The age of inspiration

For this performer, growing older isn't a barrier - it's fertile ground for her art

When age freckles appear, some fret, some conceal. For Myriam Herve-Gil, the answer is simple: dance. "We are 50 but we can still dance. We don't want to go to garbage. We are human, we are woman and we are still alive. And we can do a lot of things," Herve-Gil says.

The award-winning choreographer, dancer and teacher sheds light on how women think about and deal with aging in her work Fleurs de cimetire, also known as Age Freckles.

Herve-Gil brought the acclaimed show to Beijing from Sept 25 and Oct 1 as part of the Beijing Fringe Festival, an annual festival dedicated to promoting the exchange of theater culture between East and West.

The show featured six women between the ages of 52 and 68, including Herve-Gil, 56. The six met in the 1980s in the heyday of their career and now share their views on aging in this deep and radiant work.

"In France, usually we have 10 years to work as a dancer and then we are too old. It's crazy. After 35, you are dead as a dancer. What can you do? You don't really see old dancers on stage. In France, for sure, we are the only company with dancers of this age performing."

Herve-Gil, who is visiting the Chinese mainland for the first time, says she is glad the show worked for the local audience despite the language barrier. The show sold out for five nights in Beijing and went on for another night in Shanghai.

"It worked. The only difference is that Chinese people think it's a sad show, and it's not. But why not? We are speaking about the way we become old as women. Some feel sad and some don't, depending on who we are."

Much to Herve-Gil's surprise, the men in the audience truly identify with her work.

"The men are especially touched. It's something very strange. First, we don't have a lot of men in the audience. For women, it's different. Sometimes they disagree. For example, they don't like it when we say 'You don't have to have this make-up, you don't have to try to look young'."

Herve-Gil says the show was born from her experience of certain anniversaries. "I turned 50 and I decided to create something about this age. It was really the beginning of the creation."

The show expresses two different views about aging through the words of one actress and the movements of the other five dancers. The hour-long piece was first performed at the Avignon Festival in 2009, followed by a tour of France in 2011, as well as a stop at the Edinburgh Festival.

While aging means decay in the West, it comes with mounting obligations in the East.

"Here I heard that before 30 years old you must have children. And after you have children, you are a mother rather than a woman. And I just disagree. It's the opposite in France. When you are 30, 35, it is the best age. When you begin to have children around 35, you are supposed to be very beautiful, proud and sexy."

Herve-Gil believes that a woman's role should not only be diversified, it should remain as such.

"We can be woman, mother, lover, worker and we can do this for a long time. In France, the question is not there. Even if we are getting old, we can still do a lot of things. And it's better. Because usually the children are old. They have their life, and we are free. It's perfect!"

Besides her performance, Herve-Gil also led master workshops in Beijing, helping more people understand that dance is possible for everyone. For Herve-Gil, dance is not only for the purpose of art, but also for the betterment of everyone.

As a teenager she attended some of France's finest institutions, including the National Superior Conservatory for Music and Dance in Paris. She recalls that when she first decided to go to a dance school, it was not to become a dancer. It was because she wanted to help handicapped children.

"I didn't want to be a doctor or pharmacist, no, I didn't like it. I just can't do it. But maybe with movement, I can find a way to help them to move."

However, the competitive atmosphere in French dance schools didn't appeal to Herve-Gil. She later went to the US, where she trained at the Nikolais-Louis Foundation in New York, and later started her own dance company, Cie Herve-Gil, in 1985.

"The American way of thinking about the work is really just perfect. There's not the same competition as in France. In France, you go to a dance class, and they just look at you and they don't care about you. In the United States, they help you if you don't understand. When you work, it's very important not to feel competition. When you go to a dance class, it's for your body; it's not to get work."

Herve-Gil is also quite concerned with the lack of tradition and discipline in current dance education in France.

"Thirty-five years ago, we had more dance schools, teachers were really great. We learnt how to have technique, really to have technique. It's not the same education in dance now. And I don't like the way it is now. It's a little sad. Because they are not curious. For example, they just don't know about the history of contemporary dance. It's very important to know where we come from."

Herve-Gil has been a frequent guest choreographer for prestigious dance festivals, including the American Dance Festival, the Jacob's Pillow Festival, The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and Dance Base Edinburgh.

She has so far created 45 pieces. Her latest, Will There Really Be a Morning, is a co-production with Dance Forum in Taiwan that is inspired by the American poet Emily Dickinson. Herve-Gil was impressed by the Taiwanese performers with whom she worked.

"They reminded me of the US. They work a lot and don't have enough money. They must have a job. It's not like in France. In France, you are more comfortable as a professional dancer. The way they work touched me."

sunyuanqing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/12/2012 page28)