Océans

Choreographies by Damien Jalet & Kyle Abraham

Brise-lames
First performed at l’Opéra de Paris in 2020
First time at the Grand Théâtre de Genève

River Without Banks
World Premiere by the Ballet of the Grand Théâtre de Genève
November 2026

Duration: 1h40 with one intermission
Recommended for ages 10 and up

Cast

Brise-lames

Choreography Damien Jalet
Associate Choreographer Aimilios Arapoglou
Scenographer, Costumes Designer JR
Lighting Designer Fabiana Piccioli collaborating with Elena Gui on the revival
Music Koki Nakano
Additional music Olafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm

River Without Banks

Choreography Kyle Abraham
Set Designer and Lighting Designer Dan Scully
Costumes Designer Reid & Harriet Design
Music Leo Svirsky
Choreography assistants Stephanie Terasaki et Donovan Reed
Pianists Leo Svirsky, Reinier van Houdt et Réginald Le Reun

Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève

About

A row of kneeling figures sways to the rhythm of throbbing pulses. From their torsos, grey waves are rising, spilling and crashing against an imaginary breakwater, until the arpeggios of a virtuoso pianist cause their surges to swell into whirlpools (Brise-lames). — A river of sound springs from two pianos, its ripples rushing over and disturbing the surrounding space. Caught in the current, couples form and break apart, in a play of delicate separations and renewed unions (River Without Banks). Océans brings together two pieces inspired by the shapeshifting energy of water. Premiered in 2020 at the Paris Opera, Damien Jalet’s Brise-lames, imagined with the artist JR, joins the repertoire of the Geneva Ballet. Set to music by Koki Nakano, nine performers create a human wave, a symbol of power and fragility. In River Without Banks, Kyle Abraham explores the passage of time to Leo Svirsky’s spellbinding score, in a shifting environment designed with the help Dan Scully.