Stirring apology for violence.
The Austrian-French theatre maker and visual artist Gisèle Vienne is well-known for her intoxicating, enchanting, often somewhat lugubrious work. Those who sawThe Pyre at NEXT Artsfestival in 2013 know that she likes to seek out the boundaries between appearance and reality and that she has more than one string to her bow – as proves her newest creation.
Crowd is a whimsical choreography for fifteen dancers that zooms in on the phenomenon of 'violence' and how we (can) deal with it as an individual and as a community. The thirst for violence is ingrained in us, Vienne thinks, but this is not necessarily problematic : not all forms of violence are barbaric but may be erotic or even sacred.
More generally Vienne is in search of a better understanding of both individual and collective emotions. She is mesmerized by the ambiguity and diversity of emotions that are caused by violence – or actually cause violence. She calls the multi-layered relationship between emotions and violence the pivot around which her dancers move, the central axis of her investigation.
The context for this investigation is a 21st century rave party. The techno soundtrack by the duo KTL (Peter Rehberg and Stephen O'Malley) continually wavers between sexuality and sensuality.
Although the ravers do not speak aloud, each character has his or her own story or 'subtext'. Nevertheless, these subtexts become palpable in the way they move and relate to the group, and they were written down by author Dennnis Cooper, Vienne's loyal compagnon de route.
Conception, choreography and scenography Gisèle Vienne, Assisted by Anja Röttgerkamp and Nuria Guiu Sagarra, Mix, edits & playlist selection Peter Rehberg, Sound diffusion supervisor Stephen O’Malley, Sound engineer Adrien Michel, Light design Patrick Riou, Dramaturgy Gisèle Vienne and Denis Cooper, Performers Philip Berlin, Marine Chesnais, Kerstin Daley-Baradel, Sylvain Decloitre, Sophie Demeyer, Vincent Dupuy, Massimo Fusco, Rémi Hollant, Oskar Landström, Theo Livesey, Louise Perming, Katia Petrowick, Jonathan Schatz, Henrietta Wallberg and Tyra Wigg, Executive producer: DACM Coproducers : Nanterre-Amandiers, centre dramatique national // Maillon Théâtre de Strasbourg - Scène européenne // Wiener Festwochen // manège, scène nationale - reims // Le Théâtre national de Bretagne, Rennes // CDN Orléans / Loiret / Centre // La Filature, scène nationale de Mulhouse // BIT Teatergarasjen
Support: CCN2 – Centre Chorégraphique national de Grenoble // CND Centre national de la danse
