Nicolas Cantillon and Laurence Yadi from Compagnie 7273, a Swiss dance group, have invented their own dance technique, ‘Multi styles FuittFuitt’, also known as ‘FuittFuitt’ in short. Their dance form was invented in 2006, shortly after the duo created their group in 2003. So far, they have created about 20 dance pieces and have toured in different parts of the world. For their choreography, they have also won numerous awards including the Swiss Prize for Dance and Choreography and the Fondation Liechti for the Arts.

This week, Compagnie 7273 is in Kathmandu to conduct a workshop on FuittFuitt and perform a show. The performance titled, ‘Today’, will showcase a 40-minute solo dance performance by Yadi. With a dance style that invites the body to continuously and endlessly perform wavy, spiral and hypnotic movements, the choreographers encourage dancers to be part of the music through their dance, rather than being a separate entity while performing.

In this interview, the Post’s Gina Bachmann finds out about the new dance form and the choreographers’ motivation behind its creation. Excerpts:

How can your dance style FuittFuitt best be described?

FuittFuitt is inspired by the groove of middle eastern music. It is the transfer of ‘maqam’ to the body. The maqam is a musical system which originated from Islam, but is also known in China to the Maghreb and India. All these regions have their unique way of playing it.

Each maqam describes a set of musical notes and the relationship between them. It allows musicians to play in-between the notes and it gives them the opportunity to express themselves. To find an original way of playing the maqam, it demands both rigour and imagination.

So how does it look like when you dance FuittFuitt?

Koen Augustijnen, a Belgian choreographer and dancer once described it as follows: “When I watch their dance, I see a tree caught in the storm, which bends without breaking”. I think he has captured our dance in words quite accurately.

And why is the dance called FuittFuitt?

When we teach FuittFuitt, we do a special noise. This noise is very similar to the name of the dance form. But it is not just any sound, it gives students an idea of the rhythm. So we simply decided to call it FuittFuitt.

How does one invent their own dance style?

To invent a dance is to share a way of thinking about movements and describe a vision of life by this same movement. We all have different bodies and to dance together means that we are different but follow the same direction with our personal physicality and mentality. It is about being together but also not compromising one’s individuality.

But to invent a dance also means to refuse an archetype of movement imposed by fashion or trend. We invented this style in 2006 after extensive research about our a person’s identity and thinking processes. If you know where you come from, it is easy to know where you want to go and why you want to take a direction rather than following others. Our bodies, too, have to be aligned with our identification.

Besides your performance, you’ll be hosting a workshop as well. What are the requirements to participate?

The main requirement is basic: the participants have to be ready to dance. And after that, they need to be ready to explore a new dance technique, which we believe will offer them an insight to find their personal groove. We encourage participants to not have any kind of expectation on the genre of the dance. They should be ready to mix classical technique with Indian traditional dance, hip hop, jazz, contemporary dance and more. FuittFuitt is a mix of all dances we have come across through our professional journey.

Are you planning to collaborate with any South Asian dancers?

We are hoping to meet a lot of people, especially dancers and choreographers, during this tour. We are a big believer in partnerships and collaborations. It is more important to bring together different visions of art and life from diverse regions. We are always looking forward to learning new dance forms and art styles so we are very positive that we will probably collaborate with Indian and Nepali artists during our South Asian leg of the tour.

Compagnie 7273 will hold a workshop on FuittFuitt on November 12 at Nritya Aagan, Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur and will perform on November 13, 5:30pm to 6:30pm, at Mandala Theatre, Anamnagar, Kathmandu.