Fontenay-le-Comte. Shows, dances… What awaits you this year at the Espace René-Cassin

The city of Fontenay-le-Comte (Vendée) is offering us a dense program for the start of the 2021 school year at the René Cassin-La Gare cultural space. Part of it comes from the postponement of shows, canceled due to health measures. So, to discover the shows that will be given throughout this year, there's nothing like being guided by the programmer, Célia Marais, who tells us about her favorites.

For its strength: the piece Je vol… And the rest I will tell the shadows

It's a show that talks about the violence of our society and that asks this question: how the journey of a normal man can push him to commit the irreparable. We are talking here about the Nanterre killings in 2002. “The show questions acts, more than religions, to get out of the controversy,” says Célia Marais. The staging is “a feat”: the main character, the killer, never appears. He is mentioned throughout the play by the people who have met him. Friday, May 6, 2022.

For those who hesitate between contemporary dance and hip-hop

Fontenay is a city of dance. What could be more sensible than to reserve a highlight for it. “It will begin with a thirty-minute show, from the national contemporary dance center in Angers. Thirty minutes to allow those who do not know this universe to better understand it. The young choreographer Noé Soulier will perform two pieces from his repertoire, between classical and contemporary.

Then, it will be Yellel, the hip-hop show of the Hors Série company. Yellel, like the name of the native village of the choreographer's father, Hamid Ben Mahdi. "It's a show full of fishing that will speak to everyone, with beautiful messages about where we come from, about diversity, about acceptance. Tuesday, April 26, 2022.

For toddlers to discover dance

To introduce the little ones to dance, there is Comme le vent dans les voiles. In this participative show, everyday gestures, such as getting up or going to bed, are transformed into a choreography. Way of saying that any movement can be dance. Easy ! Tuesday, May 3, 2022.

For its safe bet: Swan Lake

“So there, it’s a safe bet! Swan Lake is performed by the Éolienne company, mixing dance and circus. The illusion of love plays the tightrope walkers there. “Performed in Niort, this show received a thirty-minute standing ovation! ” assures the programmer. Friday February 25.

For the café-concert atmosphere: Sandra Nkaké and Ben (l’Oncle Soul)

Here is a musical evening that promises to be full of conviviality. Franco-Cameroonian singer Sandra Nkaké will be alongside Ben l'Oncle Soul.

Since 2020, the date of the release of his latest album, Addicted to you, the singer from Tours calls himself Ben. “We wanted to recreate this evening-concert atmosphere that we have lost since the Covid. You come out with a smile on your face, it feels good. » Saturday, November 20, 2021.

For those who love jazz

Two highlights to book: the Jazz tempo festival where the local association Le Camembert, which celebrated its 20th anniversary, invites other local artists to the stage of the municipal theater (26, 27 and 28 November 2021). There will also be the concert that will close the season: Electro Deluxe, a group with soul, funk and hip-hop sounds with the Nantes jazz trio Urban stories in the first part. Friday May 20.

For the feminist cause: Girls with yellow hands

This show recounts the evolution of the place of women when their husbands went to war in 1914. "In this play, they replace the men in a shell powder factory, the powder that makes their hands yellow and who poisons them. »

This is the beginning of a reflection on the status of women. “They reflect on what it is to be a woman, from the suffragette to the one who does not want to change her life at home. “Saturday 15 January.

For those who love fairy tales

A highlight will be dedicated to storytelling, at the municipal theater around the well-known storyteller of Fontenaisiens Jérôme Aubineau and his company Sweet tractor. Full program and date to come. Something to re-enchant everyday life. January 2022.

The full program can be found at https://www.fontenay-le-comte.fr/espace-cassin.