Oktawia Scibior and Samory Ba are Paris-based artists who create experimental choreographic and visual works, developed from in-depth gestural research with the medium of skating.
Initially trained as high-level figure skaters, they use the phenomenon of glide and its capacity to enable unearthly movement of human bodies through space, in order to create singular choreographic experiences.
They are actively engaged in the emergence of a contemporary approach to skating and both work with the pioneering Canadian company Le Patin Libre.
Oktawia and Samory's creations have been presented by La Briqueterie CDCN du Val-de-Marne, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa (Festival CAPSULE), Le Générateur, Micadanses, Théâtre de la Ville - Sarah Bernhardt (inauguration), Birmingham Dance Festival (screendance festival).
CREATIONS
Within A Thousand Suns
Choreographic piece
Within A Thousand Suns is a choreographic duet, a daring exploration of movement and form developed over four years of radical experimentation with inline skates and crutches.
In this creation, the unique mechanics of gliding, harnessed by the dancer's precise technique and the choreographers' contemporary artistic approach, serve as the foundation for a hybrid dance that disrupts the familiar.
Using unconventional tools to craft a physical language that reimagines the body as both primal and augmented, the performers challenge the boundaries of their own physicality, continually redefining themselves.
Composed as a triptych, the piece unfolds across three distinct choreographic universes.
It seamlessly transitions from a mesmerizing dynamic of interaction inspired by the entanglement of particles to a hectic confrontation that satirizes human agitation and culminates in an evocative exploration of instinct and visceral impulses.
Through these separate but complementary choreographic landscapes, the piece delves into the various conscious and unconscious constraints and drives that shape our actions in an ever-changing world. It questions our conditioning and investigates the interplay between freedom and determinism, and the elusive boundary between them.
Duration: 45 min
Premiere: 1 June 2024 - Le Générateur (Gentilly, France)
Credits
choreography / interpretation OKTAWIA ŚCIBIOR / SAMORY BA
musical composition
JUAN CRISTÓBAL SAAVEDRA
lighting design
FABRICE SARCY
dramaturgy
LOU COPE
costumes
LOUISE CARTON /
OKTAWIA ŚCIBIOR
artistic advisors
RAFAËLE GIOVANOLA &
RAINALD ENDRASS
( COCOONDANCE)
Co-production
La Briqueterie
(CDCN du Val-de Marne)
Support
Le Générateur,
Ballet du Nord CCN et Vous!,
CCN de Créteil et Val-de-Marne
Département du Val-de-Marne,
Ville de Vitry-sur-Seine,
Théâtre du Crochetan
Rêverie
Screendance
Rêverie is a screendance created during the 2020 lockdown in France. It proposes a hypnotic visual experience, based on fluid gliding motions over a grounded viewpoint.
Selection:
Festival CAPSULE National Arts Centre (CAN), Birmingham International Dance Festival (UK), International Meeting of Video Dance and Video Performance (FR), Nice Dance Film (FR), Frame Rush Festival London (UK), Híbrido Festival (BRA), Cinematica Festival Ancona (IT), FIVC International Screendance Festival (CHL)
Credits
Concept / choreography / interpretation OKTAWIA ŚCIBIOR / SAMORY BA music JASMIN BOIVIN
video editing OKTAWIA ŚCIBIOR
BIOGRAPHY
OKTAWIA ŚCIBIOR
Oktawia Ścibior is a skating artist and choreographer born in Warsaw (Poland) and living in Paris (France). For 15 years, she trained as a high-level competitive figure skater, earning a bronze medal at the Polish Nationals in 2003. Following her athletic career, Oktawia studied Physics and later Bioinformatics, obtaining Master’s degrees in both fields. Additionally, she trained in jazz dance at the National Centre for Culture in Poland, and performed in numerous traditional skating shows across Europe.
In 2013 she discovered contemporary skating through the works of the company Le Patin Libre. Since that time, she has been engaged in the development of a contemporary approach to skating, recognizing the medium’s vast potential for artistic exploration. In 2016 she founded Slippery Art Project, an association aiming to nurture the emergence of artistic creation via skating. This led her to collaborate with several artists on various contemporary skating projects in France.
Since 2018, she has been performing in the piece Murmuration by Le Patin Libre. She also closely collaborates with Samory Ba, experimenting with gliding mouvements on inline skates.
SAMORY BA
Samory Ba is a French skating-artist and choreographer of Senegalese origin. A former international high-level figure skating competitor, Samory transitioned to a professional career with several renowned ice show companies. His long-standing fascination with the unique choreographic possibilities of skating eventually led him to redirect his focus towards developing a modern approach to this traditional discipline, exploring innovative possibilities within the medium. In 2010, he became one of the founding members of Le Patin Libre, a Quebec-based collective of cutting-edge skating artists. Together, they laid the foundations for a modern approach to skating and created the groundbreaking piece Vertical Influences, which had its world premiere at the Dance Umbrella Festival in London (2014). The piece received a 5-star review from The Guardian and quickly gained international recognition, becoming part of prestigious programming such as Théâtre de la Ville - Sarah Bernhardt, Holland Dance Festival, and National Arts Centre of Canada. With Le Patin Libre, Samory continued to push the boundaries of contemporary skating, co-creating the acclaimed works Threshold (2018) and Murmuration (2022). These pieces have been instrumental in popularizing contemporary skating on the global stage. Since 2019, Samory has also collaborated with Oktawia Ścibior on various research and creation projects, exploring the artistic potential of skating as a medium, beyond the current confines of the form.
N° RNA W92201052 N° SIRET 82401447600017 Licence d'entrepreneur du spectacle n°2: PLATESV-D-2021-004783
Images by: Emilee Seymour, Bernard Bousquet, Thibault Paris, Morgan Eloi (Moovance)
©2024 Slippery Art Project