CORPSE DE BALLET. TAMARA OLGA BRIKS

Corpse de ballet is a performative part of the activist-artistic project, in which the artist investigates long-term organic processes: composting, decomposition and rebirth.

Ballet (classic dane) with its patriarchal, classist, colonial history is for me the natural starting point for my autoethnographic actions. It is turned into a universal symbol of power relations that force norms of functioning and representation on bodies. Together with my guests, I investigate the ways by which to decompose (compost) and heal those structures. I draw on gestures of ballet pantomime, the remains of my experience in ballet, seeking to queer them. I build a performative installation filled with artefacts, body parts, the smell of (ballet’s) decomposition. We compost ballet through rites of passage, through sticky dreams, through dissolution of new visions, says the artist.

The event is part of the opening’s Choreographic Programme. With more than twenty shows, the audience will be offered an opportunity to witness diverse artistic strategies and a multitude of formal takes. The programme includes works in progress, dance acts and choreographic installations, with spectacular group productions sharing space with intimate solo activities.