photo credit : Jean-Luc Woodman
A MILKY WAY IS BORN – Once an icon, always an icon
“Beauty in Difference” – A performance that celebrates the uniqueness of each individual by showcasing testimonials, performances and inspiring stories from people with diverse backgrounds, encouraging self-acceptance and respect for others.
Beyond the spectacular and the entertainment value, the aim is to convey a powerful message of inclusion, acceptance and celebration of diversity, helping to promote values of tolerance and respect within society.
The Performance
A flamboyant, festive and socially engaged participatory choreographic performance that hijacks the codes of a fashion show, questioning notions of identity, transformation and cross-dressing.
A showcase for poetic and political bodies in motion.
Participants
Participants are invited to become an icon, create a character, imagine their story and embody it with all the luxury of the available adornments, costumes and accessories.
Diversity, inclusion and social mix guide the choice of the 15 amateurs taking part in this co-creation.
Workshops
Prior to the public presentation, the 15 participants are invited to take part in a week-long series of workshops exploring body and dance practices around the themes of identity and metamorphosis. They are led by two artists (Dance and Performance) from the Collectif Ornic’art.
Origins
This project emerged as part of the Laboratory of Desires, a space for artistic experimentation and social mixing, set up with other residents at Marseille’s Friche la Belle de Mai in the spirit of a territorial factory. The Belle de Mai neighborhood is the poorest (and most creative) in France, if not Europe.
“A milky way is born” extends the approach of a workshop held in June 2023, “Les plus bel(le)s de Mai”, which gave rise to the documentary film “La fabrique des icônes”, directed by Christophe Jarosz and Elise Lomport.
photo credit : Jean-Luc Woodman
“You show up, you’re Nacera. You leave, you’re an icon.”
I want to seize this opportunity offered by the Icon Factory: the chance to bring out a part of myself – usually inhibited, asleep, or unfamiliar – and to enhance it through the recognition of a group and the professional quality of a set and production. I can be an icon, be seen, be famous, be the center of attention, become my wildest desire. Anything is possible, and prospects just keep expanding. There’s a space-time that’s totally dedicated to me. And that’s the strength of the Fabrique des Icônes: the principle of “all for one”, as in the Minotaure project in Biodanza. Everyone gets their moment, and the whole group is there to support, encourage and validate those who dare to take to the stage and reveal themselves.
photo credit : @tendrerage
photo credit : @tendrerage
Testimonial
My life experience – my background in art and dance therapy and in practices such as D.O.S.E. and Biodanza – makes me see in the Fabrique des Icônes not only a work of creation and artistic performance of the highest quality, but also a space for inclusion and social action, offering profound possibilities for sharing, expansion and resilience. In short, it’s an invitation to the alchemical work of the great creation, to Jung’s individuation process, that is, to the integration of the different parts of ourselves and the full realization of our potential. Icons become universal archetypes which, in the resonance of the moment and the encounter with the elements of costume, décor and group, reveal who we are. The beauty of the icon enhances our being and our path in life, like that mysterious “innate image” spoken of by James Hillman, the imprint that emanates from us and imperceptibly guides us through the labyrinth of existence. I highly recommend that you come and discover what kind of icon you’re going to become, in this factory of dreams and possibilities…
Pierre
photo credit : Jean-Luc Woodman
photo credit : Jean-Luc Woodman
THE ICON FACTORY
Synopsis:
“Local residents and artists take part in an inclusive creative workshop. Each participant is asked to identify their inner icon, based on their own dreams. There’s a frenzy in the dressing rooms, as everyone looks for their costume and symbols. Each icon is born on the brightly lit stage, under the watchful eye of the camera, which shifts from documentary to Hollywood cinema, where the “stars” parade: “A milky way is born”. Make no mistake, beyond the artifice and encouraged by the collective, in the words and eyes of all, it is indeed their dreams and personal struggles that they reveal to us. Rich in a new power, the most beautiful of May sublimate the ordinary.
photo credit : @tendrerage