OZ Arts presents the internationally-acclaimed acclaimed dance production Rave Lucid, a high-velocity movement mashup of Hip-hop and French Electro styles, by fast-rising Paris company Mazelfreten. The “rêve lucide” (lucid dream) invites the audience to escape to a pulsing, euphoric realm of music and dance that pays tribute to 2000s French Electro, Tecktonik and Rave culture.
Acclaimed French Electro and Hip-hop dance company Mazelfreten perform February 29 to March 2 in their critically-praised production Rave Lucid, a ‘lucid dream’ from which viewers won’t want to wake up. Inspired by the French Electro dance craze that originated at the turn of the millennium, the ten dancers in Rave Lucid take on the energy of the 2000s nightclubs, a cultivated movement that migrated to the street world.
The name Mazelfreten is drawn from the last names of the company’s co-choreographers and founders, Brandon Masele, a French-Congolese world champion Electro dancer, and Hip-Hop innovator Laura Defretin. Together they have taken the European dance world by storm with a powerful fusion of contemporary dance forms enhanced by their vivid theatrical imagination.
Combining extreme control with the energy of movement at 120 beats per minute, the dancers astound in this high-velocity tribute to rave culture. The intense physical performance is complemented by beautifully structured narratives of relationships, painting a picture of a human encounter resisting the virtual era.
“We are honored to host the globally acclaimed artists of Mazelfreten at OZ for this scintillating performance,” said Mark Murphy, OZ Arts Executive and Artistic Director. “The legacy of French Electro and Hip-hop dance culture is potently celebrated in Rave Lucid, and these supremely talented dancers evoke the pure joy of a party scene with hypnotic passion and ferocious energy.”
The physical demand of Electro dance cannot be understated, with the dancers in the French Electro ballet corps likening it to extreme sports. Arm movements that – in the words of a Mazelfreten dancer – “create visual magic” define the style, but variation in tone and intensity bring a nuance to the performance as the aesthetics of other styles are carefully blended into the rave-like mania of the dance. Transitioning from crazed and extreme to a slower pace that almost mimics tai-chi, Rave Lucid saves room to explore the characters in the performance as well as the dreamlike nature of the music.
The dancers harness the strong personalities of the characters they portray on stage, funneling adrenaline into their movements in a celebration of the self that makes the performance truly feel like what a rave is meant to be: a party. The characters surrender self-control and show the audience their true selves through dance, embodying the paramount virtue of authenticity that rave culture honors.
Rave Lucid Thursday, February 29, Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2 at 8:00 pm each evening. Tickets start at $25, on sale now at: www.ozartsnashville.org/mazelfreten-rave-lucid. Watch a preview of the performance at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vOX__JjP_c
This performance is made possible with generous support from donors and grants. To learn more about upcoming performances, please visit www.ozartsnashville.org.
