Alliance Française of Madras hosts a night of music, dance, and theatre

Crowds akin to a ‘first day first present’ screening of a Rajinikanth flick discovered themselves enmeshed on the Alliance Française of Madras on the third version of La Nuit Blanche (The White Night time) on October 11. At 3am the next day, a minimum of 3,000 folks left the venue after having watched a slate of performances involving track, dance, theatre, and splendour.

La Nuit Blanche 
| Picture Credit score:
SHANTANU KRISHNAN

La Nuit Blanche means sleepless evening in French. The competition started in Paris round 2002, and is now an annual international phenomenon. Patricia Théry Hart, director, Alliance Française of Madras, stated that after they started this occasion three years in the past in Chennai, the purpose was to get extra folks to go to the Alliance campus. This is the reason they put collectively a well-curated record of performances — a fusion of French finesse and Tamil panache. This can be a follow they continued following for the following two years, resulting in a surge within the variety of folks visiting the competition annually. This yr, the theme was primarily based on the play Moulin Rouge!

This time, the outside venue noticed performances by bands like Workplace Ganaa and Uru Pannar. The principle stage noticed theatre performs that gained accolades on the Quick + Candy competition by Prakriti Basis. Consistent with the theme, up to date dancer Preethi Athreya debuted her efficiency Rubber Lady in Chennai. Wild Wild Girls, a bunch of fierce rappers, have been additionally a part of the combo. The often silent library noticed folks singing to their coronary heart’s content material through the karaoke efficiency and an immersive dice that usually splashed the photographs to techno and dubstep music by Omnivoid and Cursorama stole the present. Dressmaker Ashwin Thiyagarajan’s ensembles grew fairly the crowds too as a makeshift ramp was organized on the entrance of Alliance late within the night. Regardless of the evening ending at 3am, hundreds stayed again, watching the Bommalattam efficiency.

La Nuit Blanche 
| Picture Credit score:
SHANTANU KRISHNAN

For the reason that efficiency that started from midday to daybreak elicited a sizeable viewers, this begs the query ‘Does Chennai want extra cool occasions?’. Srikanth, organiser, Chennai Scene, who was at Alliance confirms this. “The explanation why the occasion was so successful is as a result of there was one thing for folks of all ages. Everybody was there only for the love of artwork. I noticed an older gentleman stroll out at 3am. It’s one thing I haven’t seen earlier than. I’ve seen and been a part of organising many occasions within the metropolis and I wouldn’t have to spell it out, however we want extra,” he says.

Patricia, the director, says that subsequent yr, a brand new director will take over, but when she needed to think about the setting, it will be a decor out of a French comedian guide or the landscapes of Provence with fields of lavender. One thing to sit up for.