Dance: Facing oppression, the fall of bodies

Created in 2002 during the Dance Biennial dedicated to Latin American countries, evoking their plundered lands and their oppressed peoples engaged in resistance, Les Applaudissements ne se mangent pas is undoubtedly one of Maguy Marin's most radical pieces.

Because dance, trapped in the repetitive loops of haunting music and despite the struggles expressed, seems to offer no escape to those who, today, all over the world, are denied, exploited and enslaved by totalitarian states and economic policies dictated by multinationals.

Revived in 2016 by the Paris Opera Ballet under the direction of Benjamin Millepied, it is presented at the Maison de la Danse with a new cast. This piece, which we saw in 2002 at its premiere, is strikingly relevant today.

Bodies trapped. You enter through a bare space, surrounded by three walls. Walls made of multicolored strips, like a country celebrating, smiling, on the surface, at those who come from the outside.

Inside, the choreographer presents us with the raw reality of life. The music settles in like a steely blast, enveloping us in an incredible torpor. The dancers appear, dressed like ordinary people on the street. They form a group, groups that walk quickly and take over the space.

The illusion of freedom of movement and the amplitude of the dance are quickly shattered by torsos bumping into each other, individuals caught behind curtains who collapse, disappear or tumble rolling on the floor and who never communicate.

The choreography is trapped in a repetitive cycle of appearances and disappearances, underpinned by music that propels loops of violence, offering no escape except in death. A body is cast out of the group, left alone, its only option left to survive. The pressure of the group, the police, the torturers, of a power that crushes and manipulates, a power that enriches itself at the expense of the people. Here, the individual does not exist. The dancers circle like trapped animals. In waves, the music echoes the sound of machine guns. Standing, the bodies play with weight and balance, flight and fall…

Applause Isn't Edible - Maguy Marin – November 6th and 7th at the Maison de la Danse maisondeladanse.com