Why mess with a winning formula? Back in 2001, La Bâtie gave eight performers the freedom to choose a choreographer to create a solo for them: a radical role reversal that put the performer at the heart of creation. The experiment, revived in 2018, once again stood out for its daring spirit and freshness. Now, for this 49^th edition, as Claude Ratzé signs off on his final season as artistic director, the festival brings the format back with SIX/SIX. Six emerging performers – two from dance, four from theatre – select their creative partners (choreographers, directors, artists) to craft a solo. These creative blind dates breathe new life into stage writing and return the spotlight to the performer as the driving force of creation, celebrating transmission, trust and the vibrant energy of a new generation.

1/6 – Thibault Lac & Collin Cabanis (dance)
Fanfaron
From the edge of a jetty, Collin Cabanis invites us to gaze out over a turbulent horizon, one shaped by the vision of Thibault Lac. Through the scattered remnants of a tender memory, the melancholies of a timeless performer begin to emerge, caught between the ghosts of yesterday and the uncertain promise of tomorrow. A figure unfolds, through solemn and absurd turns, striving to find their place in the world against the backdrop of a conflict that is both diffuse and ever-present, internal and universal.

2/6 – Delphine Hecquet & Clémentine Le Bas (theatre)
Tout entière
Even today, photographer Vivian Maier remains a mystery. Her vast, silent body of work captures fleeting moments on the streets of New York and Chicago, documenting an era of profound political and social change. Yet her images also reveal the quiet stance of a woman who observed humanity with a secret precision. Clémentine Le Bas seeks to merge with Maier’s gaze, to see the world through her eyes. Delphine Hecquet accompanies her on this intimate journey, lending her a voice – to inhabit her, if only for a moment, entirely. But what does an image reveal, if not its own truth?