Faun/Noetic

A must-see show by one of the leading dance companies on the international scene

“Aimais-je un rêve ? 
Mon doute, amas de nuit ancienne, s’achève 
En maint rameau subtil, qui, demeuré les vrais. 
Bois même, prouve, hélas! que bien seul je m’offrais 
pour triomphe la faute idéale de roses.” 
Stephane Mallarmé (1842-1898), L’après-midi d’un faune (eclogue) 

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Since its creation in 1962, the Ballet du Gran Théâtre de Genève has never stopped exploring the full range of possibilities within contemporary dance. Over the last 18 years, the company has decisively pursued a path of choreographic creation, while upholding the founding principles of dance. One of the elements that characterises the company is the numerous rewritings of pieces from the repertoire by thrilling revolutionary choreographers. 

Since July 2022, after seven years at Ballet Vlaanderen, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui has been the director of Ballet de Genève. A personage from the Belgian contemporary scene, the prestigious dancer and choreographer has crafted several important works with interesting interdisciplinary collaborations with visual artists, designers and musicians.  

From the reference to Nijinsky’s mythical choreography by the Ballets Russes, after Mallarmé’s poem, in 2009 Sidi Larbi created his own Faun at the request of Sadler’s Wells. Here, the figures take on greater three-dimensionality and show mythological and savage aspects, extremely sexually charged. From Debussy’s music, but also with other interspersed excerpts by Nitin Sawhney, the childish and archaic play are combined to leap from one style to another, from one culture to another, from one century to another. 

In the second part of the programme, we can enjoy a proposal from 2014: Noetic, which explores the idea that a straight line is actually a curve and can be connected through the shape of the circle. With the collaboration of visual artist Antony Gormley, Sidi Larbi directs a collective work; a chain reaction of elegant and synchronised movements in the construction of aesthetically powerful images. 

With 21 dancers trained in classical dance as a base, the Ballet is currently one of the leading dance companies on the international scene and this show is a must-see. 

Patron of the Dance Circle

With the support of:

FAUN
Created by David Dawson 
Based on L’après-midi d’un faune by Vaslav Nijinksy
World premier: 16 June 2009 at the English National Ballet Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London.
Liceu premiere 

NOETIC 
Created by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui with the collaboration of Göteborgsoperans Danskompani
World premiere: 8 March 2014 at the Göteborgsoperan in Göteborg
Liceu premiere