L’enfermement carcéral et le confinement socio-sanitaire liés à la pandémie du COVID-19 sont rapprochés à la faveur de la diffusion du film documentaire de Valérie Müller Danser sa peine, en notant des comportements réactionnels similaires de la population qui imagine et invente des moyens pour bouger, s’occuper… Le film évoque les ateliers de danse menés dans la prison Les Baumettes de Marseille par le chorégraphe renommé Angelin Preljocaj avec des détenues, jusqu’à la performance Soul Kitchen (1919) dansée hors les murs, bien accueillie par le public. L’expérience carcérale conforte les détenues-danseuses dans les processus de conscience sensorielle et identitaire, d’estime de soi, de réintégration sociale. Les répercussions touchant les corps et les âmes renvoient aussi à une réflexion –en miroir– sur l’actualité anxiogène et contraignante du confinement : cohabitation dans le respect d’autrui ou insupportable (surnombre, conflit, violence conjugale…), détresse des personnes vulnérables ou isolées en EHPAD malgré des aménagements soignant… en insistant sur les ressources psychocorporelles positives, vitalisantes, propices à de bienfaisantes « évasions ».

Jail incarceration and social confinement due to a sanitary stay-at-home law against the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are compared to the introduction of dance workshops for imprisoned women charged with long sentences, then followed by an outside performance Soul Kitchen. The whole experience, organized by a famous contemporary choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, is filmed by Valérie Müller, producing Danser sa peine (To dance her sentence/her sorrow), nominated for an award. The sessions are planned: two hours and a half, 2 times a week, for four months, no technique required. A group of five women start with ordinary easy functional movements, gaining in innovative and expressive qualities, spatial perceptions, feelings and interpersonal interactions, lead by A. Preljocaj in a helpful and empathic mood. At the same time, he discovers the cooking authorization in their jail cell. The relevant results shift into a dynamic successful piece Soul Kitchen (2019) performed in town (Dance Festival in Montpellier, south of France) with dancing and cooking occurrences on stage. It makes sense, specially about self-esteem, body image and positive opinion from the audience. The women's physical and psychological states linked with a long lack of space and sensitivity… move to a better self-balance and feelings of well-being. In a similar state of mind, the French confined population –youth to elderly– try to find different and imaginative strategies at home as moving in a restrictive area, enjoying family cooking… through trainings provided by Internet, looking for reducing anxiety, depressive disorders and other social problems. A panel of situations goes from deleterious conflictual relationships, dramatic isolation, to funny and positive ones using creativeness to escape, facing the disruption of daily life.