Maldonne

Leïla Ka

MALDONNE 1 - Credit - Duy-Laurent Tran
Photo by Duy-Laurent Tran

Feb. 27, 7:30pm & Feb. 28, 3pm & 7:30pm
Co-presented with Dance Reflections
by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival

Choreographer: Leïla Ka

Performers (Alternating):
Océane Crouzier
Jennifer Dubreuil Houthemann
Jane Fournier Dumet
Leïla Ka
Jade Logmo
Justine Agator

Choreographer’s Assistant: Jane Fournier Dumet
Lighting Designer:Laurent Fallot
Costume Designer: Leïla Ka
Lighting Manager: Clara Coll Bigot
Sound Designer: Rodrig Desa

Bios

Leïla Ka (Choreographer/Performer)

“Her success is mirrored by phenomenal sold-out tours: she is currently the most popular young choreographer with over a hundred dates a year” (Le Monde)

Leïla Ka has managed to impose her combative energy in just a few years. At once powerfully theatrical and fearsomely precise, her dance grabs you by the gut.

Following the international success of her first three multi-award-winning pieces, the solos and duets Pode ser / You’re the one we love / Bouffées Leïla Ka has created Maldonne, a group piece nominated for the International Dance Prize 2025 at Sadler’s Wells in London.

Entering through the doors of urban dance, the young woman did not go to school, charting a course off the beaten track of academism. After performing in Maguy Marin’s celebrated piece May B, Leïla Ka went on to create her own choreography, drawing on her urban and contemporary influences. Leïla Ka is associate artist at La Garance – Scène nationale de Cavaillon, associate artist at DSN, scène nationale de Dieppe, at la MC2, scène nationale de Grenoble.

The company is supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation since 2024.

 

Océane Crouzier (Performer) Trained from childhood in various dance styles, she joined the CNSMD of Lyon in 2016 to study contemporary dance. During her training, she worked notably with H. Robbe, T. Guerry, R. Ouramdane, C. Carlson, and S. Eyal, and performed the solo “Altro piccolo progetto domestico” by A. Senatore. After graduating in 2020, she became a performer for Louison Valette. She collaborated with Mathilde Segonds on the installation “Dans le silence des fossiles” and with Willi Dorner on “Bodies in Urban Spaces”. She also performed at the CCB in Lisbon in “Bochecha – sementes para um futuro” by Miguel Filipe and took part in the creation of “Si c’est une fille” by Marion Alzieu. Since 2023, she has been performing with Leïla Ka in “You’re the one we love”, “Bouffées”, and “Maldonne”, and joined the creation of “LA440” by Louison Valette (Cie Phonème).

 

Jade Logmo (Performer), originally from Réunion Island, began classical dance at the age of five before training in jazz and contemporary dance. She joined the CNSMD of Lyon in the contemporary program, alongside a Bachelor’s degree in Performing Arts. During her training, she notably performed works by C. Brumachon and B. Lamarche, the (LA)HORDE Collective, and M. Monnier. Since 2022, she has been collaborating with Leïla Ka, performing in her pieces “Bouffées” and “Maldonne”. She is also involved in the creation of the choreographer’s upcoming work, which is set to premiere in November 2026. She has also worked with the Ensemble Vocal Syllepse and taken part in film projects choreographed by Marcos Morau and Fanny Sage. In June 2025, she completed a Master’s degree in Performing Arts.

 

Jennifer Dubreuil Houthemann (Performer), born in Brest, began dancing at the age of five. She joined the Ballets du Nord school in Roubaix, where she trained in classical dance for four years. At 17, she entered the CNSMD of Lyon to study contemporary dance and was later selected for D.A.N.C.E, a European program for young dancers in Germany under the direction of choreographers W. Forsythe, A. Preljocaj, W. McGregor, and F. Flamand. She then joined the Norwegian National Company of Contemporary Dance – Carte Blanche as a permanent performer for seven years. Since 2018, she has been a performer with Lisbeth Gruwez’s company VOETVOLK. She subsequently co-founded the CAD Plateforme with fellow Brest-based choreographer Guiomar Campos. Since then, she has created five works: “NOR.A”, “Le petit jardin”, “ANTES”, “Voyez comme on dort”, and “La Rêveuse”. Alongside this, she has been collaborating with Leïla Ka since 2022, performing in “You’re the one we love”, “Bouffées”, and “Maldonne”.

 

Justine Agator (Performer) began her career at the Théâtre Mogador in *The Lion King* at the age of 10. She then joined the Paris Conservatory to study contemporary dance before being admitted in 2018 to the National Center for Contemporary Dance (CNDC) in Angers. There, she trained with major choreographers such as Alban Richard, Noé Soulier, and Emmanuel Gat. At the end of 2023, she joined Marinette Dozeville’s company for two creations: “C’est comme ça que Don Quichotte décida de sauver le monde” (Acts 1 and 2). In 2024, she performed “Cercle” by Boris Charmatz at the Avignon Festival and took part in a choreographic project connected to the Olympic Games. In 2025, Justine joined Leïla Ka’s company as a performer in “Maldonne”. That same year, she also became a performer with Collectif Kluster for the creation *Errances nocturnes*.

 

Jane Fournier Dumet (Choreographer’s Assistant) is a dancer and choreographer. A graduate of the CNSMD in Lyon, following a final year at the Theater School in Amsterdam, she created her first piece, Bien Parado, in 2022 in collaboration with musician Cédric Froin, produced by the collective LA MÉANDRE. She is also strongly committed to work in public spaces: with Cie OXYPUT, she performs in Full Fuel and contributes to the choreographic writing of the upcoming creation Radical RIZOM (2026). She is currently exploring a new practice with COMPAGNIE SAXIFRAGE through the creation Subsistance musclée(2027). Since 2020, she has been collaborating with Leïla Ka, performing in her pieces C’est toi qu’on adore, Bouffées, and Maldonne, for which she also served as assistant. She continues to support Leïla Ka across all her artistic projects as an artistic collaborator.

Founded in 2020, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels is guided by the values of creation, transmission, and education. Its mission is to support artists and institutions in sharing choreographic heritage while encouraging new productions. Since its launch, Dance Reflections has accompanied numerous companies in their creations as well as multiple institutions in the presentation of their works on the international stage. Since 2022, the program is reinforced each year by major events , such as the Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels Festival. In addition to supporting the creation and promotion of choreographic works, Dance Reflections places increasing importance on issues of transmission and education. With its partners, the program organizes residencies for professional dancers as well as actions to raise awareness of choreographic culture open to all. Its network, now consisting of 60 partners from 16 different countries, continues to grow with each project.

Funding

Production : CENTQUATRE-PARIS and Cie Leïla Ka

Partners and supports : La Garance – Scène nationale de Cavaillon, Théâtre Malakoff – Scène nationale, Théâtre d’Angoulême – Scène nationale, Théâtre de Suresnes Jean Vilar – festival Suresnes Cités Danse 2024, Centre Chorégraphique National d’Orléans – Direction Maud Le Pladec, Centre Chorégraphique National – Ballet de Lorraine direction Petter Jacobsson dans le cadre de l’Accueil-studio, Les Quinconces et L’Espal – Scène nationale du Mans, Espaces Pluriels – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national Art et création – Danse de Pau, La Manufacture – CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux/La Rochelle, La Passerelle – Scène nationale de Saint-Brieuc, Fondation Royaumont, Espace 1789 – Scène conventionnée d’intérêt national Art et création pour la danse de Saint-Ouen – Le Quatrain – équipement culturel de Clisson Sèvre et Maine Agglo, Ville de Gouesnou – Centre Henri Queffélec

Mécénat Caisse des Dépôts

Aide à la résidence Fondation Royaumont / Fondation d’entreprise Hermès

Leïla Ka is associate artist at La Garance – Scène nationale de Cavaillon, associate artist at DSN, scène nationale de Dieppe, at la MC2, scène nationale de Grenoble.

The company is supported by the BNP Paribas Foundation since 2024.

 

Support for New York Live Arts is provided by the Alex Katz Foundation, Alice Lawrence Foundation, Albertine Foundation, Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Booth Ferris Foundation, Dance/NYC, Ed Bradley Family Foundation, Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Ford Foundation, Harkness Foundation for Dance, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Jerome Robbins Foundation, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Lambent Foundation, Marta Heflin Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Muriel Pollia Foundation, National Performance Network, New England Foundation for the Arts, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, San Francisco Foundation, Scherman Foundation, Simons Foundation, Studio Institute, The Poss Family Foundation, The Semel Charitable Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Tides Foundation, and Wege Foundation.

Public support for New York Live Arts is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council with special thanks to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and City Councilmember Erik Bottcher, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Dance/NYC’s New York City Dance Rehearsal Space Subsidy Program that supports Live Arts subsidizing our studio spaces, is made possible by the Mellon Foundation.

Corporate support for New York Live Arts is provided by Google and Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

The creation of new work by BIll T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company is made possible in part by the company’s Partners in Creation: Zoe Eskin, Eleanor Friedman, Ruth & Stephen Hendel, Suzanne Karpas, Ellen M. Poss, Jane Bovingdon Semel, in memory of Linda G. Shapiro, and Slobodan Randielavic & Jon Stryker.

 

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Corporate support for New York Live Arts is provided by Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

New York Live Arts is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, with special thanks to Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and City Councilmember Carl Wilson. New York Live Arts’ programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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