Featuring extracts from his shows Codex, Technicolor, Novembre, Triton, Petites Pièces Montées and films Abracadabra, Caramba! and Jump, this documentary gives an appraisal of his work since 1985. Alongside television footage and archive film, Decouflé and his collaborators discuss his artistic vision, his work for Jean-Paul Goude and the intense year-long build-up to the 1992 Olympic Games parade. Moving from huge spectacle to intimate reverie, we meet this challenging man and his work on his own terms.

ABRACADABRA
Abracadabra! Hocus Pocus! Shazam! – Dancers are filmed from overhead. Movement is captured through infrared sensors.

Abracadabra is a play on multiple reflections within the imaginary universe of Philippe Decouflé. Imagine a scenario combining Méliès and the modern technology of Spielberg with the breathtaking accuracy of Cunningham in creating movement. Just add Decouflé’s own sense of magical extravaganza and poetry with Sébastien Libolt’s spellbinding score, and you have one of the most thrilling dance performances conceivable. In a coup de théâtre, the letters of the front and end credits are formed from his dancers’ bodies.