Crowd Gisèle Vienne

In 2023, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels co-presents with French May Arts Festival and Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District, Crowd by Gisèle Vienne as part of a Dance Festival in Hong Kong.
Gisèle Vienne’s shows defy categorization. Since Showroomdummies (2001), they have never ceased to explore the eternal duality – Eros and Thanatos, Apollo et Dionysus – at the heart of our humanity, the indispensable thirst for sensuality within us all. Crowd embodies a new phase in this search for singular constancy. Gisèle Vienne meticulously taps into the vast spectrum of our fantasies and emotions, without neglecting our dark side. A choreography designed for 15 dancers in fleeting, festive unity, this plentiful polyphony highlights the many mechanisms underpinning expressions of collective joy. Nurtured through philosophy and visual arts, the artist portrays a fragmented universe in which several realities and temporalities coexist, a world where jolting gestures draw equal doses of inspiration from urban dance and puppet theatre. The writing of Denis Cooper and the music and sound by DJ Peter Rehberg and Stephen O'Malley serve to disrupt our perception while also blurring the boundary between winsome reverie and wild rave. At once contemporary and powerfully archaic in its cathartic dimension, Crowd hosts a dialogue with our most intimate nature.
David Sanson
This program is part of “Freespace Dance 2023” presented by Freespace, West Kowloon Cultural District.
Photo: © Estelle Hanania
About the artist

Gisèle Vienne
In 2023, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels renews its support to Gisèle Vienne by supporting L’Etang in New York and Paris, as well as her new creation EXTRA LIFE.