Le Patin Libre - Contemporary ice

Le Patin Libre - Contemporary ice-skating collective
In London on January 9th-12th-20th 2013
PRESS GUIDE – NOVEMBER 2012
Content :
The collective
‘The Rule of 3’ : UK premiere of the piece in January 2013
Partial press review
“Splendid ice-olation” - TimeOut London, UK, 2012
“A real performance art” - Le Figaro, France, 2012
“A little revolution” - La Presse, Canada, 2008
[email protected] - www.lepatinlibre.com - 0784 310 3508
Artists available for meetings in London from January 2nd 2012
Le Patin Libre is a French-Canadian contemporary ice-skating collective.
This emerging form of dance uses ice, skates and glide as medias.
The troop was founded on the frozen ponds of Montreal in 2005. It was created
by irreverent yet international level traditional figure skaters inspired by the
dynamism of Montreal’s contemporary dance and circus scene. From the start,
their goal was to transform their athletic skills into a mean of legitimate cultural
expression. Far from the sequins of the traditional “On Ice” entertainment, the
creations of Le Patin Libre are significant works of art exploring the unsuspected
and amazing choreographic and theatrical potential of glide.
« Splendid ice-olation » - TimeOut London, UK, 2012
« Un véritable art de la scène » - Le Figaro, France, 2012
« Une petite révolution. »
- La Presse, Canada, 2012
A documentary about LPL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7jwDp7LcnI
A documentary about its 1st presence in London: http://vimeo.com/53345946
THE RULE OF 3
‘The Rule of 3’ is a heartfelt ode to the beauty of the
strange, to the grace of the wounded and the victory of the
extraordinary over the banal.
- Alexandre Hamel, co-auhor and performer
To the artists of Le Patin Libre, ‘The Rule of 3’ is the final emergence of skating as a form
of contemporary dance. The piece is the achievement of years of research and
questioning. The question was simple: “What is skating?” What’s left when you shed
the medals, the sequins and the stereotypes?
During long creation residencies on the frozen ponds of Montreal and in a secluded
provincial ice rink in France, the skating-artists un-learnt everything that 15 years of
traditional figure skating had taught them. Then, they explored the magic of pure gliding
and the vertiginous static movements it allows. The new style that emerged still uses the
virtuosity of the 3 world-class performers but clearly redefines it as a medium capable of
the most touching symbolism.
With a daring and wordless black humour, ‘The Rule of 3’ tells the strange story of 3 men
following a therapy intended to rid them of an even stranger addiction. The authors
created the piece as a cathartic satire of their past lives as lycra-clad figure skaters. The
cultural audience will understand it as a reflection on individualism and the way it is
challenged by the rat race of our sequined society.
‘The Rule of 3’ – 75 minutes – performed in local ice rink pop-up theatres.
VIDEO LINKS:
Excerpt
Trailer
Rehearsing
TimeOut London, UK, 2012
“The troop Le Patin
Libre wants to bring
back ice dancing, an art
that lost its momentum,
to its former nobility.”
Le Devoir, Canada, 2012
For short video features and TV appearance of the collective, click on those
links:
Feature produced by a London web-TV in November 2012
TV feature by 'Culturebox', France 3, December 2011
TV feature by Canada's equivalent of BBC News (CBC), April 2010
TV feature of Canada's equivalent of BBC News (CBC), February 2012
“This is not
Disney on
Ice…”
La Presse, Canada, April 2010
The Vancouver Sun,
Canada, December
2008
Ici, Canada, mars 2008
The Gazette, Canada, mai 2008
La Presse,
Canada, mars
2006
(followed by a 2
pages feature)
“I wish I would
have been an
artist”