any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones
Jan Martens/GRIP & Dance On Ensemble
Please note: From 20.10. – 22.10. there is only cash payment possibel.
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With “any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones,” Belgian star choreographer Jan Martens turns for the first time fully to the big stage. The heterogeneous corps de ballet, created in cooperation with the renowned Dance On Ensemble, comprises several generations; the youngest person is 18, the oldest 71 years old. They all have different individual life experiences and dance backgrounds.
For his new work, Jan Martens drew inspiration from protest movements around the world – the Black Lives Matter movement, young climate activists, the women’s marches in the U.S. and Chile, and the protests in Hong Kong. The title of the piece refers to a statement made by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the protesters in Hong Kong in 2020: “Every attempt will end with crushed bodies and splintered bones”.
The result is an impressive choreography that transforms the old form of ballet into a very contemporary, ecstatic form. It oscillates between precise formations and radically individual movements, thus showing the range of social debates between regimentation and individuality. The dancers are supported by a soundtrack consisting of atypical protest songs from different eras – from Henryk Gorecki to Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln to Kae Tempest.
Duration: ca. 1 h 30 min
Language: English
Trigger warning: use of strobe light
Performance followed by an audience discussion on 20.10.
19 h tactile guided tour and live audio description on 21.10. You can sign up via Email to: fuchs@hellerau.org oder by calling the following number: +49 351 264 62 37.
Jan Martens, born 1984, studied dance at the Royal Conservatoire of Dance in Antwerp and at the Fontys Dance Academy in Tilburg. He danced for Mor Shani, Tuur Marinus and Ann Van den Broek, among others, and has been creating his own pieces since 2009. In 2014 Jan Martens founded the production platform GRIP in Antwerp/Rotterdam. From September 2014 to June 2016 he was Artist in Residence at tanzhaus nrw in Düsseldorf, and until 2021 Creative Associate at deSingel International Arts Campus in Antwerp.
Choreography: Jan Martens
Dance: Abigail Aleksander, Pierre Bastin, Georgia Boddez, Ty Boomershine, Truus Bronkhorst, Camilla Bundel, Jim Buskens, Baptiste Cazaux, Zoë Chungong, Piet Defrancq, Naomi Gibson, Simon Lelievre, Kimmy Ligtvoet, Solal Mariotte, Cherish Menzo, Steven Michel, Gesine Moog, Dan Mussett, Wolf Overmeire, Tim Persent, Courtney May Robertson, Laura Vanborm, Zora Westbroek, Loeka Willems, Lia Witjes-Poole, Maisie Woodford, Paolo Yao
Artistic Assistance: Anne-Lise Brevers
Lichting design: Jan Fedinger
Assistance lighting design: Vito Walter
Costume design: Cédric Charlier
Assistance costume design: Alexandra Sebbag and Thibault Kuhn
Outside eye: Marc Vanrunxt, Renée Copraij, Rudi Meulemans and Siska Baeck
Text: fragment SPRING von Ali Smith. Copyright © 2019, Ali Smith, verwendet mit Genehmigung von The Wylie Agency (UK) Limited
Music: Concerto pour Clavecin et Cordes Op 40” Réf Im: 108884 Musique de Henryk Mikolaj Górecki © PWM Editions représenté par Alphonse Leduc Editions Musicales, “People’s Faces” written by Kae Tempest and Dan Carey © Published and Administered by Domino Publishing Company Limited (50%) and MANATA LTD Administrated by Warner/Chappell Music Belgium N.V. (50%), “Triptych: Prayer/Protest/Peace” written by Maxwell Roach © Published by Milma Publishing Company Administered by Kobalt Music Publishing Limited.
Technical direction: Michel Spang
Touring technicians: Michel Spang und Valentijn Weyn/Nele Verreyken
Photography: Phile Deprez
Graphic design: Luis Xertu
Teaser and Trailer: Stanislav Dobak and Jan Fedinger
Production: GRIP in collaboration with: Dance On Ensemble
International Distribution: A Propic / Line Rousseau, Marion Gauvent and Lara van Lookeren
Coproduction: DE SINGEL (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 – Projet de l’A-CDCN et de l’ACCN : 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 und Perpodium (BE)
“any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones” was produced with the support of: De Grote Post (Ostend, BE), CCNO – Centre Chorégraphique National d’Orléans in collaboration la Scène nationale d’Orléans, Charleroi danse – Centre chorégraphique de Wallonie-Bruxelles (BE) und December Dance (Concertgebouw and CC Brugge) (BE). And with the financial support of: the Flemish Government, the city of Antwerp, Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and Cronos Invest THANKS TO: Wannes Labath, de! Kunsthumaniora, Nadine Scheuer, Mr. Jean Chabert (STANLEY/STELLA)
