Interview with Raïssa Kim, Deputy Director of the CCN – Ballet de Lorraine

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: With Static Shot 54, you take ballet beyond its traditional walls to reach audiences sometimes far removed from the world of dance. What led you to imagine such a horizontal and participatory format?

Raïssa Kim : “This project follows on from earlier experiences conducted with Maud Le Pladec when we were co-directing the National Choreographic Centre of Orléans. At that time, we envisioned participatory projects with amateurs as a way to create a strong bond with local communities.

In many choreographic centres, there are classes or occasional workshops. Here, the challenge is different: it is a genuine creative process shared with amateurs. The aim is to let them experience what professional dancers go through—rehearsals, memorisation, spatial structuring—in order to reveal what happens behind the scenes of a performance.

In Nancy, as previously in Orléans, this approach also helps build connections with residents, whether we already know them or not. The idea is to form an ephemeral community around an intense artistic experience. Amateurs are not used to engaging in a creative process; this fosters solidarity, exchange, and encounters between people of different ages, backgrounds, and life paths. A shared space is built around the project.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: This project involves two former dancers from the CCN for transmission. Why this choice, and what does this form of handover make possible?

Raïssa Kim : “In dance, transmission is always more precise when ensured by performers who have danced the work themselves. They carry within their bodies the intentions, the details, and the memory of the movement. Even though choreographic notation systems exist, nothing replaces lived experience.

For scheduling reasons, the company’s permanent dancers could not ensure this transmission. We therefore turned to Esther Bax and Léo Gras, who took part in the creation of the piece in 2019–2020. Their in-depth knowledge of the work allows them to adapt it technically for amateurs, respecting its spirit while taking into account the participants’ physical abilities.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: The project reaches very diverse audiences. How do you approach the question of legitimacy in dance?

Raïssa Kim : “The central issue is accessibility. Our institutions must be open and inhabited by diverse audiences. We especially want to encourage young people to step through the doors of the ballet and move beyond certain preconceptions linked to the image of classical ballet.

Legitimacy is not framed in terms of performance. We do not ask amateurs to dance like professionals. The focus is on the lived experience: taking part in a demanding choreographic re-creation within a supportive environment.

Auditions made it possible to assess participants’ physical and memorisation capacities so that no one would be put in difficulty. The essential criterion remains desire. We seek to bring together motivated individuals capable of committing to an intensive process, while ensuring their well-being.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: Can choreographic gesture be seen as a tool for healing or empowerment?

Raïssa Kim : “Each participant experiences it differently. Some may find in it a space for empowerment, healing, or simply a pause from daily constraints. The project may also respond to a need for social connection.

Art opens perspectives, nourishes the imagination, and sparks discoveries—whether in relation to the inspirations behind the piece or the collective work itself. This openness naturally contributes to a sense of empowerment.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: How does this creation fit within the continuity of Maud Le Pladec’s artistic research?

Raïssa Kim : “Maud Le Pladec’s recent works often explore memory, transmission, and the highlighting of invisible figures—particularly through projects that foreground women composers or female voices.

The original piece Static Shot belongs to a more abstract approach: creating a moving and collective image. It pays tribute to various forms of dance and questions the power of the group. The dramaturgy progresses from individual presentation toward a collective dynamic in which the group becomes both form and material. This dimension remains at the heart of the amateur version.”

Francis Kurkdjian Endowment Fund: What would you like participants to retain after the experience?

Raïssa Kim : “Ideally, they would immediately want to do it again. That desire would mean that the bet on pleasure, trust, and collectivity has been won.

The project is above all a human adventure. People who did not know each other build a work together. This experience fosters listening, cooperation, and the discovery of others—a metaphor for living together.

On stage as well as off, the work is based on mutual attention: watching one another, adjusting, sharing space. This dynamic reflects a kind of miniature society where diversity and respect make it possible to create something in common.”