The second half of a meeting
The name given to the company they founded in 1998 – A’Corps – is already a clue to the physicality cherished by Karim Amghar and Olé Khamchanla, champions of hip hop but not only. Amghar, of Maghrebi origin, has a background in contemporary dance with Pierre Deloche, and Khamchanla, from Laos, is passionate about learning Brazilian capoeira and contemporary dance, guided by various choreographers (including the Italian Monica Casadei). Then both became part of two hip hop companies, Traction Avant and Culture Street, and finally decided to establish their own company (the Art Corps et Danse Association/Compagnie A’Corps is based in Valence, France) thanks to a shared vision and artistic complicity that knows no rivalry or competition.
Their first creation is aptly titled Rencontre; followed by Symbiose by Karim Amghar alone, Chantis, Nous sommes Tous… by Olé Khamchanla alone, Boomerang, and their latest piece created in 2005, Deuxième Temps, Mémoire (also presented in May in Paris), which again brings together the efforts of the two founders of A’Corps in weaving that blend of street and studio techniques typical of the cross-pollination in much multiethnic dance.
A male trio featuring, in addition to the two choreographers, Trung Ngon Vo, aka "Lowriz," Deuxième Temps, Mémoire is a sort of Proustian madeleine dipped in a Bloody Mary. For the creators, it represents the "second half" of a meeting that took place eight years ago, perhaps a new beginning in their shared artistic journey, aiming to give depth and introspection to hip hop while intertwining the personal experiences of all three performers. Memory doesn’t just provide the basis for a narrative; it wouldn’t fit A’Corps’ style. Instead, it serves as a highly nuanced summation of emotions – nostalgia, passion, solidarity, frustration, friendship, loneliness – that emerge through movement.
Therefore, it's not just about technique and dazzling virtuosity, as seen in the Hip Hop Performance at Piazza Loreto: in Deuxième Temps, Mémoire, there are feats, slow-motion sequences, hints of tap dancing, and polished breakdance. The search for what has been, what the bodies of the three performers have experienced and do not want to let go of, unfolds on a neutral stage filled with the resonant musings of Tomas Lioux and prepared by a short preview creation expressly conceived for Oriente Occidente: Second Souffle.
