VOICE NOISE
Jan Martens (GRIP) | BE
‘Redundant.’ Or more bluntly: ‘Irritating noise.’ This is how the voice of the woman has often been considered from ancient Greek times to today. In VOICE NOISE, some innovative, unknown and/or forgotten women’s voices from the past hundred years of music history are given a stage. By doing so, Jan Martens takes another step in his efforts to shape an alternative music canon.
Six dancers respond to recordings in which the human voice can be heard in various guises: humming, soothing, shrieking, whispering, singing. Gradually, they discover their own voice.
'Jan Martens is an incredibly musical choreographer. He possesses the art of completely divide a piece of music in layers and letting each dancer embody their own layer of the music, which brings the piece to life. The dancers Martens works with are fantastic. He shows the strength of the individual dancers without losing sight of the group as a whole. As an audience member, you are completely drawn into a world of its own.' - Kitty, marketing and communications
VOICE NOISE is inspired by Anne Carson’s essay The Gender of Sound (1992), in which she exposes how patriarchal culture has sought to silence women by ideologically associating women’s sound with monstrosity, witchcraft, disorder and death.
Jan Martens is a celebrated choreographer in Europe. His performance any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones premiered at the French Festival d'Avignon and toured throughout Europe. Martens is at the helm of the Flemish dance organisation GRIP together with Femke Gyselinck, Cherish Menzo and Steven Michel. In 2021, Jan Martens was a guest on Boulevard with his solo ELISABETH GETS HER WAY.
He works with some dancers who have inspired him in the past (Steven Michel, Courtney May Robertson and Loeka Willems) and invites new faces (Sue-Yeon Youn, Elisha Mercelina and Mamadou Wagué).
Good to know
- On Wednesday August 7 there will be an aftertalk with Jan Martens and one of the performers.
‘Martens really shows the personalities of his brilliant dancers in long, playful solo’s with lots of room for improvisation.’
De Standaard‘This performance respectfully and deeply dives into the emotional relationship between the voice and the body.’
E-tcetera.be![](https://www.festivalboulevard.nl/cache/_10871/-1024-768.png)
Choreografie Jan Martens
Cocreatie en performance Elisha Mercelina, Steven Michel, Courtney May Robertson, Mamadou Wagué, Loeka Willems, Sue-Yeon Youn en/of Pierre Adrien Touret, Zora Westbroek
Muziek 13 muziekstukken gecreëerd/gezongen door vrouwen; volledige lijst beschikbaar op www.grip.house
Repetitor Zora Westbroek, Naomi Gibson
Lichtontwerp Jan Fedinger
Kostuumontwerper Sofie Durnez
Scenografie Joris van Oosterwijk
Geluidstechniek Vincent Philippart, Valentijn Weyn, Jo Heijens
Stemcoaching Ine Claes, Maxime Montjotin
Uitvoering kostuums en scenografie Théâtre de Liège
Stage Malick Cissé, Sien Wils
Artistiek advies Marc Vanrunxt, Rudi Meulemans en Femke Gyselinck
Trailer en teasers Stanislav Dobák
Grafische vormgeving Nick Mattan
Tourtechnici Elke Verachtert, Valentijn Weyn, Vincent Philippart
Productie GRIP (Anneleen Hermans, Rudi Meulemans, Lize Meynaerts, Klaartje Oerlemans, Jennifer Piasecki, Sylvie Svanberg, Ruud Van Moorleghem, Nele Verreyken)
Internationale spreiding A Propic – Line Rousseau, Marion Gauvent, Lara van Lookeren
Coproductie La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand, Maison de la Danse de Lyon – Pôle européen de production, De Singel international arts center, Théâtre de Liège, Julidans Amsterdam, Le Manège - Scène Nationale de Reims, Romaeuropa festival, DDD – Festival Dias da Dança - Teatro Rivoli - Porto, Scène Nationale de Forbach, Charleroi danse - centre chorégraphique de Wallonie - Bruxelles, Festspielhaus St-Pölten, Tanzhaus nrw Düsseldorf, Théâtre de la Ville - Paris, Festival d’Automne à Paris, Équinoxe - Scène Nationale de Châteauroux, Theater Rotterdam, Perpodium
Residenties La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand (FR), DE SINGEL (Antwerpen, BE), Charleroi danse - centre chorégraphique de Wallonie - Bruxelles (BE)
Met de financiële steun van de Vlaamse Overheid, de Taxshelter van de Belgische Federale Overheid via BNPPFFF