Lâche

The final piece of a triptych dedicated to the complexities of romantic entanglements, Lâche explores the theme of separation through the lens of resistance. Mélanie Perrier employs the dual meaning of "lâcheté" (cowardice), juxtaposing the indolence of a fading sentimental bond with the weakness of the mind that refuses to accept it. On an empty stage, a nearly naked female duo, intertwined, gradually deconstructs their Janus-like form, transitioning from an erotic fusion into an indistinct mass to the autonomy of two exhausted bodies. With choreography designed horizontally, and a composition working on the elongation of time and the imperceptible, Mélanie Perrier minimizes a sentimental attachment that resists the idea of its end.

The pulsating techno music, performed live by Yes Sœur!, contrasts with the languor of the gestures, which through caresses, interlockings, kisses, rotations, and tensions, maintain the overall balance of postures. The dependence on the emotional bond is embodied by reciprocal supports that literally tie the two together, just as the mineral hue of their skin, accentuated by the lighting design, merges them into a single block as carnal as it is muscular. The lighting, the sole scenographic element, also creates a play of contrasts between shadows and visibility, between the indistinctness of the performers and their separation, making the evident hesitation to break the bond even more palpable.

In a second phase, marked by a more anxious suspension, the tendencies towards dissociation introduce disruptive elements: asymmetries, nervous exchanges, struggles, and upheavals. It is no longer about abandoning oneself cowardly to the other, but about letting go of each other, breaking the bonds at the cost of one's own stability. Playing on the oppositions between tension and release, the choreography shapes the paradox of physical and mental plasticity, highlighting how couples adapt to each other, invent themselves, while simultaneously becoming sclerotic, succumbing to the rigidity of habit. Between the aesthetics of fluidity and petrification, the piece probes that moment of latency where two lives desynchronize, torn between the desire to flee and the resistance to change.

With its stripped-down dramaturgy, sustained throughout, Mélanie Perrier creates a dense piece that, through the interplay of movement, music, and light, sensitizes the audience to the psychological and physical rhythm variations that make and break a love story. A simple and accurate reflection on a confusing situation, Lâche ultimately stages two committed performers who skillfully negotiate, between closeness and distance, the form of a troubled intimacy.

Florian Gaité