We thought that everything was eternal, that nothing ever ended. And then there was a void. Le Vide explores the musical and the auditive possibilities of The Whale as an instrument to create a common empty space through sound. The kind of emptiness that makes itself known when a big event pulls people out of their routine, forces them to stand still and creates an in-between space to choose. To really choose. The moment when everything seems possible, because all the codes and frameworks to which we unconsciously conform in the delusion of everyday life have fallen away. How can such a moment be captured in sound? How can a similar experience of awe-inspiring emptiness be constructed using the deep tones of this instrument? This research forms the basis of a collaboration with the Brussels dance duo Les Mybalés (Nathalie and Doris Bokongo Nkum) and the Spanish director Ester Nadal.
As lead characters, Les Mybalés are twin sisters, dancers and choreographers of Congolese origin. They discovered dance in 2010 and house dance quickly became their favorite style. They explored the different cultural representations of twinhood through dance in shows like À travers l’autre ("Through the other"; 2017). Director Ester Nadal, a dramatist, actress and theater teacher who was the founder of the Escena Nacional d'Andorra, was in Brussels at the invitation of Mestizo Arts Platform and attended Les Mybalés performance at KVS. Ester was immediately triggered by the dancers. During the process, she met the Argentinian musician and performer based in Amsterdam Enrique "Kike" Noviello, who puts music to the performances. A scenographer belonging to the Walpurgis stage collective and specialized in recycling, Stef Depover, completed the proposal. He is the one who invented The Whale, an instrument he made himself, measuring six meters in length and with a single string, that he created with materials taken from the renovation of his house.
A KVS, Walpurgis, Mestizo Arts Platform production.
Co-produced by Grec 2023 Festival de Barcelona, Perpodium.
With the suport of KVS en het Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest, Rataplan, Nau Ivanow, De Gemeenschap van Vlaanderen en de Stad Antwerpen, de Belgische Federale Overheid via Cronos Invest.
Dance: Les Mybalés. Music: Kike Noviello, Stef Depover. Direction: Ester Nadal. Assistant director and choreographer: Adrian Vega. Costume design: Nina Lopez. Sound design: Stef Van Alsenoy. Lighting design: Margareta Andersen. Production management: Ella De Gregoriis. Photography: Victoriano Moreno, Danny Willems. Visual artist: Younes Van Den Broeck.
