Choreomania
Along with forty graduating P.A.R.T.S. students, Mette Ingvartsen – herself an alumna of P.A.R.T.S. – developed a choreography which merges the historical archive data on the ‘dance manias’ from the Middle Ages to the present day. They swarm like bees towards collectivity, investigating how their movements and emotions can leapfrog from one body to another – like an unstoppable virus.
Choreomania builds on The Dancing Public, in which Ingvartsen explored the dance epidemics of the Middle Ages. These mysterious phenomena appeared to be bursts of collective dance in public space. But what was behind these crazes remains a mystery. They could be responses to stress during difficult periods such as the plague, floods, or famines. Others think that they were extensive village celebrations, or even demonic possession, which the Church considered life-threatening.
The Coronavirus pandemic – in which collective dancing was forbidden, but in which raving flourished again like never before – was the direct motivation for The Dancing Public. The theme of ‘choreomania’ continues to hypnotize Ingvartsen and resonates with a new generation of dancers from P.A.R.T.S. Together they developed a large public space performance, which could also be understood as participatory. ‘Infecting’ the audience with their dance remains the ultimate goal.
• Mette Ingvartsen (she/her) is a Danish choreographer and dancer who graduated from P.A.R.T.S. in 2004. Manual Focus (2003), her first performance, was created while she was still a student. Her work exhibits great hybridity, in which choreographic practices of dance and movement meet other domains, such as the visual arts, technology, language, and theory. Ingvartsen was an artist in residence at Kaaitheater between 2012 and 2016, and has recently presented performances there, including Skatepark (2023), Rush (2024), and The Dancing Public (2021).
• P.A.R.T.S. is a school for contemporary dance. The Performing Arts Research and Training Studios (P.A.R.T.S.) offers two programs: P.A.R.T.S. provides an in-depth technical education in the first 'training' cycle. In the advanced 'ateliers' cycle, the focus is entirely on the young maker. The Training and STUDIOS cycles are recognized as Bachelor in Dance (2019) and Master in Dance (2020), respectively.
concept and choreography Mette Ingvartsen | performers Adèle Chaput, Alba Díaz Muñoz, Alice Fanny Anna Bröker, Anastasia Antoniadi, Anna Fedoronchuk, Annabel Van Acker, Beatričė Zaveckaitė, Beau De Lathouwer, Chiheb Slaoui, Ekaterina Sergeevna Varfolomeeva, Elena María Olías García, Elsa Goldstein, Guilherme Carvalho, Guillem Salmerón, India Pornon, Irene Febrer Rojo, Jacob Bousset, Jessi Zhang, Kim Ramiandrisoa, Kiu Yan Cheng, Laura Murariu, Letícia Oliveira Ferreira, Marija Ivaškevičiūtė, Marika Suzuki, Martha Ellen MacMillan, Mashiro Tamura, Mimbi Philippe Lukeba Lubansu, Momiji Kuromaru, Nicolas Tuong-Long Dang, Patric Eduardo Da Cunha, Pavlos orfeas Argyropoulos, Rozálie Stárová, Rünno Tammela, Salim Mabrouk, Samuele Baschieri, Silke Hamers, Solène Alonado Magali Ezin, Takudzwa James Felo, Thaïmee Kayleen Samut | choreographic assistant Thomas Bîrzan, Manon Santkin | vocal training Fabienne Séveillac | technical direction Hans Meijer Sound engineer: Milan Van Doren | production Great Investment vzw & P.A.R.T.S. | coproduction KAAP, Perpodium | with the support of Charleroi danse centre chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles, Kaaitheater | Great Investment is supported by The Flemish Authorities, The Flemish Community Commission (VGC), Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government | P.A.R.T.S. is funded by The Ministry of Education of the Flemish Community
