this is
the archive

A theatrical journey past the vistas of desire. Is human desire a matter of psychology or intuition? Are calculations and strategies the exclusive domain of rationality, of the mind? Or is desire inherent in the body and can it be tapped into and made tangible? This production does not focus on the ‘result’ but on the process of desire in the human body as a vital instinct that can bring the body into a continuous state of excitement.

From 1987 onwards, Renée Copraij (1964) has collaborated with the versatile Belgian artist Jan Fabre, first as a performing artist and later on as an assistant (www.troubleyn.be). In 1999, together with Dennis O’Connor, she created Interview, with music by David Linton.

Since 1995, Martin Butler (1970) has been making his own productions, like The Puppet Master, The Last Celebrity, Phoenix and The Gemini Project. These productions move between theatre, dance, fashion and pop music.

Concept and realisation: Martin Butler and Renée Copraij
Music: David Linton
Musicians: Maximilian Ehrhardt, Lieke Jetten
Light design: Harry Cole
Dramaturgy: Maaike Bleeker
Consultant: Paul Derksen
Engineering: Jan Langedijk
Photography: FreudenthalVerhagen
Graphic design: Maarten Evenhuis

2006

The Hague
Tues October 31, 21.00h
Wed November 1, 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

Antwerp
Fri November 17, 20.30h
Sat November 18, 20.30h
Monty
Montignystraat 3,
2018 Antwerp
reservations +32(0)3 238 91 81
reservatie@monty.be
www.monty.be

2007

Groningen
Tue February 27, 20.30h
Wed February 28, 20.30h
Grand Theatre
Grote Markt 35,
9711 LV Groningen
reservations +31(0)50 - 3140550
kassa@grand-theatre.nl
www. grand-theatre.nl

Amsterdam
Fri March 2, 20.30h
Sat March 3, 20.30h
De Brakke Grond
Vlaams Cultuurhuis
De Brakke Grond, Nes 45,
1012 KD Amsterdam
reservations +31(0)20 - 6266866
www.indeNes.nl

feat. Martin Butler and Renée Copraij
Musicians: Maximilian Ehrhardt, Lieke Jetten
Light design: Harry Cole

Get the latest Flash Player to see this player.

filesize: 12MB

[click to enlarge]

[click to enlarge]

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

[click to enlarge]

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

[click to enlarge]

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