Precarious Bodies

The dance pieces by the fine artist, director and choreographer Jan Fabre always underscore the vulnerability of the dancing body. The strong, healthy bodies of the performing dancers are put under such external and internal duress that we glimpse the vulnerability, danger and insecurity underlying the physical perfection, to which the dancers aspire.
The event series “Precarious Bodies” at the Hebbel am Ufer Theater introduced Jan Fabre’s performance art to a new generation of viewers and placed it in relation to current productions. Thirty years after the world premieres of “This is theatre like it was to be expected and foreseen” (1982) and “The Power of Theatrical Madness” (1984), this event series allowed viewers to evaluate past and present images of the body, how they have changed and what political relationships are manifested in them.
The productions of a young generation of international artists placed Jan Fabre’s themes in a contemporary context. The Swedish artist Markus Öhrn reinterpreted Jan Fabre’s text “Etant Donnés”, addressing the themes of hidden sexual desire and the relationship of seeing and being seen. The “Untitled Feminist Show” by the Korean-American choreographer Young Jean Lee featured women whose appearance didn't correspond to today’s ideals of beauty. The Mozambique dancer and choreographer Panaibra Canda deconstructed common images of the body in his piece “The Marabentha Solos”.

Artistic director: Annemie Vanackere
Artists: Jan Fabre (BE), Young Jean Lee (US), Markus Öhrn (SE), Panaibra Canda (MZ), Normal Love