GENETRIX

DATES

6-16 January 2022 – Théâtre du Galpon Geneva
5 November 2021 – L’Arsenic Gindou France

30 October 2020 Festival Solo Centre Mittleren Bonn Germany

26 – 30 October 2020 – 2nd stage of development – residency Centre Mittleren Bonn Germany

20 – 25 October 2020 – 2nd stage of development – residency at Théâtre L'Arsenic Gindou France

8 - 9 November 2019 1st stage of development - Dancehouse Melbourne Australia

l a p e p i n i e r e

Paying homage, reconnecting with one's heritage, recreating the bond of memory: dance expresses various ways of communicating with one's ancestors. In Genetrix, four solos explore the relationship of a dancer with a grandparent, in an immersive cinema setting. A poetic show to be seen until January 16 at the Galpon. 

Genetrix is based on the idea of epigenetics, which postulates that we inherit our ancestors through our bodies, our gestures, our attitudes. These are thus marked by the experiences of the past, allowing us to create a link with our grandparents, but also, in certain cases, to live with ghosts. The grandparents of the four dancers lived in the 30s and 40s, with all the upheavals that the world has known. Each in his or her own way, for about twenty minutes, brings back memories, emotions, the story of a loved one, through a device that mixes dance and projections on the three white screens that surround the stage. A dive into the intimacy of memory.

Gentleness in the face of war

Rudi van der Merwe, a South African dancer who has been based in Switzerland for many years, begins with what is undoubtedly a traditional song of a mother recounting the departure to war and the loss of her sons. His grandmother was in fact emphatuated with a German soldier visiting South Africa, whom she would never marry. Kneeling in front of a patchwork rug, his gentle and precise gestures contrast with the violence of the story and the war horses moving at high speed on the screens. As if preparing a ritual, he seems to pay homage to his grandmother's origins, before switching to a dance reminiscent of military gestures, supported by archive images. The music then becomes more rhythmic, with the sound of percussion, as if to underline this duality of his origins. A duality that seems to mark him deeply, and even define him to a certain extent.

As in a bullfight

Susana Panadés Diaz then takes us to a small Andalusian village, with a tribute to her orphaned grandfather, whose life was always divided between poetry and war, he who was a soldier but never forgot the melancholy local poet on his donkey. It all begins with an interior that is revealed through the dancer's movements, as if she were inviting us into her intimate space. Then, as a white bull is projected at the back of the room, its movements recall those of the bullfighter, but marked by a fluidity and a softness which contrast with what we are used to. Far from the ordinary jerks, she reminds us of the ambivalence between poetry and war, which marked her grandfather and with which she has to live. A way, perhaps, to underline a form of appeasement after years of trouble. As if she had finally found the inner peace that her grandfather sought, despite the fire that burned in him and that we are also shown. The archival images that close this second solo resonate like an exposure of the memory. 

Finding joy after the horror

In József Trefeli's story, everything begins with a voice-over, that of the father telling the son about his youth in Hungary, before his Father went to war. The first part of the solo thus resembles a journey, that of a farmer, fisherman and musician, who was forcibly conscripted into the army and lost almost half his weight. The violence of the images of a half-destroyed Budapest makes a deep impression. But József Trefeli doesn't stop there and instead gives us a message of hope: that of a grandfather whom he didn't know, but who came back to his country of origin to rebuild it, to rebuild himself. The last dance turns out to be more joyful, with the lively Eastern music that accompanies it, the snapping of fingers and the smile that can be seen not only on the dancer's face, but also in his entire body. All is not lost.

Performing to evoke her origins

The fourth solo takes a particular form: Victoria Chiu, an Australian dancer, cannot be in Geneva because of the health situation. It is therefore through a short film in the form of a dance performance that she expresses herself. Through images with strong symbols, she evokes her Chinese heritage. In a moment of intense poetry, she becomes one with two bags of peanuts, which have become her dance partners and whose sound of rubbing on the floor is accentuated by microphones. As if to remind us of the power of the body and its sounds, which seem insignificant to us but are nevertheless an integral part of us and of our history. If the relationship to the origins is less explicit than in the previous solos, the violence is also suggested, as in this moment when everything, from the fish's head to the dancer's braids, is cut off sharply, before returning to a little more softness.

It is therefore difficult to put into words what is told to us with the body and deeply anchored in it. The best thing to do is to attend a performance of Genetrix and let yourself be carried away by the movements, the music, the words, and the images. So many symbols that narrate a past not always easy, through evocations. Where a movement is worth more than a thousand words.

Fabien Imhof - Holder of a master's degree in literature, he is one of the co-founders of La Pépinière. Responsible for partnerships with theaters, he will take you on a journey through the plays and productions of the region's theaters.

Practical information : Genetrix, a dance creation in co-production, from 6 to 16 January 2022 at the Théâtre du Galpon.

Choreography and interpretation: Victoria Chiu, Susana Panadés Diaz, Jószef Trefeli and Rudi van der Merwe