Mette Ingvartsen (DK/BE)
21 pornographies
After its premiere in 2017, the show was aptly described by a critic as a ‘powerhouse performance’. Not without reason: in her 21 Pornographies, Danish dancer and choreographer Mette Ingvartsen takes you to Marquis de Sade's sex castle, a psychedelic pleasure cave, Abu Ghraib prison, and a grim future with sex cyborgs.
In her performance 21 Pornographies, Mette Ingvartsen enters the stage alone in what is considered her darkest and possibly most groundbreaking work to date. As part of the The Red Pieces series, in which she explores the relationship between sexuality and the public domain, Ingvartsen now turns her attention to our attitude towards pornography. She convincingly shows that it is steeped in power, manipulation and exploitation, and that this influence extends to all facets of our lives.
Julidans On Stage
Location Theater Bellevue
Venue Grote Zaal
Run time 70 minutes
Language English
Please note the performance uses strong lighting effects including a stroboscope.
In a manner that is as stimulating, disturbing, joyful as it is sensual, Ingvartsen plunges into the history of pornographic representations in art and culture. She has arrived at a series of 21 frame stories, factual descriptions of situations of a pornographic nature, which she manages to piece together like babushka dolls with great theatrical dexterity.
In this performance, Ingvartsen takes you on a journey, starting with Marquis De Sade's controversial literary work The 120 Days of Sodom. She then takes you through the heyday of the porn industry in the 1970s, when the naked body was turned into a product. Eventually you end up with the contemporary forms of war, torture, and news porn we are immersed in these days, consciously or unconsciously.
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Although most of the stories in the piece have little to do with explicit sex, they all display characteristics of the pornographic: clinical precision, focused on climax, elements of violence and pain, as well as humour, excitement, and thrills. Ingvartsen deftly switches between the different roles she describes, ranging from a lecherous marquis to a sadistic army officer, a posing mannequin or even a chocolate-covered poop hole.
'You can be shocked by the dark side of pleasure, and also enjoy it. That makes this piece intimidating, repulsive and at the same time seductive and extraordinarily powerful.' - Springback Magazine
CREDITS
concept, choreography & performance Mette Ingvartsen
light design Minna Tiikkainen
sound design Peter Lenaerts
set Mette Ingvartsen & Minna Tiikkainen
dramaturgy Bojana Cvejic
technical director Hans Meijer
assistant choreography Dolores Hulan
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co-production Volksbühne (Berlin), PACT Zollverein (Essen), Kaaitheater (Brussels), NEXT festival / Kunstencentrum BUDA (Kortrijk), Les Spectacles vivants – Centre Pompidou (Paris), Dansehallerne (Copenhagen), BIT Teatergarasjen (Bergen), Julidans (Amsterdam), CCN2 - Centre chorégraphique national de Grenoble With the support of Nanterre-Amandiers, Centre Dramatique National, Musée de la Danse/ Centre Chorégraphique National de Rennes et de Bretagne & Kustenwerkplaats Pianofabriek Funded by: The Flemish Authorities, The Flemish Community Commission (VGC) & The Danish Arts Council.
