Jan Martens / GRIP
THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER 2.0
"Open all your pores to this gem. And don't forget to breathe," wrote Het Nieuwsblad in 2014 about THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER. The reviews at the time don't lie: this explosion of precision and endurance catapulted Jan Martens to international breakthrough, resulting in more than a hundred performances worldwide.
In 2025, Jan Martens and GRIP breathed new life into the work – eight pairs of fresh knees, the same relentless energy. At BROEK 2026, it will be performed outdoors for the first time, ready make Vrijbroekpark tremble with this 2.0 version.
American photographer Philippe Halsman said, '... when you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears.' With THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER, Jan Martens took this statement as his starting point and revealed the person behind the dancer through the jump.
In THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER, the dancer is defined as a pure performer, striving for perfection. By subjecting eight dancers to a complex, mathematical, dynamic and exhausting choreography, performed in forced uniformity, they eventually make mistakes. And then their masks fall away.
Through its radical choreographic form, THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER questioned the audience's perception of dancers, choreographers, spectators and the cultural policy of the time. Ten years later, these questions are still very relevant due to current political and social trends: Where is the fine line between art and entertainment? Who are we as an audience when we watch the dancers' suffering from the theatre auditorium as if it were a bullfight in an arena? Is contemporary dance striptease for the upper class? THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER shifts the viewer's position: from merely undergoing the experience to active reflection.
DURATION: 70min.
““Jan Martens begon zijn carrière met intieme duetten, maar met deze tour de force werd duidelijk: deze man is tot grote dingen in staat.”
CHOREOGRAFIE: Jan Martens • REPETITOR / ARTISTIEKE ASSISTENTIE: Naomi Gibson • ARTISTIEKE ASSISTENTIE / COACHING: Steven Michel, Piet Defrancq • PERFORMERS: 8 van deze dansers: Pierre Bastin, Camilla Bundel, Jim Buskens, Zoë Chungong, Simon Lelièvre, Florence Lenon, Elisha Mercelina, Dan Mussett, Pierre Adrien Touret, Zora Westbroek, Maisie Woodford, PaoloYao • ORIGINELE CAST: Piet Defrancq, Naomi Gibson, Nelle Hens, Julien Josse, Kimmy Ligtvoet, Cherish Menzo, Steven Michel, Laura Vanborm en/of Morgane Ribbens, Ilse Ghekiere, Victor Dumont, Connor Schumacher, Caspar Knops, Amerigo Delli Bove, Daniel Barkan • DRAMATURGIE: Renée Copraij • LICHTONTWERP: Jan Fedinger • KOSTUUMSTYLERING 2025: Sofie Durnez • TOURTECHNICI: Michel Spang, Elke Verachtert, Nele Verreyken • GRAPHISCHE VORMGEVING: Nick Mattan • STAGE GRAPHISCHE VORMGEVING: Joëlle Desmet • KINESITHERAPIE EN OSTEOPATHIE: Fourward Gent, Inge Haeyaert, LodeVerreyen • PRODUCTIE: GRIP (Francisca Alves, Hanne Doms, Anneleen Hermans, Rudi Meulemans, Klaartje Oerlemans, Jennifer Piasecki, Sylvie Svanberg, Nele Verreyken, Kato Wilms) • INTERNATIONALE SPREIDING: A propic / Line Rousseau, Marion Gauvent • PARTNERS 2023-2027: La Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand SN, Maison de la danse/Pôle européen de création, en soutien à la Biennale de Lyon • DOG DAYS 2014 COPRODUCTIE: Frascati Producties, SPRING performing artsfestival, DansBrabant, La Briqueterie CDC du Val-de-Marne, tanzhaus nrw en TAKT Dommelhof • DOG DAYS 2025 COPRODUCTIE: Theater Rotterdam, DE SINGEL, Le Carreau–Scène nationale de Forbach et de l’Est Mosellan, Perpodium • DOG DAYS 2014 MET DE FINANCIËLE STEUN VAN: de Vlaamse Overheid en het Fonds Podiumkunsten • DOG DAYS 2025 MET DE FINANCIËLE STEUN VAN: de Vlaamse Overheid, Tax Shelter Maatregel van de Belgische Federale Overheid via Cronos Invest, het Star4U-fonds van bpost DOG DAYS 2014 MET STEUN VAN: workspacebrussels en wp Zimmer • DOG DAYS 2014 MET DANK AAN: Dansateliers, Conny Janssen Danst, JAN en IC Kamsterdam • DOG DAYS 2025 MET DANK AAN:Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, c o r s o • MET DE STEUN VAN Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels