©Phile Deprez
Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars and molecules all come in communities. The singular cannot really exist.’ – Paula Gunn Allen in Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman’s Sourcebook
With any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones, Jan Martens is for the first time fully turning his attention to the main stage. A production about the power that lies in being out of step, performed by a seventeen-strong, atypical corps de ballet made up of unique personalities. The heterogeneous group of dancers spans several generations, the youngest being 16 and the eldest 69, with significant differences between them in terms of track record and technical background. In any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones, they seek their own voice within the dance and beyond, looking for an idiom that fits them like a glove. One by one they claim their place on stage, without cutting off the others for all that. A horizontal exercise in giving each other the necessary space, while being careful not to steal the limelight.​​​​​​​
any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones is a rich performance that does not hesitate to seek out the ecstatic. In times of extreme polarization, this group sets social dogmas aside to recognize and embrace a range of distinct identities. Being uninhibitedly themselves – in both life and art – with the stage as their ideological testing ground. They are supported by a soundtrack that consists of protest songs from different ages – from Henryk Górecki via Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln to Kae Tempest. (See original text)​​​​​​
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
©Phile Deprez
CREDITS 
CHOREOGRAPHY: Jan Martens. DANCE: Ty Boomershine, Truus Bronkhorst, Jim Buskens, Baptiste Cazaux, Zoë Chungong, Piet Defrancq, Naomi Gibson, Kimmy Ligtvoet, Cherish Menzo, Steven Michel, Gesine Moog, Dan Mussett, Wolf Overmeire, Tim Persent, Courtney May Robertson, Laura Vanborm and Loeka Willems. UNDER STUDY PROGRAMS: Pierre Bastin, Georgia Boddez, Wannes Sabatus and Zora Westbroek. ARTISTIC ASSISTANCE: Anne-Lise Brevers. LIGHTING DESIGN: Jan Fedinger. COSTUME DESIGN: Cédric Charlier. ASSISTANCE COSTUME DESIGN: Alexandra Sebbag and Thibault Kuhn. OUTSIDE EYE: Vanrunxt, Renée Copraij, Rudi Meulemans and Siska Baeck. TECHNIQUE: Michel Spang and Valentijn Weyn / Bennert Vancottem. PRODUCTION: GRIP. IN PARTNERSHIP WITH: Dance On Ensemble. INTERNATIONAL SPREAD: A Propic / Line Rousseau and Marion Gauvent. CO-PRODUCTION: deSingel international art campus (Antwerp, BE), Theater Freiburg (DE), Sadler's Wells (London, UK), Julidans (Amsterdam, NL), Festival d'Avignon (FR), Le Gymnase CDCN Roubaix Hauts-de-France ( FR), Norrlandsoperan (Umeå, SE), La Bâtie - Festival de Genève & l'ADC - Association pour la Danse Contemporaine Genève (CH), tanzhaus nrw (Düsseldorf, DE), Le Parvis Scène Nationale Tarbes-Pyrénéés (Tarbes, FR ), La Danse en grande forme (CNDC - Angers, Malandain Ballet Biarritz, La Manufacture - CDCN Nouvelle-Aquitaine Bordeaux - La Rochelle, CCN de Caen en Normandie, L'échangeur - CDCN Hauts-de-France, CCN de Nantes, CCN d'Orléans, Atelier de Paris / CDCN, Collectif Fair-e / CCN de Rennes et de Bretagne, Le Gymnase | CDCN Roubaix | Hauts-de-France,POLE-SUD CDCN / Strasbourg et La Place de La Danse - CDCN Toulouse Occitanie) and Perpodium. WITH THE SUPPORT OF: De Grote Post (Oostende, BE), CCN d'Orléans in collaboration with Théâtre d'Orléans, Charleroi Danse (BE). WITH THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF: the Flemish Government, the City of Antwerp, the tax shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and Cronos Invest
UPCOMING performance dates

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PAST PErformance dates


12.05.24 - Teatro Español, Madrid (ES)

11.05.24 - Teatro Español, Madrid (ES)


10.05.24 - Teatro Español, Madrid (ES)

06.12.23 - Norrlandsoperan Umeå (SE)


05.11.23 - National Theater Taipei (TW)

04.11.23 - National Theater Taipei (TW)

03.11.23 - National Theater Taipei (TW)

17.05.23 - Les Gémeaux, Sceaux (FR)

16.05.23 - Les Gémeaux, Sceaux (FR)


13.05.23 - Théâtre de la Ville, Paris (FR)

12.05.23 - Théâtre de la Ville, Paris (FR)

11.05.23 - Théâtre de la Ville, Paris (FR)

06.05.23 - Cankarjev Dom - Ljubljana (SL)

15.04.23 - Dansens Hus, Oslo (NO)

14.04.23 - Dansens Hus, Oslo (NO)


15.04.23 - Dansens Hus, Oslo (NO)

01.04.23 - Scène Nationale d’Albi, Albi (FR)


29.03.23 - Le Lieu Unique, Nantes (FR)

28.03.23 - Le Lieu Unique, Nantes (FR)

21.03.23 - Le Phénix, Scène Nationale, Valenciennes (FR) (Le Grand Bain)

17.03.23 - Comédie de Caen, Cean (FR)

16.03.23 - Comédie de Caen, Cean (FR)

13.03.23 - Le Bateau Feu, Duinkerke (FR)

10.03.23 - Maison de la Culture, Amiens (FR)

04.02.23 - Teatro Central, Seville (ES)

03.02.23 - Teatro Central, Seville (ES)

11.02.23 - Théâtre de Liège, Liège (BE) 

10.12.22 - Concertgebouw, Brugge (BE)

21.10.22 - Nowy Teatr, Warsaw (PL)

15.10.22 - TNBA (Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine & La Manufacture, Bordeaux (FR)

14.10.22 - TNBA (Théâtre National de Bordeaux en Aquitaine & La Manufacture, Bordeaux (FR)

12.10.22 - Maison de la Danse, Lyon (FR)

11.10.22 - Maison de la Danse, Lyon (FR)

06.10.22 - La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand Scène Nationale, Clermont-Ferrand (FR)

29.09.22 - Romaeuropa Festival, Rome (IT)

28.09.22 - Romaeuropa Festival, Rome (IT)

24.09.22 - Bitef Festival, Belgrade (SR) 

10.06.22 - Theater Rotterdam (NL) 

28.05.22 - Dublin Dance Festival, Abbey Theater, Dublin (IE)

27.05.22 - Dublin Dance Festival, Abbey Theater, Dublin (IE)

25.05.22 - Sadler's Wells, London (UK) 


24.05.22 - Sadler's Wells, London (UK) - UK premiere

20.03.22 - Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona (ES)

19.03.22 - Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona (ES) - ES premiere 

11.03.22 - Pole Sud, Strasbourg (FR)

10.03.22 - Pole Sud, Strasbourg (FR)

05.02.22 - Norrlandsoperan, Umea (SE) - postponed


04.02.22 - Norrlandsoperan, Umea (SE) - postponed

02.02.22 - Dansens Hus, Stockholm (SE) - postponed

01.02.22 - Dansens Hus, Stockholm (SE) - SE premiere - postponed

29.01.22 - Dansens Hus, Oslo (NO) - postponed

28.01.22 - Dansens Hus, Oslo (NO) - No premiere - postponed

18.01.22 - 30cc ism STUK, Leuven (BE) - postponed

11.12.21 - Concertgebouw, Bruges (BE) - postponed

10.12.21 - Vlaamse Opera ism CAMPO & Vooruit, Ghent (BE) - postponed

16.11.21 - CNDC Angers, Angers (FR) 

28.10.21 - Spring, Utrecht (NL) 

27.10.21 - De Warande, Turnhout (BE) 

14.10.21 - CDCN Toulouse - Occitanie, Toulouse (FR) 


13.10.21 - CDCN Toulouse - Occitanie, Toulouse (FR) 

18.09.21 - Teatro Municipal do Porto, Porto (PT) - PT premiere 

12.09.21 - La Bâtie, Geneva (CH) 

11.09.21 - La Bâtie, Geneva (CH) 

10.09.21 - La Bâtie, Geneva (CH) - CH premiere

25.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR)

24.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR)


23.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR)

22.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR)

20.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR)

19.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR)

18.07.21 - Cour du Lycée Saint-Joseph, Festival d’Avignon, Avignon (FR) - World premiere 

OTHER PERFORMANCE WORK

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