The Breath Assembly (Working Title)

Presentation

“The Breath Assembly” is a large‑scale participatory dance project where breath becomes the central choreographic engine. Inspired by Rafaële Giovanola’s exploration of the yet unthought body and CocoonDance’s research on breath, voice and vibration, the work develops a shared physical‑vocal field that gradually opens to audience resonance. Léonce Noah contributes a choreographic language rooted in Côte d’Ivoire’s social and political realities, shaped by ritual memory, urban rhythms and youth expression. His practice is marked by embodied social tension, porosity between traditional, urban and contemporary forms, and a strong reliance on collective intelligence, where voice appears as a political stance and movement emerges from lived experience. Breath is treated as a physical, emotional and relational force that shapes rhythm, presence and collective experience. The project investigates tensions within breathing—release and restraint, synchrony and difference, collapse, resistance and resonance—and transforms them into choreographic structure. Artistically, it merges CocoonDance’s research on voice as a physical extension of kinesthetic energy with spatial dynamics that anchor and activate the audience. Eight performers create an immersive architecture of breath, sound and movement that gradually expands into shared space. Cycles of breathing, vocal gestures and simple actions establish a clear perceptual field into which spectators are invited—gently, without instruction—to pick up a breath, a vibration or a gesture. The relationship between performers and audience becomes the core of the artistic vision: spectators’ movements reshape the space, their voices enrich the polyphonic texture, and both groups merge into a single breathing organism. Each performance is shaped by local choirs and community groups, whose practices and identities become part of the work, creating a unique, transformative collective experience and a shared Third Space.

Co-producing Partners