Lacompagnie
Lionel Hoche
presentation
Aged 44, Lionel Hoche is undoubtedly one of France's most promising and talented young choreographers. Since 1989, he has gleaned a wealth of experience both with his company and further afield, as guest choreographer for many of Europe's major international companies. This activity is not only due to his insatiable appetite for his work and passion for dance but also to his rich and atypical professional career. His debuts in classical dance at the Paris Opera Ballet School, his six years as an interpreter with Jiri Kylian's company in the Netherlands followed by Daniel Larrieu's French-based contemporary dance group... versatility combined with his acclaimed savoir-faire have made Lionel Hoche an extremely attractive trump card to play.
All these factors have lead him to collaborate on over fifty projects for some thirty companies (including his own) in Europe and the Far East, and he is today one of France's most sought-after choreographers. In 2000, he was a guest-choreographer for the Paris Opera Ballet - back too his 'roots' some may say!
A few like to classify Hoche's dance, attributing a neo-classical label to his work, and his experience as a choreographer for many 'neo-classical' companies is probably to blame. However most (including Hoche himself!) are unanimous in their analysis: Lionel Hoche has used his wealth of experience, without denying his past, to create a choreographic vocabulary that is unique, personal and in constant evolution, therefore contemporary. His dance is often qualified as sensual, intimate, tender, and plays on a kinetic and a deconstructed or even dis-'jointed' vision of a sometimes too-vigorous perception of the body. His work demands an extremely high-level of technique from his interpreters, yet is always attentive and respectful of a human body all too often forced into shape.
A rigorous artist with an eye for form and volume (he sometimes designs the sets for his pieces), Lionel Hoche pays particular attention to the aesthetic environment of his pieces, his choices of performers, light and costume designers alike often referred to as astute and even outstanding.
In 1992, Hoche decided to found his own company, MéMé BaNjO (in reference to his grandmother, a Parisian lady of character and influence in the Hoche family, and particularly so for Lionel).
In 1998, the company gained a permanent base in Saint-Etienne in France as resident company at the Esplanade Opera House and is made up of a small team: Lionel Hoche, a company manager, a technical director and the dancers and artistic collaborators.
In 1998, the company has grown in size and in reputation, and the four years it spent there, have seen the flourishing of its activities. This privileged position (the company benefited from the use of a new dance studio, office space and costume and decor workshops in the Opera House) permited Hoche and his company to create in more comfortable conditions.
The company's mission in Saint-Etienne was defined with its partners - the French Ministry of Culture, the City of Saint-Etienne and the County Council who all subsidize a part of its activities. The primary mission of the residency was to create new audiences for contemporary dance through choreographic creation, and the company worked regularly with dance students, schools and higher education during such periods. On top of its work in Saint-Etienne, La Compagnie Lionel Hoche tours Hoche's work both in France and abroad, thereby acting as cultural ambassadors for the Opera House, Saint-Etienne, and for France when abroad.
In 2004, and again for four years, the company had a new mission in a brand new residency in La Maison de la musique in Nanterre just outside Paris. Six new works where created during the residency, a lot of workshops where held with the city conservatory, different dance schools and many others. It was a very active and constructive time for the company that lead to the creation of PAN! In novembre 2008. The main partners that subsidied its activities in this new region are; the French Ministry of Culture, the City of Nanterre, the County Council.
The company can be reached throught Adam Vidovic, company manager who speaks fluent English, French and Italian for any information you may require:
Association MéMé BaNjO
Compagnie Lionel Hoche
5, rue de Douai
75009 Paris
France
Tel : +33 1 42 39 50 20
Mobile : +33 6 84 60 53 43
Fax: +33 1 42 39 50 20
e-mail - compagnie@lionelhoche.com
All these factors have lead him to collaborate on over fifty projects for some thirty companies (including his own) in Europe and the Far East, and he is today one of France's most sought-after choreographers. In 2000, he was a guest-choreographer for the Paris Opera Ballet - back too his 'roots' some may say!
A few like to classify Hoche's dance, attributing a neo-classical label to his work, and his experience as a choreographer for many 'neo-classical' companies is probably to blame. However most (including Hoche himself!) are unanimous in their analysis: Lionel Hoche has used his wealth of experience, without denying his past, to create a choreographic vocabulary that is unique, personal and in constant evolution, therefore contemporary. His dance is often qualified as sensual, intimate, tender, and plays on a kinetic and a deconstructed or even dis-'jointed' vision of a sometimes too-vigorous perception of the body. His work demands an extremely high-level of technique from his interpreters, yet is always attentive and respectful of a human body all too often forced into shape.
A rigorous artist with an eye for form and volume (he sometimes designs the sets for his pieces), Lionel Hoche pays particular attention to the aesthetic environment of his pieces, his choices of performers, light and costume designers alike often referred to as astute and even outstanding.
In 1992, Hoche decided to found his own company, MéMé BaNjO (in reference to his grandmother, a Parisian lady of character and influence in the Hoche family, and particularly so for Lionel).
In 1998, the company gained a permanent base in Saint-Etienne in France as resident company at the Esplanade Opera House and is made up of a small team: Lionel Hoche, a company manager, a technical director and the dancers and artistic collaborators.
In 1998, the company has grown in size and in reputation, and the four years it spent there, have seen the flourishing of its activities. This privileged position (the company benefited from the use of a new dance studio, office space and costume and decor workshops in the Opera House) permited Hoche and his company to create in more comfortable conditions.
The company's mission in Saint-Etienne was defined with its partners - the French Ministry of Culture, the City of Saint-Etienne and the County Council who all subsidize a part of its activities. The primary mission of the residency was to create new audiences for contemporary dance through choreographic creation, and the company worked regularly with dance students, schools and higher education during such periods. On top of its work in Saint-Etienne, La Compagnie Lionel Hoche tours Hoche's work both in France and abroad, thereby acting as cultural ambassadors for the Opera House, Saint-Etienne, and for France when abroad.
In 2004, and again for four years, the company had a new mission in a brand new residency in La Maison de la musique in Nanterre just outside Paris. Six new works where created during the residency, a lot of workshops where held with the city conservatory, different dance schools and many others. It was a very active and constructive time for the company that lead to the creation of PAN! In novembre 2008. The main partners that subsidied its activities in this new region are; the French Ministry of Culture, the City of Nanterre, the County Council.
The company can be reached throught Adam Vidovic, company manager who speaks fluent English, French and Italian for any information you may require:
Association MéMé BaNjO
Compagnie Lionel Hoche
5, rue de Douai
75009 Paris
France
Tel : +33 1 42 39 50 20
Mobile : +33 6 84 60 53 43
Fax: +33 1 42 39 50 20
e-mail - compagnie@lionelhoche.com