French hip-hop comes to town

French dance ensemble Derniere Minute will stage their famous hip-hop dance show, Standards, in Hanoi’s Youth Theatre on June 6.
French dance ensemble Derniere Minute will stage their famous hip-hop dance show, Standards, in Hanoi’s Youth Theatre on June 6.

Choreographedand directed by the ensemble's founder, famous dancer Pierre Rigal, theshow has been presented in different countries to acclaim, including atLondon's Breakin' Convention at Sadler's Wells, The Gate Theatre,Baryshnikov Arts Centre in New York, and Sydney Opera House.

Standardshas been described as "a compelling dance-theatre experience, driven bythe intense energy of his brilliant young hip-hop dancers and a newsoundtrack from Nihil Bordures".

Typically performed on a stagebathed in the red, white and blue of the French flag, nine dancersexecute their krump, lock, pop and break moves, "exploring the manymeanings of this powerful symbol of identity and how a person can remainindividual in a society that asks us to confirm".

When the showpremiered in the UK in 2013, The Daily Telegraph wrote: "Pierre Rigalhas created one of the most extraordinary dance-theatre shows you'relikely to see on a British stage this year."

Recognised as oneof the most exciting choreographers, Rigal has taken an unusual route todance. He was originally trained as an athlete and has degrees ineconomics and cinema.

It is said that his transition intocontemporary dance was influenced by meeting choreographers like HeddyMaalen, Bernardo Montet and Philippe Decoufle.

He foundedDerniere Minute in November, 2003, when he choreographed and producedhis first piece, Erection. Since then, he has created several otheracclaimed productions, including which built up his fame, including Dansla peau d'un autre (2005), Arrets de Jeu (2006), Press (2008), Queserai-je serai-je (2008), Asphalte (2009), Micro (2010), Standards(2012), Theatre des Operations (2012), and Bataille (2013).

The Hanoi premiere is part of the ensemble's Southeast Asian tour through Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand.-VNA

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