Franck2Louise: "Konnecting Souls"

Maverick French choreographer Franck II Louise marries dance, sound and high tech gadgetry with the street moves of the infamous banlieu. Succeeding where others have failed, his “Konnecting Souls” was performed at the Monaco Dance Forum late last year, where the self-dubbed choreographer and composer brought the dance of the streets to life in the incongruous setting of a traditional 19th century gilded Monte Carlo opera house – and all in the presence of Princess Caroline herself.

This hiphop inspired piece draws fresh impetus from an outsider's perspective on the world of new dance.

In it, the dancers of his own Compagnie Franck2Louise are transformed into musical instruments with the help of high-tech motion capture technology. With each movement of an arm or leg, sensors trigger sounds to magically form a true-to-life, complex work of art, constructed from simultaneously created sounds, movements, lights and spacey costumes, influenced by science fiction films and comic books. Initially, sensors are only found on two of the four dancers‘ elbows, arms and feet, while the other two can only flirt with the “connected souls” in a poetic, soul-sear­ching courtship. “The work talks ...