Art as chronicler, counselor & consoler
Franchir La Nuit looks at the subject of exile, focusing on childhoods broken by displacement, with a flooded stage and the movements on it representing the numerous transitions they face.
A rendering of Gala, the 2015 award-winning dance by the choreographer Jerome Bel, was staged in Xiamen.
On a board placed on the stage is the Chinese word for ballet. Performers come onto the stage one by one, each performing a pirouette, followed by similar performances of diverse dance styles such as waltz and Michael Jackson, before the dancers come together to perform as a group.
With this unconventional dance performance Bel rejects the traditional standard of "good dancers" and invites people, amateurs and professionals alike, to together perform a dance and create a space of inclusiveness.
"I think dance belongs to everyone, not only professional dancers," Bel says."I want the stage to be a place for equality, not for exclusivity. Everyone has to be represented, not just powerful people."
