The show raises expectations of the public and blurs the boundaries between success and failure of a performance, by suggesting that the theater is a community, both on stage and outside. An entertaining and radical tour de force.
Have you ever been in one of those galas in which artists, often amateurs, appear before the public to show what they can do? Then this same structure is that of this choreography, a new occasion that Jérôme Bel takes advantage of to continue deconstructing, as in previous proposals, the institutional representation of dance. After Disabled Theater, a piece represented by a troupe of actors suffering from mental disabilities, and Cour d'honneur, which put a group of spectators at the spotlight, Gala returns with the same concept: How to bring to the scenic spotlight individuals and bodies that are often automatically discarded for it? How can we better use the resources of this unique apparatus, the theater -with its codes, scenarios, genres and professionals- to widen the perimeter of what can be shown? It is not a matter of judging actions, but of realizing how each person's cultural baggage fosters a unique relationship with this desire of dance to represent something else.
A workshop organized in the outskirts of París was the starting point of this spectacle, which brings the movement back to its political and social condition and highlights the intuitive and natural character of dance as a mechanism for the expression of bodies, beyond art, virtuosity and techniques with which we often identify it.
A production of R.B. Jérôme Bel (Paris).
Co-production: Dance Umbrella (London), TheaterWorks Singapore/72-13, KunstenFestivaldesArts (Brussels), Tanzquartier Wien, Nanterre-Amandiers Centre Dramatique National, Festival d'Automne à Paris, Theater Chur (Chur) et TAK Theater Liechtenstein (Schaan) - TanzPlan Ost, Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia, Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), HAU Hebbel am Ufer (Berlin), BIT Teatergarasjen (Bergen), La Commune Centre dramatique national d’Aubervilliers, Tanzhaus nrw (Düsseldorf), House on Fire.
With the support of Centre National de la Danse (Pantin) and Ménagerie de Verre (Paris) within the framework of Studiolab, dedicated to provide work spaces.
In cooperation with Mercat de les Flors.
Acknowledgements: partners and participants in the dance and voice workshop, NL Architects and Les rendez-vous d’ailleurs.
R.B. Jérôme Bel is subsidized by the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Ile-de-France-Ministry of Culture and Communication, the Institute français, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs for international tours and by ONDA - Office National de Diffusion Artistique - for the tours in France
Concept: Jérôme Bel Direction assistant: Maxime Kurvers Staging assistance: Frédéric Seguette, Chiara Gallerani By and with: Maria Fans, Concepció Jimeno, Ioar Labat Berrio, Susana López, Paula López, Youssef Murcia Aarab, Fèlix Navarro, Sofia Niubó, Iliana Nsoka, Olívia Olivé, David Priego, Miguel Ángel Puy, Miquel Ripeu, Helio Roraima de Magalhaes, Manel Salas, Antonella Sampieri, Marta Sans, Lluís Santiago, Cathy Stuyt, Koichi Sugihara Costume: dancers themselves Executive production: Mercat de les Flors Photography: Josefina Tommasi
R.B. Jérôme Bel
Artistic advisor and executive direction: Rebecca Lee Administration: Sandro Grando Technical Direction: Gilles Gentner
