THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER

Introduction

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER is, since I can ride a horse while juggling so marry me, Jan Martens' first work with a larger group of dancers. Starting point is the work and a quote from American photographer Philippe Halsman who said the following in 1958:
"When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed towards the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears."

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER is a work that attempts to depict the human being behind the dancer. To achieve this, it opts for a highly complex, mathematical, dynamic and exhausting choreography that runs largely in unison.
The difficulty of the choreography is so high that the dancers have no choice but to go wrong. It is a war of attrition in which the dancer is enacted as a vain and pure performer, striving for perfection.The dog days are over is about trying to do things right. About going wrong. And about then the mask falling.

"Jan Martens conjures hypnotic choreography out of nothing but leaps and geometry."
Annette Embrechts, De Volkskrant, 24 March 2014****

Premiere	2014
From	Jan Martens
With	Cherish Menzo, Nelle Hens, Piet Defrancq, Kimmy Ligtvoet, Steven Michel, Julien Josse, Laura Vanborm and Naomi Gibson
Understudies	Morgane Ribbens, Ilse Ghekiere, Amerigo Delli Bove, Daniel Barkan, Connor Schumacher, Caspar Knops and Victor Dumont
Lighting design	Jan Fedinger
Dramaturgy	Renée Copraij
Technology	Michel Spang
Production	JAN and ICKamsterdam
International spread	A Propic / Line Rousseau and Marion Gauvent
Co-production	DansBrabant, Frascati Productions, SPRING performing arts festival, tanzhaus nrw, CDC du Val-de-Marne La Briqueterie, TAKT Dommelhof
With support from	Workspacebrussels and wpZimmer
With financial support from	the Flemish government and the Performing Arts Fund
Courtesy of	Dance studios and Conny Janssen Danst

THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER

Credits