Jérôme Bel (born 1965) is a French dancer and choreographer.

Biography

Bel discovered

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

at the 1983

Festival d'Avignon The ''Festival d'Avignon'', or Avignon Festival, is an annual arts festival held in the French city of Avignon every summer in July in the courtyard of the Palais des Papes as well as in other locations of the city. Founded in 1947 by Jean Vila ...

, where he saw two important pieces, ''

Nelken Nelken is a German-language surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Carmen Eva Nelken Mansberger (1898 – 1966), known by the pseudonym Magda Donato, a Spanish writer, journalist, playwright, and actress *David Nelken, law professor ...

'' by

Pina Bausch Philippine "Pina" Bausch (27 July 1940 – 30 June 2009) was a German dancer and choreographer who was a significant contributor to a neo-expressionist dance tradition now known as . Bausch's approach was noted for a stylized blend of dance mov ...

and '' Rosas danst Rosas'' by

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker (, born 1960 in Mechelen, Belgium, grew up in Wemmel) is a contemporary dance choreographer. The dance company constructed around her, , was in residence at La Monnaie in Brussels from 1992 to 2007. Biography ...

, which inspired him to study dance.Ariane Bavelier
Jérôme Bel : «Il y a une hystérisation du spectateur en Avignon»
''

Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...

'', July 19, 2013. He studied 1984–1985 at the

Centre chorégraphique national Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

Angers Angers (, , ) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the prov ...

. From 1985 to 1991, he danced for a variety of choreographers in France and Italy, including

Angelin Preljocaj Angelin Preljocaj (; born 19 January 1957) is a French dancer and choreographer of contemporary dance. Early life Angelin Preljocaj was born in 1957 in Sucy-en-Brie, France. He is of Albanian descent. Career His choreographic work is steeped ...

, Régis Obadia,

Daniel Larrieu Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew language, Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel (given ...

, and Caterina Sagna. In 1992, he became the assistant to

Philippe Decouflé Philippe Decouflé (born October 22, 1961) is a French people, French choreographer, dancer, mime artist, and theatre director.

for the ceremonies of the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

Albertville Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

.Brigitte Salino
Au théâtre avec Jérôme Bel
''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', July 4, 2010 He worked twelve years with Frédéric Seguette. He began choreographing creating provocative and entertaining pieces influenced by performance art and challenging some of the conventions of performance.His first performance ''name given by the author'' (1994) is a choreography of objects. His second one, ''Jérôme Bel (''1995) is based on the ''total'' nudity of the performers. ''Shirtology'' (1997) presents an actor wearing many T-shirts. ''The show must go on'' (2001) brings together twenty performers, nineteen pop songs and one DJ. In 2004, the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

commissioned from Bel a theatrical documentary about Véronique Doisneau, a dancer in their corps de ballet. In 2005, a residency in Thailand resulted in the piece ''Pichet Klunchun & Myself'', a choreographic dialogue between Bel and traditional Thai dancer Pichet Klunchun. This will be followed by the solo ''Cédric Andrieux'' (2009) for

Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...

's eponymous dancer, ''Isadora Duncan'' (2019), a piece that portrays this choreographer, ''Laura Pante'' (2020) for the eponymous Italian dancer and choreographer, or ''Xiao Ke'' (2020) for the eponymous Chinese performer, choreographer and dancer. In 2010, he collaborated with

to create '' 3Abschied''.

Marietta Piekenbrock :''Note:This article is based on a translation of the German Wikipedia article ( :de:Marietta Piekenbrock)''. Marietta Piekenbrock (born 1964 in Westfalen) is a German art curator, dramaturge, author and a cultural manager. Her projects combine t ...

, ''Die Geige sackt zu Boden''. "3Abschied" – Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker tanzt Jérôme Bel und das Sterben." In: Frankfurter Rundschau, 24. February 2010. based on

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

's ''Song of the Earth''. ''Disabled Theater'' (2012) was created for mentally handicapped professional actors from Theater Hora. ''Dancing as if nobody is watching'' (2018) and the reading of

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

's ''Lecture on Nothing'' call for a contemplative aesthetic attitude. Since 2019, for ecological reasons, Jérôme Bel and his company no longer travel by plane for creations and tours. Thus, ''Dances for Wu-Kang Chen'' (2020), a portrait of this Taiwanese dancer, ''Xiao Ke'' (2020), a performance created with this Shanghai-based choreographer, and ''Laura Pante'' (2020), which presents the career of this dancer living in Italy, were all rehearsed by videoconference, performed in the language of the dancers and toured in the country of their performers. His work has been shown at Tate Modern, London; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; and MoMA, new York. His work has been included in Performa, New York, Kunsten Festival des Arts, Brussels, and Festival d’Avignon as well as dOCUMENTA 13 (2012) in Kassel. Films of his shows have been presented at biennials of contemporary art in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

and at the

Centre Georges-Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...

in Paris and in

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

, at the

Hayward Gallery The Hayward Gallery is an art gallery within the Southbank Centre in central London, England and part of an area of major arts venues on the South Bank of the River Thames. It is sited adjacent to the other Southbank Centre buildings (the Roy ...

and the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...

in London, and at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York).

Choreographic works

* 1994 : ''Name given by the author'' * 1995 : ''Jérôme Bel'' * 1997 : ''Shirtology'' * 1998 : ''The last performance'' * 2000 : ''Xavier Le Roy'', delegated to choreographer Xavier Le Roy * 2001: ''The Show Must Go On'' * 2004 : ''The Show Must Go On 2'' * 2004: ''Véronique Doisneau'', solo for

dancer Véronique Doisneau * 2005: ''Pichet Klunchun and Myself'', duet by Bel and Pichet Klunchun * 2005: ''Isabel Torres'', solo for dancer Isabel Torres * 2009: ''Lutz Forster'', solo for dancer Lutz Förster * 2009: ''Cédric Andrieux'', solo for

Lyon Opera Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

dancer Cédric Andrieux, formerly a longtime member of

's company * 2010: '' 3Abschied'' in collaboration with

* 2012: ''Disabled Theater'' with the actors of Theater HORA * 2013 : ''Cour d'honneur'' for

* 2015: ''Gala'', premiering at Brussels KunstenFestivaldesArts * 2016 : ''Tombe'' for

Paris Opera Ballet The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...

* 2017 : ''Posé arabesque, temps lié en arrière, marche, marche...'' for

Lyon Opera Ballet Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

* 2018 : ''Dancing as if nobody is watching'' * 2018 : ''Lecture on nothing'', on the homonimous text by

* 2019 : ''Rétrospective'' * 2019 : ''Isadora Duncan'' * 2020 : ''Dances for an actress (Valérie Dréville)'' * 2020 : ''Xiao Ke'' * 2020 : ''Laura Pante'' * 2020 : ''Dances for Wu-Kang Chen'' * 2021 : ''Dances for an actress (Jolente de Keersmaeker)'' * 2021 : ''Jérôme Bel''

Prizes

* 2005 :

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

in New York for ''The Show Must Go On'' * 2008 : Princess Margriet Award for cultural diversity, shared with Pichet Klunchun, from the

European Cultural Foundation The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) is a Netherlands-based independent cultural foundation. Its mission is to “make a tangible impact on civil society, citizen initiatives, public opinion and policy proposals to combat the fragmenting forces ...

* 2013 : Prix suisses de danse – Création actuelle de danse for ''Disabled Theater'' * 2021: Taishin Performing Arts Award for ''Dances for Wu-Kang Chen''

References

External links

Official site
together with Laurent Chétouane for Goethe Institut, by Gudrun Pawelke {{DEFAULTSORT:Bel, Jerome Living people 1965 births People from Montpellier French male dancers French choreographers Contemporary dance choreographers Contemporary dancers Bessie Award winners