To the glory of islands! And to their survival…
Îles, music inspired by islands around the world
The show:
There are innumerable islands. Some are inhabited; others are home only to animals and plants. Some are lost, arid rocks, others endless beaches, and still others luxuriant jungles. A handful of rocks thrown down from the sky, like dice … a handful of rocks that crystallized from molten lava … black earth, turquoise- blue-green water…
Some islands are mysterious paradises, others hellish deserts of fire or rock or ice. There are island havens, dreams come true, ports of call, prisons… Islands erupt from the bowels of the earth, move, then sink back down into the ocean …
Some have enjoyed, and still enjoy, splendid isolation, and in this seclusion, sheltered from all outside influence, numerous cultures have, briefly, flowered. Their unique artistic expressions — language and music; songs and dances; drawing, painting, and sculpture — have been our primary sources of inspiration.
Islands are both like deserts, and the opposite of deserts. You’re on solid ground, isolated, but surrounded by an immense blue ocean. Gazing out, you begin a voyage to infinity. Crossing an ocean is like crossing a desert. You need fixed reference points: an oasis in the desert, an island in the ocean. The sensation of space is intoxicating… empty horizons in every direction and the great hemisphere of sky above…
I thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the sailors, skippers, pirates, and mermaids who have sailed with me!
Claire Gignac,
Artistic Director
Claire Gignac et compagnie 