Ballet du Grand Théatre de Genéve

Ukiyu-e can be literally translated as "images of the floating world", a key element in shaping the Western perception of Japanese art at the end of the 19th century. On a stage made up of a network of stairs and labyrinthine mobile structures in which the dancers lose themselves and the bodies are called upon to unite, dialogue and contaminate each other, the Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui recreates this centuries-old art form, accompanied by the piano trio music of Szymon Brzóska and the percussive rhythms and electronic bases of Alexandre Dai Castaing.

Faun originates from Nijinsky's Prelude à L’aprés-midi d’un Faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun). But in contrast to the Russian dancer's monologue, the encounter between the faun and the nymph becomes a dialogue; in contrast to the original idea of the awakening of sexual longing, Cherkaoui portrays the intimate encounter of these two mythical creatures through an eminently physical game, emphasised by their serpentine steps. Analogously - or as an analogy - the original music is enhanced by Nitin Sawhney's electronics.

FAUN

Music by Claude Debussy (1862-1918) ) and Nitin Sawhney (1964)

Created by Sadler’s Wells en 2009

Choreographer: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Set design and lighting: Adam Carrée

Costumes: Hussein Chalayan

UKIYO-E

Music by Szymon Brzóska and Alexandre Dai Castaing

Premiere at Grand Théâtre de Genève in November 2022

Co-production with Maison de la Danse, Lyon-Pôle Européen de Création, Biennale de la Danse de Lyon 2023, Eastman and Fondazione Romaeuropa Arte e Cultura

Special thanks to Kae Tempest and Domino Publishing Company Limited for their kind permission to use the Hold Your Own text.

Choreographer: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui

Set design: Alexander Dodge

Costumes: Yuima Nakazato

Lighting: Dominique Drillot

Dramaturgy: Igor Cardellini

Choreography assistant: Pau Aran Gimeno and Dayan Akhmedgaliev

Répétiteur: Manuel Renard and Pascal Marty

Electronic music: Alexandre Dai Castaing

Piano: Johann Vacher

String trio: Amia Janicki_violón

                            Natanael Ferreira Dos Santos_alto

                            Gabriel Esteban_violonchelo

Percussion: Alexandre Dai Castaing

Singing and dancing: Kazutomi «Tsuki» Kozuki

Singing, Shinobue, Nohkan y Kokyu: Shogo Yoshii