Josette Baïz / Compagnie Grenade Antipodes

Since its inception in 1998, the company Grenade has explored the intersections of all dances with invigorating power. This ensemble of 20-odd dancers, some of whom were trained as children or adolescents within the Groupe Grenade, performs a repertoire of pieces by the likes of Germaine Acogny, Angelin Preljocaj and more recently Ohad Naharin (Kamuyot) as well as pieces by the founder and director Josette Baïz. Taking this inclusiveness drive to the next step, the show features seemingly very different styles on the same bill: the topnotch hip hop of Kader Attou, embodied by the iconic The Roots, the theatrical and wacky movement style of Claire Laureau and Nicolas Chaigneau with elements inspired by their next show, the demanding language of Iván Perez with an excerpt from his all-male 2015 piece Young Men, inspired by World War 1. And finally, the youthful piece SIAS by two dancers of the company Grenade, Maxime Bordessoules and Rémy Rodriguez. In other words, the new generation revisiting the ancient myth of Tiresias, successively man and woman, to tackle the very relevant questions of identity and gender. Breathtaking.
 

Isabelle Calabre