In the French Alps, where the peaks meet the sky and the air is alive with daring feats, a young Rachid Ouramdane watched climbers scale cliffs and highliners traverse thin ropes suspended in midair. Nature wasn’t just a backdrop. It was a force that shaped lives and inspired dreams. Decades later, these early experiences would form the foundation for Corps Extrêmes, a breathtaking work that explores the human desire for weightlessness and the delicate interplay between physicality and the natural world.
“I grew up in the mountains, in the French Alps,” Ouramdane reflects. “I was surrounded by people involved in outdoor practices—climbing, walking on ropes, jumping from cliffs. And for many of them, it’s not just about adrenaline. They have a philosophy of life. When they take risks, it’s with a very rational approach.”
Now the Director of the Chaillot–Théâtre national de la Danse in Paris, France’s only national theatre dedicated to dance, Ouramdane has brought his vision to the stage with Corps Extrêmes. Supported by Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels, the work continues to evolve as it finds new resonance in each location, including its Hong Kong premiere as part of the French May Arts Festival 2025.
The production unites ten extraordinary performers, including Italian highliner Luca Chiarva, who has collaborated with Cirque du Soleil, and American climber Ann Raber Cocheril, who made history by conquering a v13 difficulty climb in the Hueco grade at the age of 37. Together with eight other acrobats and aerial artists, they create a performance that is as much a meditation on courage and connection as it is a display of physical virtuosity.
Rachid Ouramdane, Compagnie de Chaillot: Corps extrêmes
Image: Pascale Cholette
For Ouramdane, choreography is not limited to steps or sequences; it is a way of seeing the world. “I believe choreography is movement in space in a very broad sense,” he explains. “You can find choreography in nature. You can find choreography in a kindergarten when kids play together. Sometimes, it’s just a way to invite the audience to watch differently.”
In Corps Extrêmes, this philosophy is brought to life through a seamless fusion of dance, acrobatics, and extreme sports. The performers, suspended in midair or scaling vertical surfaces, embody the human desire to transcend limits. Their movements are both poetic and visceral, capturing the tension between fragility and strength.
“What’s important for me is to share with the audience not just what is visible—the crazy things they can do—but also what is not visible: their motivations, their philosophies of life,” says Ouramdane. “You realise their work is rooted in deeply personal motivations, their vulnerabilities, and things they’ve had to fix in their lives.”
The natural world is not simply a setting for Corps Extrêmes. Whether performed outdoors or within the confines of a theatre, the production seeks to reawaken the audience’s connection to nature. “When performing outdoors, the main character is the landscape,” explains Ouramdane. “But when we’re inside a venue, the challenge is the opposite: how to bring the natural world into the black box of the theatre.”
To bridge this divide, the production incorporates projections, spoken testimonies, and a striking white cliff that serves as both a physical space for movement and a canvas for imagery. The performers’ movements are juxtaposed against breathtaking visuals of mountains and open skies, creating a dialogue between the human body and the vastness of the natural world.
This connection to nature is not merely aesthetic—it is philosophical. “When you climb, for example, you might say, ‘At 10 o’clock, it’s possible to go, but at 12, the rocks will be burning, or the dust will be different.’ They have a way of reading nature,” says Ouramdane. “For us, when you don’t practise, you watch them and think, ‘Wow, they are crazy. They are in emptiness.’ But actually, they say, ‘No, I’m using the wind.’ For them, it’s not emptiness—it’s full of wind.”
Rachid Ouramdane, Compagnie de Chaillot: Corps extrêmes
Image: Pascale Cholette
At the heart of Corps Extrêmes lies a profound exploration of fragility—not as a weakness, but as a source of strength. For Ouramdane, this idea is central to the human experience. “By considering how fragile we are, maybe we go further,” he reflects. “You have to allow yourself to confront this fragility. Everything that we try to hide in order to be more productive in society—this fragility can actually be a strength.”
The performers’ stories illuminate this truth. The original highliner who performed when the production was just created overcame childhood vertigo to achieve feats that most would consider impossible. His journey, like those of his fellow performers, is a testament to resilience, determination, and the human capacity to push beyond perceived limits.“It’s about how we are all different, but we all have this in common,” says Ouramdane. “To reach this level, there are some universal experiences that you have to cross. And that’s what makes it so powerful.”
Rachid Ouramdane, Compagnie de Chaillot: Corps extrêmes
Image: Pascale Cholette
Since its debut at Le Grand R in La Roche-sur-Yon, France, in 2022, Corps Extrêmes has captivated audiences and critics alike. However, for Ouramdane, the acclaim is secondary to the message of the work. “I often say that I don’t know what choreography is. I don’t know what dance is, even though I am in charge of a very important dance institution,” he admits. “I just wanted to create a project based on this quest for freedom, pushing further and exploring beyond perceived limits. I think that’s what makes the piece so emotional. It helps you realise that what we believe to be limits today might not actually be limits at all. These performers teach us to see differently, to go beyond, and to challenge our assumptions. They truly convey the idea that we are perhaps broader, more expansive, than we think. There may still be dimensions of ourselves left to explore, and the way they move through the air becomes kind of a nice metaphor for that”.
Editor
Kaitlyn LaiCredit
Lead Image: Pascale Cholette
