The Dog Days Are Over 2.0 - Jan Martens

On 2 and 3 October, *The Dog Days Are Over 2.0*, led by the dancer and choreographer Jan Martens, will be performed in Madrid for the first time at the Conde Duque Cultural Centre theatre.  In this performance, the dancer defines himself as a pure performer, who strives for perfection.

The American photographer Philippe Halsman once said: "When you ask a person to jump, his attention is mostly directed toward the act of jumping and the mask falls so that the real person appears." In this show, Jan Martens took that statement as his starting point and revealed the real person behind the dancer.

In this performance, subjected to a complex, mathematical, vigorous and exhausting choreography, performed with forced uniformity, the eight dancers end up making a mistake. And then their masks slip.

The Dog Days Are Over highlighted the public’s perception of dancers, choreographers, audience members and the cultural policy of the time. Now, ten years on, these issues remain relevant in light of current political and social trends: where is the fine line between art and entertainment? Who are we, as an audience, when we watch the dancers’ suffering from the theatre as if it were a bullfight in a bullring? Is contemporary dance a striptease for the elite? This performance encourages the audience to change their perspective: from being merely passive observers of the experience to actively reflecting on it.

Artistic credits:

• Choreography: Jan Martens
• Performance Coach / Artistic Assistant: Naomi Gibson
• Artistic Support / Training: Steven Michel, Piet Defrancq
• Performed by: Pierre Bastin, Camilla Bundel, Jim Buskens, Zoë Chungong, Simon Lelièvre, Florence Lenon, Elisha Mercelina, Dan Mussett, Pierre Adrien Touret, Zora Westbroek, Maisie Woodford, Paolo Yao
• Original Cast: Piet Defrancq, Naomi Gibson, Nelle Hens, Julien Josse, Kimmy Ligtvoet, Cherish Menzo, Steven Michel, Laura Vanborm and/or Morgane Ribbens, Ilse Ghekiere, Victor Dumont, Connor Schumacher, Caspar Knops, Amerigo Delli Bove, Daniel Barkan
• Playwright: Renée Copraij
• Lighting Design: Jan Fedinger
• Costume Design 2025: Sofie Durnez
• Tour Technicians: Michel Spang, Elke Verachtert, Nele Verreyken
• Image credits: © Stefanie Nash

Duration: 70 minutes