Eugénie Rebetez (*1984) grew up in the French-speaking Swiss countryside. She has been working as a freelance dancer and choreographer for more than a decade, creating three solo shows: Gina (2010), Encore (2013) and Bienvenue (2017) as well as several performances for art galleries and museums. Since 2018 she has been Artist in Residence at Théâtre La Grange de Dorigny, the University of Lausanne’s theatre, using this opportunity to explore new artistic territories. With a group of about thirty dancers and musicians from Jura, her native region, she choreographed Le défilé droit direct du Jura (2019), a parade that was presented as part of the mega-event La Fête des Vignerons in Vevey, Switzerland. Her latest work Nous trois (2019) is a piece for three performers that investigates the intensity and complexity of relationships amongst family members. She is currently working on a performance for zürich moves! (2020) as well as on a piece for young audiences (premiere in 2021). Eugénie Rebetez’s work has been presented throughout Switzerland and in Europe at many renowned venues and festivals. Since 2015 she has been teaching students of the Bachelor in Contemporary Dance at La Manufacture in Lausanne. Eugénie Rebetez lives and works in Zurich.
Show
Eugénie Rebetez
Ha ha ha
Oh, to laugh! And to laugh again. And again, even louder. In order to master even the most difficult of situations.
In Ha ha ha, Eugénie Rebetez choreographs laughter as a way of life and explores worlds of emotions without wasting too many words. In the piece for young audiences aged six and up, the character embodied by Tarek Halaby alternates between reality and imagination, revealing how the two influence each other. With his large adult body, round and rather hairy, the protagonist of this stage journey seems somewhat out of place, but also full of grace. Alone in the space, he is confronted with his own physical, emotional and narrative limitations. Busily he explores his surroundings on the search for yet another adventure.
A central theme in Ha ha ha is the growth of both children and adults, with the piece revealing how laughter can help us move forward – in Rebetez’ signature mix that oscillates between poetry and comedy and always with a lot of sensitivity as well as a pinch of rock'n'roll.
"Choreographically, I'm interested in the constant negotiation between lightness and heaviness, intimacy and complicity, success and failure, between discovery and having to let go. In a second step, I am interested in the layering of the different emotions generated. But without establishing hierarchies: The loud roar and the soundless smirk are of equal value. As in all my works, I'm not concerned, casually speaking, with generating as many laughs as possible. Much rather, I'm interested in the entire emotional range that laughter can embody."
Eugénie Rebetez
- Bühne 1
Tanzhaus Zürich
Wasserwerkstrasse 127a
8037 Zürich - Wheelchair accessible
- Wheelchair accessible
- 6+
- Very little spoken language (German & French), no knowledge needed for the understanding of the piece
Choreography and direction Eugénie Rebetez
Creation und performance Tarek Halaby
Sound design Pascale Schaer
Light design and technical direction Léa Beloin
Dramaturgical advisor Tanzhaus Zürich Simon Froehling
Seamstress Susanne Boner
Artistic collaboration Alain Borek
Diffusion Léonore Guy
Production Verein Eugénie Rebetez
Photos Paola Caputo
Coproduction Tanzhaus Zürich, Charleroi danse / Centre chorégraphique de Wallonie-Bruxelles, Théâtre du Jura, RESO (Swiss Dance Network) Fund for Young Audiences
Creation partner Théâtre l'Echandole Yverdon
Supported by City of Zurich Culture, Pro Helvetia – Swiss Arts Council, Department of Culture of the Canton of Zurich, Tanzhaus Zürich Promotional Society
