Jardin sous l'eau

Jardin sous l’eau” is a short length solo exploring the figure of the mermaid, choreographed and danced by Enora Gemin, on the eponym music from Christian Zanési.

In this interpretation, the mermaid takes on her original, mythical form, far removed from the sanitized depictions in pop culture and Disney, bur rather as a symbol of gynophobia, the fear of women. The music, crafted from various concrete sound sources, mirrors the movements that breathe life into the creature. As the music transforms into a physical space, the performer becomes part of the environment, inviting the audience to be entranced.

What interests Enora in the figure of the mermaid is the fact that she never belongs to the earthly realm. Whether it's the Greek myths that make her a celestial creature, half woman, half bird, or the Celtic myths that make her abyssal, half woman, half fish, she's excluded from the human world. For Enora, this eviction resembles the way women have historically been excluded from society (no right to vote, to work, to financial independence...). The mermaid's simple condition of existence is indicative of a system that has for decades enslaved women.

Going a step further, the mere fact that the mermaid is a figure in a story, whose proof of existence remains unclear, where her appearance is more akin to a mirage, or the imagination of sailors, deprives her of an existence of her own, and instead becomes the object of male thoughts and beliefs. Here again, women are objectified and always considered, first and foremost, by the male gaze.

Enora decides to use partial nudity, not only to remain true to the original form of the mermaid, but also as a means of reclaiming the female body as her own. As a woman, the choreographer's intention is to bring the figure back to the stage of the tale, this time danced, by a woman and not by the ancient storytelling of men.