Göteborgs Operans Danskompani

The program of this year’s Belgrade Dance Festival begins with the performance of the Gothenburg Opera Company, and the play conceived as a diptych (Skid and Saab) will be performed on March 9, starting at 8 p.m. on the stage of the Serbian National Theater in Novi Sad.

Skid

choreography: Damien Jalet
choreographer’s assistant, guest dancer: Aimilios Arapoglou
music: Christian Fennesz
additional music: Marihiko Hara
sets design: Jim Hodges and Carlos Marques da Cruz
costume design: Jean-Paul Lespagnard
lighting design: Joakim Brink

duration: 45’
premiere: GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, 2017

The smash hit “Skid”, with a dance floor tilted at 34°, challenges the dancers beyond gravity. The dancers are set in motion by the force of gravity as the slope enhances chain reactions of stunning, powerful and moving events.

Damien Jalet is a freelance French and Belgian choreographer and performer. Since 2000 he’s been working as the closest and most regular collaborator of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, within Les ballets C. de la B., Toneelhuis and Eastman vzw (he danced in “Rien de Rien”, “Foi”, “Tempus Fugit”, “Myth” and “TeZukA”). In 2002, Jalet and Cherkaoui created “d’avant”, produced by Sasha Waltz and guests, and co-signed “Babel” in 2011. In 2013, in collaboration with Cherkaoui and Marina Abramovic, Jalet has created a new version of Ravel’s “Bolero” for the Paris Opera Ballet. The costumes were designed by Givenchy’s artistic director Riccardo Tisci and the 11 dancer’s cast included étoiles Aurélie Dupont, Marie Agnès Gillot and Jérémie Bélingard. He has also worked with choreographers Wim Vandekeybus (“The day of heaven and hell”), Akram Khan (for whom he devised a solo segment in “Desh”) and Erna Ómarsdóttir (“Black Marrow” for Chunky Move). In 2008, Jalet premiered “Three Spells” with dancer Alexandra Gilbert and composer Christian Fennesz at the Tokyo International Arts Festival. In 2013 he directed an important choreographic installation “les médusés” at the Louvre Museum in Paris, with the participation of more than 30 artists from different disciplines. In 2014, he created “Inked”, a solo performance for dancer Aakash Odedra. Jalet has developed a number of collaborations with acclaimed artists in other disciplines: visual artists Antony Gormley and Jim Hodges, theatre director Arthur Nauzyciel, musicians Lady and Bird (opera “Red Waters”), Florence+The Machine and Editors, as well as with photograph Nick Knight, fashion designers Bernhard Willhelm, Hussein Chalayan, philosopher Giorgio Agemben and musician Stefano Scodanibio. In 2015, he created “Yama”, for the Scottish Dance Theatre, also presented at the Belgrade Dance Festival. With the director Gilles Delmas, he created “The ferryman”, following exclusive participation of Marina Abramovic and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. This film was presented during the whole Venice Biennale at Palazzo Fortuny in 2017. During a residency at Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto and together with Japanese visual artist Nawa Kohei, Jalet made “Vessel”. Later, he choreographed consequent sections of the film “Suspiria” directed by Luca Guadagnino, starring Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson. In 2018, he directed his first opera “Pelleas and Melissande”, alongside Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, with a set by Marina Abramović at the Antwerp Opera. In 2019, he became “artist in residency” at Théâtre Chaillot in Paris. This same year, he was Madonna’s creative advisor for her first theatrical tour: “Madame X”. Recent projects include “Mist” for NDT1, and “Planet” at Theatre de Chaillot Paris (2021), both collaborations with Kohei Nawa. Damien Jalet was named Knight of Arts and Letters by the French government.

SAABA

choreography: Sharon Eyal
co-creation: Gai Behar
choreographer’s assistant: Rebecca Hytting
costume design: Maria Grazia Chiuri for the House of Dior
music composition; Ori Lichtik
lighting design: Alon Cohen
additional music: Hold you down by Daniel Stanfill, Nate Mercereau och Michael Milosh (Rhye), Hayaty by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Chant et Sanza, by Jean Nkoulou och Homere Zambo (Patrice och Leontine Mboumba), From the and 15, by Avaq, Station to Station, by Erin Elisabeth Birgy (Mega bog)

duration: 45’
premiere: GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, 2021

Mesmerizing dance meets strong attitude in the creations of Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal. Her distinctive style has a hypnotic, pulsating power that is instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever experienced it. This internationally acclaimed choreographer is queen of a mysterious universe. In “SAABA”, her third dance work for GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, Eyal collaborates with Dior’s Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri for the costume design.

Sharon Eyal was born in Jerusalem. She danced with the Batsheva Dance Company from 1990 until 2008, and began choreographing within the framework of the company’s “Batsheva Dancers Create” project. Eyal served as Associate Artistic Director of Batsheva (2003-2004), and House Choreographer of the company (2005-2012). In 2009 Eyal began creating pieces for other dance companies in the world: “Killer Pig” (2009) and “Corps de Walk” (2011) for Carte Blanche Dance of Norway; “Too Beaucoup” (2011) for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and “Plafona” (2012) for Tanzcompagnie Oldenburg. In 2013, Eyal launches L-E-V with her long-time collaborator Gai Behar. Her creations “Untitled Black” and “Autodance” for the GoteborgsOperans Danskompani, had amazing success, while she also worked with State Ballet from Berlin, Nederlands Dans Theater, Paris Opera Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, TanzMainz and many other companies. Eyal is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Israeli Ministry of Culture Award for young dance creators (2004), Landau Prize for the Performing Arts (2009), as well as she was named a Chosen Artist of the Israel Cultural Excellence Foundation (2008). Her works were successfully performed at the Belgrade Dance Festival, and Eyal is laureate of Jovan Ćirilov Award in 2017.