A project of transgenerational hope

The youthfulness of a tenth-grade class and the vitality of our senior residents

Parc Chabrières High School and Korian Nursing Home - Oullins - 69600

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A family, historical, social, philosophical, artistic, and choreographic project

To our youth, to our wisdom

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Collect, sort, organize: inspired by the three terms coined by Andy Goldsworthy—a land artist with whom I created two pieces, Végétal, which was performed at the Maison de la Danse in 1996, and la Danse du temps 1999, featuring, among others, our two living treasures Françoise and Dominique Dupuy. Listening to our elders, dancing with them, following in their footsteps has always been a necessary joy.

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COLLECT

Like science fiction

Time travel between 1943 and 2107

Ask Hubert to recall his teenage dreams. He was born in 1928, and in 1943 he was 15 years old, the same age as our high school students. Adolescence. 1943, he was in the midst of World War II. What could his hopes and dreams have been as a teenager? Collect his words as well as those of the residents of Claude Bernard.

Do the same with the young high school students in Chabrières, but this time ask them to share their hopes as older people. These young people—who are around 15 years old today—experienced the first global Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, at the formative age of 10. Asking them to imagine themselves in 2107, at the beginning of the 22nd century, is a dizzying and exciting exercise.

The journey through time that this two-way collection offers us is truly extraordinary. Between the elders who remember and the young people who look ahead, the scope of this dual movement—backward and forward—is remarkable.

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SORT

Be inspired by artist William Kentridge

The aim is to sort through the words collected from the elderly and high school students, helping them to choose, simplify, and clarify. Reduce them to short, highly auditory phrases that are ready to be whispered, chanted, repeated, clapped... in order to obtain a kind of joyful, musical leitmotif that the elderly, with the help of the young, will learn by heart.

Alongside this word-gathering exercise, Claire-Marie Durand-Bärtschi and her students, inspired by South African artist William Kentridge (More sweetly play the dance), will create banners inspired by the testimonies and images of their elders. The idea is to organize a visual, sung, rhythmic, and gestural procession with the 18 residents of Claude Bernard and the 21 tenth-grade students from Chabrières.

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ORGANIZE

Emotions, the strength of fragility

It is a great pleasure to imagine the outcome of this powerful collaboration between young and old.

The elders will have the opportunity to share their memories of youth—despite the difficult context of World War II—and to engage in intergenerational relationships. The same emotion will be felt by young people, who often no longer have the opportunity to build something beautiful and amazing with their grandparents due to a lack of time and opportunity.

We will witness heartwarming encounters and mutual recognition when roles are reversed and those who have cared for us become, in turn, the center of our attention. Wheelchairs will be moved with tenderness, the elderly will carry banners like young revolutionaries, eyes will shine, and all faces will be radiant. Michou and I will be happy and moved to share and dance our hopes for Hubert, our father, in your company...

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THE CONTEXT

Last April, I took part in the "An Artist at School" project, which invites artists to return to their former middle or high school.

It was with great emotion that I returned to Lycée du Parc Chabrières, where I graduated in 1971. I was welcomed by Claire-Marie Durand-Bärtschi, associate professor of visual arts and head of cultural projects. It so happens that my father, Hubert Prélonge, has been living at the Claude Bernard retirement home, whose windows overlook Chabrières. During my visit, I performed a little dance to greet my old dad, who was on the terrace waving to us in time with the music. It was a doubly emotional moment.

We are two sisters—not born under the sign of Gemini (only Michou, aka Michèle Prélonge)—both dancers, and since our mother passed away in 2022, we have been working hard to support our father Hubert as best we can. Michou lives in Lyon and I live in Toulon.

Michèle Prélonge, my little sister, is a magnificent dancer—yes, it's true! She is currently performing in Philippe Decouflé's latest piece, Entre-Temps, which is on a national tour.

Everything is explained so well on a page dedicated to this adventure on my website. The short film made by the team at "Un artiste à école" (An Artist at School) is also very informative. If you click on the link, it will be easier and more effective.

As long as our father is alive—he celebrated his 97th birthday last September—we would like to

Michèle and I came up with something for him, his friends at the retirement home, and the young students at Chabrières, which was my high school and my sister's too.

During the first half of 2026, workshops with Claire-Marie high school students and Claude Bernard residents will be organized.

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