slow show
“Slow Show” is an intensive and agitated dance whose visible repercussions are minimal, precise, concentrated. Presented for the first time with dance students from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) at Hauser and Wirth Los Angeles and at the MAK Center at the Schindler House, the performance is rooted in the principles of trance, exultation, telepathy, and unconscious memories, revealing its strength and vivacity through movements slowed to the extreme, almost imperceptible, almost invisible. The invisible is not emptiness, nor is it calmness or absence. The subtlety of the movements doesn’t take away the intensity nor the exhaustion growing from a stretched time instead of a possible frenetic trance.
Each repetition of “Slow Show” is unique, gathering around 50 local dancers from all ages and backgrounds and answering to their immediate context. The performance is accompanied by Eddie Ruscha, musician, artist, and DJ, to create sound waves made of samples, live electronics, real sounds, and guitar accompanying the bodies.
During “Slow Show,” bodies and sounds echo through the very foundations of the site: they evoke cohabitation, distances, forms; and they traverse individual and common spaces.
“Slow Show” is always preceded by a 3 day workshop which allows participants to meet through a physical practice, to experience different states and intensities, and to build an ephemeral community before offering a large audience a collective performance.
LUma Arles
“Slow Show” in Luma Arles, Parc des Ateliers in July 2019 was both a workshop, and a way for Arlesians to meet through a physical practice, to experience different states and intensities, to build an ephemeral community and to offer to a large audience a collective performance. “Slow Show” brought together fifty amateur dancers. After three days of work and preparation with Dimitri Chamblas, the group presented the performance in different areas of the Parc des Ateliers, adapting to site-specific constraints; offering new perspectives to the public: complete or fragmented points of view, close-up or at distance; mirages moving in the dust.
Eddie ruscha
Musician, artist and DJ based in Los Angeles, Eddie Ruscha develops a work that explores a diversity of mediums and disciplines. Graduated from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1991, his work was presented as part of many international exhibitions. Eddie Ruscha has also realized an important music corpus under various names. His latest album “Who Are You”, released under the name E Ruscha V, was noticed by critics. Ruscha recently composed the soundtrack of several pieces designed by Dimitri Chamblas, presented at the Hauser & Wirth Gallery and the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles. In these performances, Ruscha uses a set of electronic musical instruments, sound effects and guitars to create amorphous musical ambiances, partly improvised, imagined merging with performances.
« Penser-danser
le “Slow Show”
de Dimitri Chamblas »
Madeleine Planeix-Crocker
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Lafayette Anticipations
The “Slow Show” third version, produced by Lafayette Anticipations in collaboration with the MC93 of Bobigny, brought together 50 people of all ages and backgrounds, who prepared the performance in three preliminary workshops.
A public presentations of the “Slow Show” took place at the MC93 in Bobigny on Saturday 8 February, followed by two at the Lafayette Anticipation in Paris on Sunday 9 February 2020.
La termitière Choreographic Development Center
Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Slow Show on the African continent took place in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), at La termitière Choreographic Development Center, from December 6 to 13, 2020.
Conceived and conducted by choreographer and dancer Dimitri Chamblas, also dean of dance @CalArts in Los Angeles, the Slow Show is a performance for 50 participants of all ages and backgrounds. The group was made of local dancers , refugees and displaced persons from northern Burkina Faso's refugee camps, women from Les femmes battantes association , and various other persons who were whiling to join the process.
This fifth edition of the Slow Show was presented in the extraordinary outdoor disused amphitheater of CDC La Termitière. It opened and the closed of the festival "Dialogues de corps”.
the great northern festival
minneapolis, minnesota
With the support of Villa Albertine, in partnership with the French Embassy ; Alliance Française; and The Cowles Center.
Dimitri Chamblas’ Slow Show is a 20-minute intensive, collective dance whose movements are minute, precise, and concentrated—inspired by principal roots of trance, exultation, telepathy, and unconscious memories.
Saturday, February 5th, 2022 - In this iteration, 50 local participants responded to their immediate environment on a frozen Como Lake, revealing the strength and vivacity of subtle movements with real-time sound accompaniment made of samples and live electronics by artist Eddie Ruscha.
Charleroi, Belgium
On June 2022 and with Charleroi Danse as host, 50 participants gathered at the Gilly Velodrome which — to the delight of weeds and vandals — was left to its own devices after a few short years of glory. With the abandoned velodrome as setting, this edition of Slow Show was the first to take place in Belgium.
the geffen @moca contemporary
los angeles, california
As part of 2022’s Van Cleef and Arpels Dance Reflections, Slow Show took on The Geffen’s esplanade at nighttime. As participants brought “Slow Show” to life, the audience was quick to grow as passers-by, drawn in by the performance, did not hesitate to join in as spectators.
Dakar, senegal
In collaboration with African dance icon Germaine Acogny and performed by dancers from her school, École des Sables, Slow Show made its return to the African continent in the vibrant city of Dakar. Taking place in the former Palais de Justice of the senegalese capital, participants took on the esplanade of this historic building for this edition of the performance on December 6th, 2022.
festival internacional de danza
veinte once
tijuana, mexico
On May 20th, 2023, Slow Show was presented for the first time in Mexican soil as part of the Festival Internacional de Danza Veinte Once with the iconic spheric structure of Centro Cultural Tijuana as backdrop.
50 participants, ranging in all ages and backgrounds joined the Slow Show family to deliver a performance that was enjoyed by many. After 4 days of workshops, the newly constituted community of Slow Show Tijuana put on 2 shows to the delight of locals and passersby.
Tokyo, JAPAN
With a group of around 80 students from different universities from the Japanese capital, Slow Show made its first appearance in Asia on June 1st, 2023.
After a series of workshops to get the group ready, two performances were held at Tokyo Big Sight, an international exhibition center in the shores of Tokyo Bay. Among the institution participating were student from Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, and TAMA Art University.
43 festival Montpellier danse
montpellier, France
As part of the 43rd annual Montpellier Danse Festival, Slow Show traveled to Occitanie to bring together 55 local amateurs who wished to partake in this city’s iconic festival that takes place in the month of June every summer.
This iteration of Slow Show also had the particularity of being presented in two different spaces on June 24th, 2023. The first show took part during the morning in the forecourt of the 18th century building of the Musée Fabre. At first, the public consisted of Montpéllerains who follow the festival’s program closely but they were soon joined by people passing by the museum that could not help but stop and take time off their day to enjoy the performance.
The second performance took place in the afternoon, this time in the courtyard of Montpellier Danse’s headquarter’s, L’Agora, cité internationale de la danse. With this historic building in the city center as backdrop, the performers once again delighted the audience with an emotion filled show.
Zürcher theater spektakel x luma westbau
Zurich, switzerland
In collaboration with LUMA Westbau and as part of the Zürcher Theater Spektakel, Slow Show once again assembled 50 local performers on September 3rd, 2023 for two iterations on Saffa Insel, an island on lake Zurich.
[2018] December 1st, hauser & wirth - los angeles, usa - in collaboration with the California Institute of the Arts.
[2019] February 10th, Mak Center for Art and Architecture - Schindler's King Road house, lons angeles, usa - as part of the shelter or playground performance program ; july 12th & 13th, le parc des ateliers - arles, france - in collaboration with luma arles.
[2020] Feburary 8th, mc93 - Maison de la Culture de Seine-Saint-Denis - bobigny, france ; February 9th, Lafayette Anticipations Fondation d’entreprise Galeries Lafayette produced by Lafayette Anticipations in collaboration with MC93 of Bobigny ; December 13th, La Termitière Centre de développement chorégraphique - ouagadougou, burkina faso.
[2022] February 5th, como lake - minneapolis, usa - as part of the great northern festival curated by Kate Nordstrum ; June 25th, Vélodrome de charleroi - charleroi, belgium - in collaboration with charleroi danse ; September 15th, the conservatory of flowers at golden gate park - san francisco, usa - in collaboration with 836m ; October 25th, the geffen contemporary at moca - los angeles, uds - as part of the festival dance reflections by van cleef and arpels ; December 6th, ancien palais de justice - dakar, senegal - with the participation of École des Sables and support from chanel.
[2023] May 20th, centro cultural tijuana - tijuana, mexico - as part of Festival internacional de danza veinte once and in collaboration with conservatorio de danza mexico ; June 1st, tokyo big sight - tokyo, japan - with participation of students from Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, Japan Women’s College of Physical Education, and TAMA Art University and support from chanel ; June 24th, Parvis du musée fabre and a second iteration at cour de l’agora - montpellier, france - as part of the 43rd annual montpellier danse festival ; September 3rd, saffa-insel - zurich, switzerland - as part of zürcher theater spektakel and in collaboration with luma westbau.
Choreography
DIMITRI CHAMBLAS
Music and sound
EDDIE RUSCHA
Acknowledgements
AMÉLIE Coster
Photography
ANNE-SYLVIE BONNET
JOANA LUZ
MARIO DE LOPEZ
Daniel Art Avec Amour
Manuela Dalle
Elon Schoenholz
luca ianelli for montpellier danse
rolando escobedo for festival internacional de danza veinte once