"Noboby is better than you in what you do"
Guilhem Chatir is an amazing artist, who has been working with Wim Vandekeybus-Ultima Vez, Akram Khan, Yoanne Bourgeois, Anton Lachky.
-Can you give some advice to young dancers?
“Never compare yourself to the others but be attentive to what makes them different. Spending time observing movement in general, and experience it in your own way with your capacities.
Nobody is better than you in what you do, it’s just a question of practice, and trusting yourself.”
-You worked with really various and different choreographers (Wim Vandekeybus-Ultima Vez, Akram Khan, Yoanne Bourgeois, Anton Lachky...). How were you able to adapt your body every time to such different works?
“It’s a balance between trying to understand what the choreographer is looking for and keeping my own freedom inside. What I mean is that adaptation should not mean that you forget your own way of moving. I believe that is what successfully catches the interest.
In a way I never liked to frame myself as a dancer into the companies I’ve worked with, because I always have been curious to discover new ways of moving or thinking.”
-What do you think is important today in order to be a “good dancer”?
“There is always the question of technique in dance and I think we should start to reconsider what it means.
Having experience in ballet is important but being able to improvise with a child mind, working qualities in floor work and developing our sensitivity towards our feelings when we move are for me as important.
The entire conscience of every single part of the body when we move it is for me primordial to be a good dancer in my opinion.”
You have an amazing career so far. What is the key of all your successes?
“I always took what I needed from institutions as Conservatory of Paris or Parts, and when I felt it was enough I just continued building my own path. I think it is really important to always have open eyes, and never stay locked in a situation where you don’t grow anymore. I always continued to challenge myself by not staying too long in a comfortable zone.”
Thank you so much Guilhem. It was such an honor for us!
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