ARTIST STATEMENT
"It's not reason that gives us moral direction, but sensitivity."
Maurice Barrès
The Cie MF | Maxime & Francesco, a company based in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, initiated by the choreographers and performers Francesco Colaleo and Maxime Freixas, is invested by the desire and the need to translate into movement statements that everyone can identify with. They attach importance to the development of their own body language. They develop a singular and hybrid "style", at the crossroads of many disciplines (contact/partnering dance, theatre, floor work, improvisation). A language without barriers, accessible to all, capable of raising awareness and awakening the sensitivity of each individual. The company is inspired by those everyday acts that contain a touch of poetry. Curious about everything, she is influenced by the aesthetics of pictorial and cinematographic works, which she tries to transcribe in her dance. She also relies on literature, which nourishes, deepens and develops her research. The reading of different authors/poets, such as Steve Paxton, Milan Kundera, Guillaume Apollinaire, Homer or Levi-Strauss, is a very important step in the work of Maxime and Francesco.
Francesco and Maxime work on a humorous, physical and committed body research, as well as on the rhythm and on the dynamic space which allows to face the themes with simplicity, lightness and freshness. It is a thorough research on the reactions of the audience and on the accuracy of the interpretation. Choosing simplicity as a method does not mean trivialising or dealing with the subject matter in a superficial way, but rather seeking a community language that can speak to many people. The aim is to allow the audience to enter the world of live performance and to have a personal sensory experience of the social issues the company deals with. It is also important to them to bring the audience closer to seeing and understanding a contemporary dance performance in an accessible and immediate way. They want to give the audience a way to read the work and let them travel freely. They are interested in deepening the use and manipulation of objects, thanks to the inspiring encounter with the contemporary juggler Jérôme Thomas and the circus director Mario Gumina.