the art of bodies in motion



Thursday, November 9, 2017

Sandra Abouav's "A bouche que veux tu?" at L'Etoile du Nord, Paris


Photo © Patrick André.

Okay, I confess: I set out in search of escape. While the world collapses in the face of human greed and violence, the often-bloated self-importance of artists has grated on my nerves. Sandra Abouav’s À bouche que veux-tu, a study of yawning and its metamorphoses, sounded like a pleasant diversion...

Abouav comes forward to teach us how to cut a(n imaginary) pear, on a plate that slips out of mind into suspended, yawning moments of mental wandering, like Salvador Dali’s melting clocks. It is a delightful immersion in the surreal, and it is, indeed, absurd. Words stretch out-of-phrase so far they no longer mean anything. They’re just sounds unfolding around and through you. This section is my favorite.

“To cut a pear in two” (couper la poire en deux) is a French expression for reaching a compromise. While Abouav talks, the group yawns themselves into sleep, first politely melting into one another, and then, eventually, completely entwined with bottoms and arms, necks and feet fitting together in a ridiculously improper merging of body parts..."

To read the full Impression, published by The Dance Enthusiast, click here.