Jan Fabre - Troubleyn

The form of action painting developed by the artist Yves Klein, using bodies as living paintbrushes, was Fabre's source of inspiration for 'Quando l'uomo principale è una donna'. The dancer Lisbeth Gruwez performs under a canopy of bottles from which drips olive oil. At first it's only a trickle, but gradually the flow increases and the oil gushes and spatters down on her, so that by the end, the whole stage is transformed into a reflecting surface. The musical Leitmotiv is Domenico Modugno's evergreen hit 'Volare' from the fifties, evoking the atmosphere of Italy and summer. Humming playfully, the ever-charming Lisbeth Gruwez metamorphoses from man into woman and from human into animal, throwing in a few conjuring and juggling tricks. Her performance relies on a unique combination of great technical skill, extreme light-footedness and total abandon. She is Fabre's invincible 'warrior of beauty' in a production that unites the best of performance, dance and ritual.