LA BETE
By Jan Martens
LA BETE is a rhythmic production linking vocals, text and movement. We see a body alone in space. We see that body vibrating, moving, making sound, singing. In LA BETE we get the chance to observe this body unashamedly, virtuosically in an unconventional way.
A young woman fights her way through a song. She deconstructs it, tastes it, spits it out. Hints of melancholy, of being stuck in the past. A ritual slowly moves towards an (anti-)climax. LA BETE is the execution of an inner monologue.
Joke Emmers graduated from Antwerp's acting school in 2012. As an intern, she performed in Toneelgroep Amsterdam and NTGent's Tartuffe.
LA BETE had its international premiere at La Briqueterie, Paris, on 10 April 2013.
"The solos he created for 62-year-old dancer Truus Bronkhorst and young actress Joke Emmers in SPRING were uncompromising theatrical rituals on topical themes that cut through the soul. Jan Martens is the discovery in an otherwise rather resigned dance season."
Sander Hiskemuller, Trouw, 04 July 2013