this is
the archive

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translation:

Intriguing was Protocol of Desire by Martin Butler and Renée Copraij. As a performer and man of the theatre, Butler moves along the dividing line between dance and mime, and Copraij mainly became known as a dancer with Fleming Jan Fabre.

Their duet is particularly so exciting because it is staged with great accuracy and finesse. This is true of both their exasperatingly drawn-out performance and the exact measured steps with which they approach each other. In the beginning, they present themselves as an elegant dancing counterpart of the artistic duo Gilbert & George. Gradually, their performance turns into a bizarre ritual. They undress until they are almost stark naked, each of them draping their clothes over a chair with meticulous painstakingness. Their expressive movements have the lucid beauty and quiet poetry of the Belgian surrealist Magritte. Carried out coolly, this performance of longing erupts into a savage shadow play, under the swinging accompaniment of the electronically amplified chords of harp and hurdy-gurdy. Protocol of Desire is odd but invigorating.

Isabella Lanz – NRC, 8 November, 2006

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translation:

On the other hand, in Double Intuition #2 the eccentric choreographer and fashion-show director Martin Butler is precisely looking for a deep affinity with performer Renée Copraij, a former dancer and assistant director to Jan Fabre. Uniformly, they walk about in the almost empty rectangle – one dressed in a smart grey, the other in a sober black-and-white suit.

The subtle, roundabout advances are quite an invention. First, from a distance they make two whitewood chairs tilt against each other by way of ropes. Then they present erotic positions from the Kamasutra in shadow play, in which only their projected images are making love. And Butler’s affinity with fashion is tangible in the painstaking aesthetics: wigs, vests, lamp – everything is in tune.

The driving spirit behind this performance is the distorted live music played on an electric harp as well as on a modern version of the street organ. But with their slow progress, Butler and Copraij rely heavily on the spectator’s conceptual empathy. The consequent realisation commands respect, but it would have all been more exciting in the third gear than in the first one.

Annette Embrechts, de Volkskrant 2 November, 2006

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translation:

On behalf of this programme, Martin Butler and Renée Copraij have made a too drawn-out, yet amazingly theatrical translation of this longing for contact. An Armando-like world of poised quietude is placed alongside of a capricious acceleration, full of animality, which is aloofly projected onto the fly curtain by way of stroboscopic lights. In doing so, it becomes clear that man is a victim to his passions and has very little control of his existence.

With this opening of caDance, one may certainly state that contemporary dance is getting closer and closer to real life.

Sander Hiskemuller, Trouw 2 November, 2006

Saturday, November 18, 20.30h

Monty
Montignystraat 3,
2018 Antwerp

reservations +32(0)3 238 91 81
reservatie@monty.be
www.monty.be

Friday, November 17, 20.30h

Monty
Montignystraat 3,
2018 Antwerp

reservations +32(0)3 238 91 81
reservatie@monty.be
www.monty.be

Wed, November1, 19.00h

CaDance festival
Within the Double Intuition #2 series

Korzo Theatre
Prinsestraat 44
5213 CE Den Haag

reservations +31(0)70 - 363 75 40
www.cadance.nl