Inspired by choral forms drawn from folklore, ballet and ancient comedy, choreographer Rafaële Giovanola revisits the choir as a collective architecture, imagining a unison permeated by listening, carried by song and the uniqueness of each voice.
Choreia takes its name from ancient Greek, where the word refers precisely to this joint practice of movement, voice and speech, a collective form that does not replace individuality. Between balance and disorder, choreographer Rafaële Giovanola imagines a way of creating community on stage where singing becomes a link between voices, bodies and movement. In this creation, the choir becomes a sound space, a place where breath, gestures and presences circulate, a polyphonic horde where each individual contributes to a common force without ever fading into the background. In a context where forms of connection need to be reinvented, the choir here becomes a powerful space for transformation, listening and shared resonances.
With Choreia, the CocoonDance Company offers a performance in which eight dancers reconnect with the roots of theatre, bringing to life the very essence of the chorus in Greek comedy, made up of dance, song and action, abolishing the conventional boundary between dance and voice, choral singing and stage action, redefining the interaction between artists and audience.
Produced by Compagnie CocoonDance, winner of the La Cité Bleue and Pavillon Noir call for projects.
\r\nCo-produced with Théâtre du Crochetan Monthey (Switzerland), Tanzhaus NRW Düsseldorf, Theater im Ballsaal Bonn, Tanzfaktur Köln, Pumpenhaus Münster, Le Phare - Centre chorégraphique national du Havre et de Normandie (France), Charleroi Danse centre chorégraphique de Wallonie – Bruxelles (Belgium), Pavillon Noir Aix-en-Provence (France), Cité Bleue Genève (Switzerland)
Collaboration with Malévoz Quartier Culturel Monthey (CH), Ringlokschuppen Mülheim, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Bonn
\r\nSupported by Kunststiftung NRW, Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, das NATIONALE PERFORMANCE NETZ Koproduktionsförderung Tanz, gefördert von der Beauftragten der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien, Bundesstadt Bonn, Théâtre-ProVS, Le Conseil de la Culture Etat du Valais, La Loterie Romande
PRACTICAL CHORAL INTRODUCTION
\r\nFriday 24 April 2026 at 6.30pm
\r\nCocoonDance invites the public to a practical choral introduction with choreographer Rafaële Giovanola.
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MEETING
\r\nFriday 24 April 2026 at 8.30pm
\r\nStage talk with choreographer Rafaële Giovanola.
Secondary credits
- De et avec Cristina Commisso, Margaux Dorsaz, Alvaro Esteban Lopez, Jenna Hendry, Léonce Noah Konan, Nora Monsecour, Evandro Pedroni, Louis Thuriot en alternance avec Colas Lucot et Bojana Mitrović
- Rafaële GiovanolaChorégraphie et mise en scène
- Franco MentoComposition et live électronique
- Jan Wiesbrock et Annegret SchalkeLumières, espace
- Fa-Hsuan ChenCostumes
- Karine Barman, Justin F. Kennedy, Leah MarojevićCoaching vocal
- Rainald EndraßDramaturgie