DANCE FIRST THINK LATER

The 3rd edition of Dance First Think Later continues the exploration of the field of dance, in a broad sense, approached from choreographic, performative, video, sculptural or drawn points of view. The works selected offer aesthetic and sensory experiences, while addressing anatomical, ritual, political, identity, scientific, memorial, territorial, climatic and therapeutic issues. The body, its gestures and movements, are at the centre of human and societal questions, both individual and collective.
The visual arts and the performing arts have a lot in common artistically, but they operate very differently in terms of production, scheduling, budget and distribution. A sculpture is material, durable (usually), and requires dedicated transport and storage. Dance is immaterial and ephemeral, and in principle cannot be collected. ‘The dance museum is the dancer's body’ (Boris Charmatz).
The programme brings together some twenty artists, duos or collectives, representing ten countries of origin, several generations (from 26 to 88) and different levels of notoriety. There will be a large-scale installation, 7 video projections, 13 performances representing 25 live events, a workshop-colloquium with 8 speakers, and a film evening. Three performances will involve over 50 local performers. Several videos explore the relationship between body and architecture.
The central venue for Dance First Think Later is Le Commun. One of the large spaces will be dedicated to an installation by Cynthia Lefebvre - which will be activated for three days by performances - and, as a counterpoint, to a video projection by Padmini Chettur. The two smaller rooms will be used for alternating video projections, by Boris Charmatz and Carole Douillard & Babette Mangolte on a white wall, and Eszter Salamon and Gerard & Kelly on a screen. These four films feature bodies in movement in striking architectural settings. The other large space will be devoted to a series of performances over four weeks: Juliette Uzor's installation, a programme with Alina Arshi, Tamar Kisch and Tyra Wigg, DD Dorvillier's 2024 and Ola Maciejewska's 2024, a Geneva premiere by Jérôme Leuba, and an evolving project by Ruth Childs & Cécile Bouffard. A selection of scores from the programmed performances will be presented in a modular set-up. These visual elements (drawings, diagrams, photos, texts, notes, etc.), which are rarely shown in theatres or at festivals, give us a glimpse into the artists' working processes, providing additional elements for perceiving and understanding their work.
One of the ADC's studios at the Maison des arts du Grütli will be the setting for a performance by Emily Mast, involving a musician and six dancers from the Lake Geneva region specially trained for the Geneva iteration of the piece. Marie-Caroline Hominal will also be presenting an installation of two video projections and a new performance. At the Cinémas du Grütli, two short films shot at the Musée d'art et d'histoire will be screened, followed by a round-table discussion bringing together key players in the project. At the Maison Saint Gervais, the La Tierce collective will use the spatial context of the 7th floor as the main character of its proposal. And Marco Berrettini, with Alice Gervais-Ragu, will be proposing a research project in the form of a workshop-colloquium, with the help of eight contributors from different fields of the arts and sciences.

A project integrated into the programme will be presented later, in February 2025. This is a performance by Joan Jonas, which will be the subject of rehearsals and a workshop with around fifteen HEAD students supervised by movement director Nefeli Skarmea, culminating in two public presentations at Le Cube.