Passion marks Diavolo's artistic direction choreography in dance debut

Courtesy of CPAC

By Monica Levette Clark
On-line Forty-Niner

Jacque Heim, the artistic director of Diavolo Dance Theater based in Los Angeles, is a passionate Frenchman in every way.

The passion seeps out through his expressive language and his choreographic direction.

Heim started the dance company in 1991, and now Diavolo is coming to the Carpenter Performing Arts Center this weekend to debut it's  newest work, "Dreamcatcher," inspired by the Native-American belief that bad dreams are caught in a net, while the good dreams are able to flow through.

On-line Forty-Niner: What is unique about Diavolo Dance Theater compared to other contemporary dance companies?

Jacque Heim: You can not really describe what Diavolo is.

When you can not describe something and you can't put you finger on something, it is very interesting to me.

You can't really categorize it as dance because it is not quite dance; we are not doing dance.

The kind of group of people that I use in Diavolo are a rare group of people. It's people that have an element of movement, an element of acrobatics, an element of stunt, an element of theatricality.

They are not afraid of getting stitches, bleeding, going to the hospital and coming back two hours later and rehearsing again. They're more warriors than dancers.

DFN: How much did the post-modern movement of dance influence or not influence your direction and choreography?

JH: Not really much. I am not a regular dancer. When I graduated from Cal Arts with my master's degree, everyone over there was looking at me like I was a freak because I am not a regular dancer. I'm probably one of the most inflexible directors ever. I don't touch my toes; I have an awkward way of moving, my own way of moving.

What influenced me were different artists: a French filmmaker, a surreal painter, other choreographers and some people I encounter influence.   When I start a piece, I try to make it in a way where I know I am going to fail because I put myself into that place knowing that I have no idea what I am doing, then I know that I am doing something good.

"Dreamcatcher" is one of the most difficult pieces physically. The structure itself is one of the most challenging structures so far. Sometimes I hear people saying that we are the NFL of dance.   Every time a dancer takes the stage they risk their life. There are a couple of sections in "Dreamcatcher" that with one mistake, a dancer can die at any moment, and I take it very seriously.

DFN: Can you explain the meaning of your company name?

JH: The first three letters "dia" is a word that means this day in Spanish. Volo is the past tense of volare. Volare means to slide. So together it means the day passes and the next day we start again.

DFN: What should the audience expect from Diavolo's "Dreamcatcher" if they have never seen the company before?

JH: Well, they shouldn't expect much. They shouldn't expect they are going to see traditional modern dance work. They should expect to come and see live abstract paintings right in front of them.
 

EVENTS LISTING

What: "Dreamcatcher"
When: 8 p.m., Friday & Saturday
Where: Carpenter Performing Arts Center 6200 Atherton St., Long Beach, Ca
Ticket information: (562) 985-7000