Piano Works Debussy • CANCELLED

Piano Works Debussy is a physical duet between choreographer Lisbeth Gruwez and pianist Claire Chevallier. Together they explore the spaces between the notes in Claude Debussy’s compositions, which challenged and rebelled against the structural rigidity of other composers.

‘Music is the space between the notes,’ claimed Claude Debussy. The French impressionist, rebel among composers, succeeded in expressing poetry: rather than genre exercises, he created vast landscapes and cascading waterfalls. The dance language of Lisbeth Gruwez, who previously moved skilfully between the lyrics of Bob Dylan, is in perfect harmony with this piece.

Together with pianist Claire Chevallier, who previously worked with Rosas and Anima Eterna, the choreographer takes on Debussy’s Préludes and Études. The duo explore and translate how he fiddled with the musical rules by focusing on silence and space, small detours and gestures. The result is a duet between the soundscapes of Debussy and the swirling dance material of Gruwez, who explicitly dances ‘between the tones’.

choreography Lisbeth Gruwez music Claude Debussy performance Lisbeth Gruwez & Claire Chevallier artistic assistance Maarten Van Cauwenberghe dramaturgy Bart Meuleman light design Stef Alleweireldt scenography Marie Szersnovicz sound Alban Moraud & Maarten Van Cauwenberghe technical director Gilles Roosen production manager Anita Boels communication Sam Ecker production Voetvolk coproduction KVS – Royal Flemish Theatre, Le Fonds de dotation du Quartz, Theater Freiburg, Klarafestival, ADC Genève, Vooruit Ghent, Liepaja concert hall Great Amber, Festival d’Avignon & MA scène nationale – Pays de Montbéliard residencies KVS – Royal Flemish Theatre, Arts Centre NONA, Ultima Vez, Les Brigittines & Le Quartz with the support of NONA, the Flemish Community & the Belgian Tax Shelter