Greywood Arts is delighted to announce the award of the Unexpected Spaces Public Art Residency to French choreographers Blanche Godivier and Clarisse Mialet!

Together, they will create an interactive outdoor performance about the Future! Engaging with children and adults in the community, they will explore how residents of Killeagh think our world might change in the future- the earth, animals, and the daily life of mankind: How could we evolve? Will animals look the same? Would you move to outer space? The resulting conversations will be translated through movement and improvisation into multiple bold and surprising scenarios.

The selection panel was enchanted by the wildly imaginative proposal and impressed by Blanche and Clarisse’s vivacious energy. We also appreciate how this playful format can be used as a springboard for discussing more serious and pressing questions around conservation and sustainability. The artists believe a sustainable approach to creating is a necessity, and will be utilising recycled materials to build costume and scenic elements.

We are hopeful the residency can go ahead as planned, with performances taking place on Culture Night in September – but of course this depends on the lessening of travel restrictions. We promise to keep everyone posted when we confirm the dates – and meanwhile we look forward to the fresh perspective Blanche & Clarisse will bring to Killeagh!

Thank you!

We truly appreciate the work that goes into designing a submission, and it was a privilege to review this years applications. This year we saw an incredible range of ideas, imagination, and inventive ways of engaging the public from applicants across 24 countries. With over seventy-five submissions and only one residency award, the selection process was very competitive.

Below is a list of artists who made the short list for this year- Well done!

Jarek Lustych
Thomas Buckley
Carel Lanters
Mary Cooke
Janet Botes
Daniel Tollady
Freya Gabie
Nada Almergawi
Susan Herrera
Vitaliy Agapeyev
Instant Dissidence
Mabel Vicentef
Marta Romani and Karl Logge
Bas Peeters

BIOS OF BLANCHE GODIVIER AND CLARISSE MIALET

Blanche Godivier

Blanche Godivier started her education in France at the Regional Conservatory of Angers, where she studies ballet. She continues studying in this field at National Superior Conservatory of Lyon and then within a contemporary and ballet dance bachelor at the National Superior School of Marseille, where she discovers her attraction for creation in dance. After that she joined the dance company Introdans, in The Netherlands, where she had the occasion to perform in the pieces of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Jiri Kylian, Lucinda Childs, Karole Armitage and Nils Christie. Once back in France she followed a Drama Arts curriculum and started a bachelor in Nordic Studies at Sorbonne Université Paris. She launches at that time her early works and projects as a choreographer. She creates then several pieces, mostly collaborating with other artists from different fields.

“I met Clarisse Mialet a few years ago, randomly at an open dance class. Some time after, she left for Italy, and only a few years later we met again, both of us were back in Paris. Talking about the experiences we had, we naturally thought about working together. Pretty quickly came up the idea of the future, and the desire to question this notion we are all part of.”

Clarisse Mialet

Clarisse Mialet, born in France, just turned 25 and has been dancing for the past twenty years. She started her education in Paris Regional Conservatory and at Atelier-Rudra Béjart school in Switzerland. She then moved to Italy to study contemporary dance at Art Factory International. There she met her future partners and together they founded the dance collective Kittyking. The artistic approach they develop mixes introspection with singular atmospheres. The team is based in Zurich, and has been touring since 2018 in festivals in Berlin with the Swiss collective Extraleben.

“Back in 2016 I met Blanche Godivier in an open dance class. We lost contact for some years. When we met again in 2019, I realized that somehow our path were quite aiming for the same direction, that we shared a history because how similar our choices were. It was a good time for us to start thinking and searching together. And what was the first thing that came out? Future. Because of where we were in our lives, because of our generation, because of the global crisis. It had to be the future.”