PePi: Performance Picasso

typeperformance
locationUCCA (Beijing)
dateJuly 2019
choreographyI Could Never Be A Dancer
productionDoors 门艺

The performance PePi was created in July 2019 for the exhibition “Picasso – Birth of A Genius” at UCCA, in Beijing, upon the invitation of Doors ⻔艺.

People performing a cubist dance for the exhibition "Picasso - Birth of a Genius" in Beijng
PePi performance, UCCA Summer Party, 2019. Courtesy of UCCA.

Throughout his artistic career, Picasso experimented with diverse forms of expression. As a young artist, he discovered the world of the performing arts, and was particularly fascinated by circus and dance. He began collaborating with Serge Diaghilev in the 1910s, and designed the sets and costumes for several productions by the Ballets Russes, including Le Tricorne (1919), which is richly documented in the exhibition.

The dynamics of movement are featured in much of Picasso’s work as a painter, draftsman, and engraver, ranging from acrobats and the figure of Harlequin to cabaret dancers, from bacchanal scenes to traditional Spanish dance.

Parisian artist duo I Could Never Be A Dancer pays tribute to Picasso’s Mediterranean roots and the choreographic forms that inspired the artist. As a collage of different types of spectacle (circus, flamenco, urban dance), PePi (Performance Picasso) proposes to experience a 15 minute long performative Cubist deformation of how we perceive the body.

Watch the trailer of Performance Picasso

Carine Charaire et Olivier Casamayou ( I Could Never Be A Dancer)

 PePi-Performance-Picasso-2

"PePi: Performance Picasso", Beijing, 2019.

 PePi-Performance-Picasso-4-2

"PePi: Performance Picasso", Beijing, 2019.

 PePi-Performance-Picasso-3

"PePi: Performance Picasso", Beijing, 2019.

 PePi-Performance-Picasso

"PePi: Performance Picasso", Beijing, 2019.

 Shi-Meiyu-Shi-Meiru-acrobats

Shi Meiyu and Shi Meiru (acrobats)

 Mamadou-Bathily-Taylor-Chateau-bone-breakers

Mamadou Bathily and Taylor Chateau (bone breakers)

 Jose-Manuel-Alvarez-bailaor-Lucas-Balbo-percus

José Manuel Álvarez (bailaor) and Lucas Balbo (percussionist)

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Picasso specialist and the Head of Collections at the Musée national Picasso-Paris, Emilia Philippot curated the "Picasso - Birth of a genius" exhibition co-organized by Doors.

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