Opening Seizoen: A

Smile without a Cat

A performance by Steven Michel in collaboration with 17 students on the Bachelor’s programme in Dance at the Royal Conservatoire of Antwerp.

A Smile without a Cat unfolds as a dance concert in constant development: a Muppet show of bodies, a cartoon ballet, a derailed recital in which choreography emerges whilst simultaneously falling apart. Through a series of crescendos that constantly collapse and rebuild themselves, seventeen performers move through formations inspired by orchestras, swarms, cartoons and collective rituals. Rhythms become architectures, and gestures pile up into temporary melodies, visual jingles or mad symphonies.

The title is taken from the famous image of the Cheshire Cat from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, who slowly fades away until only his smile remains. Can an expression survive independently of the figure that gave rise to it?

Just like that lingering smile, the piece finds itself on a threshold between presence and disappearance, absurdity and strict discipline, animation and exhaustion. What emerges is a choreography of perseverance: bodies that keep moving whilst forms collapse, meanings scatter and structures constantly unravel.

Afterwards, we’ll raise a glass together in celebration of the new season, with a drink and an energetic DJ set by The Camps in the bar.