"The show lives and therefore
dies with each performance"—an insight that informs every second of The Last Performance,
choreographer Jérôme Bel’s now-infamous philosophical foray into the essence of performance.
As a special prelude to the Crossing the Line festival,
Mr. Bel presents an intimate lecture/
discussion, examining with profound insights and humor the very nature
of performance.
Referencing the evocative work of critics Roland Barthes and Peggy Phelan, Mr. Bel proposes
that every performance is a last performance, an ephemeral moment populated as much by the
spectator’s ghostly projections as by the maker himself.
“I am Andre Agassi,” a dancer declaims, and instantly the spectator is implicated in the
performance. Inscribing the characters on stage with their own past experiences, the audience
becomes co-author of Bel’s fleeting drama—and final witness to its passing; the living memory
of its death.
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