Press

Remarkably performed by Anne-Cécile Chane-Tune, Colline Libon, Frauke Mariën and Shantala Pèpe, Ophelia-s avoids linear narrative or any systematic recreation of the paintings and events that inspired it. Thomas Turine’s original music, Johan Daenen’s set design and Patrick Bonté’s lighting instead help create a dense and mysterious atmosphere, occasionally punctuated by subtle touches of humour. The result draws us into a spellbinding universe, provoking as many interpretations as questions.
— Jean-Marie Wynants, Le Soir / November 2023

 

(…) On stage, four women investigate the death of the young woman, the beautiful drowned figure who, since Shakespeare, has been the source of so many fantasies. The piece unfolds four visions of Ophelia, four evolutions of the image projected across time by this idealised character. On stage, the disjointed bodies first appear lifeless, submerged in a set that in no way conceals the morbidity of the act. Eventually, these bodies rise and begin a frenetic dance—a reappropriation of bodies long confined within a masculine interpretation (…).
— Louis Thiébaut, RTBF.be / November 2023

 

(…) Beyond its powerful metaphors, another strength of the performance lies in its aesthetics, enhanced by a non-cinematic use of the film medium. Together with filmmaker Sylvain Dufayard, the company continually moves back and forth between choreographic creation and image-making, extending the action, sometimes intensifying movement, displacements, and poetics. Dance, its chromatic quality, and evocative projections, combined with Thomas Turine’s striking music, merge to construct a total organic language with a dynamic, immersive, and impactful sensory and visual perspective. At times, the sense of immersion can feel almost suffocating; at others, pure poetry is enough to restore breath.

Ophelia-s borders on black magic!

Blending dreamlike imagery and claustrophobia, uniting all the arts in a single impulse, the company once again pushes the boundaries of contemporary dance to deliver a work of intoxicating and unusual beauty. These rebellious Ophelias come together like an untamed geyser, breaking codes and defying the foretold death. A powerful sense of female freedom emerges. A courageous moment of release, open to becoming. It is very much what is at stake here.
— Jean-Jacques Goffinon, November 2023