Pichet Klunchun and myself
Sly collisions
In Pichet Klunchun and myself, Bel simply has a conversation with the Thai dancer Pichet Klunchun, about their work, the world and life. Klunchun occasionally demonstrates a few traditional Thai dances, and Bel shows what he is currently doing. ‘The fascination of the must-see Pichet Klunchun and myself should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Mr. Bel’s career as an endearingly rumpled, brilliant enfant terrible and master of wry, sly minimalism. But he has found his perfect complement in Mr. Klunchun, a practitioner of khon, a form of classical Thai masked dance, who wanders serenely with Mr. Bel through a series of cultural collisions until the gentle cataclysm that suddenly and amusingly ends the conversation.’ ( The New York Times)
● This production is one in a series of solos and duets in which, in a very personal way, Jérôme Bel delves into the repertoire of contemporary dance by way of a dancer’s autobiography. Over the years the whole series has been staged at the Kaaitheater; in February 2010 we presented Lutz Föster by the performer Lutz Förster, who danced with Pina Bausch most of his life.
‘Avec sa fausse naïveté coutumière, Jérôme Bel présente un spectacle captivant né de sa rencontre à Bangkok avec un jeune danseur thaïlandais, Pichet Klunchun. Deux artistes que tout sépare, mais que l'humour, la sensibilité et une grande ouverture d'esprit réunissent dans une performance très originale. (…) Un spectacle d'une rare intelligence.’ – Le Figaro
interview with Jérôme Bel >>
concept Jérôme Bel | by and with Jérôme Bel & Pichet Klunchun | commissioned by Tang Fu Kuen for the Bangkok Fringe Festival | creation Bangkok (Thailand) on Decembre 12th 2004, at the Bangkok Fringe festival | production Bangkok Fringe Festival (Bangkok), SACD Le Vif du Sujet (Paris), Festival Montpellier Danse 2005 (Montpellier), R.B. Jérôme Bel (Paris) | support Cultures France (Paris), French Alliance of Bangkok, Cultural Service of the French Embassy in Bangkok and « The Flying Circus Project » in Singapore | thanks to Frie Leysen and Mark De Putter | subsidies Direction régionale des affaires culturelles d’Ile-de-France (French Ministry of Culture and Communication), Cultures France (French Ministry for Foreign Affairs) | production manager Sandro Grando
In 2008 Jerome Bel and Pichet Klunchun received the Routes Princess Margriet Award for Cultural Diversity (European Cultural Foundation) for Pichet Klunchun and myself.
