POSTPONEMENT | Jacqueline Caux The Mediterranean Basin and trance

Performative lecture

Filmmaker and writer Jacqueline Caux has traveled the world with her husband Daniel Caux, in search of avant-garde sounds. A musical quest that has taken them from the minimalist compositions of La Monte Young to the archives of John Cage, from Detroit techno to oriental music, from Jeff Mills to Meredith Monk, and from Arvo Pärt to Sun Ra.

With this new lecture, Jacqueline Caux pursues the exploration of her passion—repetitive, oriental music and techno—this time studying what connects them: trance. This transient state which, with the sound of a drum, a flute or a voice, alters consciousness, heightens the senses, and is believed by some to be capable of healing the sick and summoning the gods. Whether pagan or mystical, ritualized or initiatory, trance accelerates the tempo of music, dance and the pulse, intensely associating body and mind. Incorporating Greek Mania, Turkish dhikr, Italian tarantella, Spanish duende and the North African tarab tradition, for this Nomadic Night, Jacqueline Caux recounts a fascinating history, in images and sound, of trance in the Mediterranean basin from the 5th century to the present day. A history where music is the heartbeat of the soul.

Jacqueline Caux is a filmmaker, independent documentary film producer and author. She has published books of interviews with atypical artists from the second half of the twentieth century. She has participated in the organization of several contemporary music festivals, produced research programs for France Culture, small intimate theaters in the form of boxes, experimental shorts and musical films that have been screened and received awards at numerous international festivals and cultural institutions. In 2020, she directed the documentary Les Bad Girls des musiques arabe - du 8^e siècle à nos jours, which premiered in January 2020 at the Louvre.