The Court is a groundbreaking experience that invites the audience into a seductive parallel universe where the power games of the past and the desires of the present collide. Inspired by sociologist Avery Gordon’s idea that we can’t escapre the ghosts of the past, choreographers Ingri Fiksdal & Louis Schou-Hansen takes us on a time travel to the royal courts of the French ruler Louis XIV – where dance transformed from a social activity into a codified, politicised art form. Under his reign, dance became a tool of power, reinforcing hierarchies and norms that still resonate today. The Court uses this history as source material while also questioning its power structures.
By blending historical references with contemporary performance, the piece creates an immersive environment in which the past and the present coexist, where linear time and fixed perspectives are defied. For three hours, the audience can freely come in and out of the room, choosing how they want to follow the nine performers’ constantly changing choreographic landscape.
The Court is the culmination of the multi-year project Rehearsing the Not Yet, a collaboration between choreographer Ingri Fiksdal, Marie Nerland’s curatorial project Volt, and dancer and choreographer Louis Schou-Hansen.
