In the show Dub Love the artists combine the relaxation, speed and vitality of dancehall with the fetish of classical ballet – pointe shoes that require extraordinary technique. Dancing en pointe, or standing on the very tips of one’s toes, defies gravity and introduces an abstract dimension, imparting a sense of lightness to the dancers, as if they were hovering in the air. The artists combine classical pointe shoe practice with Brazilian religious dance – candomblé, and street dance with dancehall. At the same time they sing to background music played by High Elements, a DJ who combines the deep bass sounds typical of dub with the open melodies characteristic of Jamaican music.
The dancer and choreographer CECILIA BENGOLEA (born 1982) comes from Buenos Aires, but has been living in Paris since 2001. She studied dance, philosophy and art history. In 2008, together with French dancer FRANÇOIS CHAIGNAUD (born 1983), she founded the group Vlovajob Pru. The artists were brought together by their fascination with the world of drag queens, drum & bass, jungle, dubstep, reggae, bashment, house, voguing and hype clubs, which became the area for their anthropological searches. There they discovered Jamaican dancehall, krumping, house and split & jump.
Choregraphie: François Chaignaud and Cecilia Bengolea
In collaboration with Ana Pi
Performed by François Chaignaud, Cecilia Bengolea and Ana Pi
Dubplates player: High Elements
Light design, costumes: Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud
Administration, production: Jenny Suarez
Diffusion: Sarah de Ganck
Production: Vlovajob Pru
Coproduction: La Ménagerie de Verre (Paris), Maison de la Culture d’Amiens / apap, Szene Salzburg / apap, European Union Culture Programme (Education and Culture DG), Le Vivat – Armentières
Acknowledgements: ImPulsTanz and Karl Regensburger
With the support of La Ménagerie de Verre (Paris)
Vlovajob Pru is unded by DRAC Poitou – Charentes and is supported by the Institut Français for its
projects abroad.
This project was funded with the support of the European Commission.
Cecilia Bengolea and François Chaignaud are La Ménagerie de Verre (Paris) associate artists.