Like a Living Hologram

Pierre Rigal has performed [his solo érection] in 16 different countries and has found that “It’s always very interesting to discover how [the audience] feels about the piece. It always gives me a lot of information about the local culture, but also a lot of insight into my own work.” In Costa Rica, the ending of the work, in which he seems to become a living hologram, made such a deep connection with the concepts of magical spirits and pre-Colombian beliefs that Rigal could hear the audience’s reaction in a way that was “very positive, an encouragement.” In Argentina, they associated the restricted space demarcated by érection’s ambitious video-generated lighting with a jail, and considered the solo “the story of a person who has to struggle to find his freedom.”

Rigal spoke with me from Holyoke, Mass. where his inaugural American engagement began, and traced his transition from competitive athletics—he was France’s junior bronze medallist in the 400 meters and 400-meter hurdles at age 20—to dance. Chronic injuries were limiting his progress by the time he finished college, and one day, at 23, he wandered into an African dance class “like an instinct,” he recalls. Hooked, he took more classes, venturing into break dancing and contemporary dance, and soon was performing with the company of Swiss choreographer Gilles Jobin. Performing and touring with him, Rigal further expanded his horizons, while also earning a degree in cinema from the Audio Visual School of Toulouse and working as a video clip and documentary director.

Moved to make a work of his own, he focused on the transition from horizontal to vertical movement. “At first, I thought it was only a theoretical study. But as I worked n the studio, I realized it was a very rich subject, and decided to develop it.” At the start of érection, the prone Rigal, clad in white pants and jacket, resembles a limbless creature, limited to movement impulses that emerge from his core. Very gradually, he discovers, and explores in vivid detail, the increasing possibilities of making his way from the floor towards verticality.

Aurélien Bory, whom he terms the “co-author” of the work, provided direction and fluid, ever-evolving video projections that shape and transform the performance space and are the primary source of lighting for the work. “Because I had worked in video, I was quite familiar with the techniques, so it was something quite natural for me.” All the lighting and sound are created live at each performance. “The structure is the same, but the timing is always different, which gives more spontaneity.”

When Rigal performed in Santa Domingo last year, Mikhail Baryshnikov chance to see his work, and his enthusiasm facilitated this week’s engagement at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, which is presented in conjunction with Crossing the Line: FIAF Fall Festival, a series of French performance events. New Yorkers will now have a chance to see what has fascinated audiences in 15 other countries.

Through Oct. 27, Baryshnikov Arts Center, 450 W. 37 St. (betw. 9th & 10th Aves.), 212-279-4200; Thurs.-Fri. 7:30; Sat. 7:30 & 9:30, $20.