, the melee fascinates me, with these two groups of individuals, quite close to the notion of “supermen”, or “super heroes”, who push at ground level to form such a colossal structure that fragile. Likewise, sticking to my favorite field of investigation, that the haka also refers to dance, of course, that of Samoa seemed quite sublime to me, a rapid sequence of well-executed, rapid, joyful figures. .. which incite people to go into battle;

– the supporter who sees his image on the stadium screen, and who we see at the same moment on TV, instantly changes his behavior, whereas, the second before, he could have been attentive, passionate, disillusioned.. Which also refers to the quality of the body;

– the advertising hype proves to be as painful as it is subliminal, with these illuminated panels around the stadium, which constantly change the slogan. In five or six minutes, it appears that “Emirates flies better”, that we can buy a Defender, that the GMF wants us well, the Société Générale too, that… stop;

– moving forward remains a big constraint, because it certainly deprives us of a whole bunch of things that would be so beautiful to see;

– there is always something fascinating about imagining those thousands of hours spent preparing combinations, rehearsing gestures, evaluating situations to, ultimately, find themselves in literally unpredictable game actions that the player will strive for to return to his advantage in order to once again find a configuration in which he will be able to feel comfortable. Long live live, from then on, which keeps its magic, like on stage, where you have to launch yourself, expose yourself, put yourself in danger, without the public ever seeing the same thing twice, even if, I agree , appearances will always remain more deceptive in a show than on the field;

– I have never observed so many different parts of the body bandaged, strapped, protected, patched up: forehead, ear, wrist, fingers, thigh… no, so many variations do not exist to my knowledge in any other discipline, sporting , or artistic;

– the ball is called Gilbert:

– it is strange to call a moment of success “try”.

“Rock” show by Philippe Decouflé and his company, DCA, created at Montpellier Danse in 2022, Stéréo is performed in Paris, marquee space of the Parc de la Villette, from October 4 to 22.