Babel(words) - Eastman / Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui & Damien Jalet join forces with UK visual artist Antony Gormley to create ’Babel(Words)’, a dance performance that explores language and its relationship with nationhood, identity and religion. Taking the tale of ’The Tower of Babel’ as its starting point, Gormley’s huge 3-dimensional frames hint at a nameless intersection in a faceless future-city near the nowhere border of no man’s land. We watch as the action flows from private to public, intimate to extrovert, and individual to collective - while choices of faith, space and community are made and we are reminded that to some the tale of Babel represents the gates to enlightenment, to others -- chaos, confusion and conflict. As with their previous collaborations, the show is informed by a profound ’belief in the belief that something matters’. ’Babel(Words)’ takes us on a search for what that might be, telling both a bold and tender story of personal, physical, cultural, political and linguistic boundaries, and guessing all the time at what it is that unites rather than divides us. ’Babel (Words)’ is the culmination of three distinct journeys: firstly, it’s the final part in Cherkaoui’s internationally acclaimed ’Foi’ and ’Myth’ triptych, secondly it reunites him with Antony Gormley, following the success of ’Zero Degrees’ with Akram Khan and ’Sutra’ with the Shaolin Monks and finally, it honours a decade of collaboration with co-choreographer, Damien Jalet. 13 dancers and 5 musicians have been assembled from 13 countries across 5 continents to work together on a project almost as ambitious, imaginative, determined and skilled as the building of the tower of Babel itself. Choreography Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Damien Jalet Visual design Antony Gormley Music composition Patrizia Bovi, Mahabub Khan, Sattar Khan, Gabriele Miracle, Shogo Yoshii (Kodo) Dance Mohamed ’Ben Fury’ Benaji, Valgerður ’Vala’ Rúnarsdóttir, Christine Leboutte, Ulrika Kinn Svensson, Darryl E. Woods, Kazutomi Kozuki, James O’Hara, Moya Michael, Helder Seabra, Paea Leach, Jon Filip Fahlstrøm, Francis Ducharme, Damien Fournier, Elias Lazaridis, Navala ’Niku’ Chaudhari, Mohamed Toukabri, Sandra Delgadillo Porcel, Paul Zivkovich, Igal Furman, Qudus Onikeku, Leif Federico Firnhaber Live music Patrizia Bovi, Mahabub Khan, Sattar Khan, Gabriele Miracle, Shogo Yoshii (Kodo), Kazunari Abe, Enea Sorini, Leah Stuttard, Miriam Andersén, Fadia Tomb El-Hage Assistant choreography Nienke Reehorst Dramaturgy Lou Cope Music counsellor Fahrettin Yarkin Costume design Alexandra Gilbert Light design Adam Carrée Producer Eastman, De Munt / La Monnaie (Brussels) Co-producer Sadler’s Wells (London), Fondazione Musica per Roma, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg, Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, Theaterfestival Boulevard (’s HertogenBosch), International Dance festival Switzerland -- Migros Culture Percentage Steps, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Festspielhaus Sankt-Pölten, Parc de la Villette (Paris) In collaboration with Dash Arts 2010 programme on Arabic Arts, Garrick Charitable Trust