Claudio Stellato (Italy-Belgium)

On a “construction stage” of plywood four performers seem to follow the assembling instructions for a parallel universe. They’re hammering nails, sawing, applying sand paper, manipulate a concrete mixer and clay, in a gesture vocabulary that explores the repetition and the stubbornness to the extreme of delirium. An absurd world where the construction chief is in risk of, at any moment, ending up nailed to his own set…

Real paintings are brought to life with the transformation of the materials and scenery elements; the matter evolves and the stage transforms before our eyes. We witness the complicated, illogical and absurd creation of a work of art.

In this universe of the absurd and the strange, bricolage is not treated in its raw form. It is repeated, ritualized, coordinated and detached from its original function in order to bring it closer to the practices of dance, circus, music and visual arts. With his third creation, Claudio Stellato get further in his research between body and material, in a hilarious performance, with an aura of mysterious ritual, where gestures and everyday objects are used as an alphabet to create a new language.

^{"A hilarious drama in which a concrete mixer dreams itself as a record player and the handyman himself ends up glued to the wall. Work offers a raw show, from a poet of a new genre." - Ouest France}

^{"The more the show progresses and the whole ensemble becomes more burlesque, the stage becomes, for our great pleasure, a giant disorder. Between theatre, circus, dance and visual theatre, Work surprises, makes us laugh and moves us." - Delphine Baffour, La Terrasse}

^{"By interweaving body and materials in such a poetic way, these artists really brought the house down!" - Léna Martinelli, Les Trois Coups}

^{"Four performers launch an assault on this living stage that transforms it self before the spectator's eyes into a work of art." - Rosita Boisseau, Télérama}

BIO

Claudio Stellato is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Brussels. He first trained as a jazz musician at the Scuola Civica Jazz in Milan while working on street theatre. He then travelled and trained for several years in theatre and circus in different countries before entering Le Lido, Centre for Circus Arts in Toulouse in 2001. His first production, L’Autre, premiered at Les Brigittines in Brussels in March 2011 and had been touring the world during four years. This performance was the fruit of three years of research spent investigating the relation between body and object. Since 2014 he has been Associate Artist at the Halles de Schaerbeek in Brussels. In October 2015, after 3 years and a half of research, he presented his second show La Cosa, at the Halles de Schaerbeek in Brussels. It was rewarded with the Critics’ Award for Best Circus Performance 2015-2016 and is still on tour all around Europe until March 2019. Besides his own projects, he organises workshops and provides external advice on peer productions, collaborates with several theatre and dance artists and choreographers and also takes part in the Circus Next jury.

Work received the Prix du Jury Professionnel at the Momix Festival 2020.

_CREDITS

_{Concept and direction: Claudio Stellato Performers: Joris Baltz, Oscar de Nova de la Fuente, Mathieu Delangle, Caroline M'as Administration and diffusion: Laëtitia Miranda-Neri Photography: Pierre Rigo, Claudia Pajewski, Hubert Amiel, Kalimba Production: Cie Claudio Stellato Coproduction: Les Halles de Schaerbeek, Théâtre National, Charleroi Danse - Centre Chorégraphique de Wallonie-Bruxelles, La Verrerie d’Alès - Pôle National Cirque Occitanie, Dommelhof - Theater Op de Markt, C-TAKT, Carré-Colonnes - Scène Conventionnée d’Intérêt National Art et Création - Saint Médard en Jalles/Blanquefort, Les Atelier Frappaz - CNAREP de Villeurbanne, La Brèche - Pôle National Cirque de Normandie, L’Échangeur - CDCN Hauts-de-France, Scène Nationale Le Moulin-du-Roc, Cie Volubilis, Pronomade(s) - CNAREP en Haute-Garonne, Espaces Pluriels - Scène Conventionnée Danse, La SACD in Festival d'Avignon, Creative European Program of European Union in SOURCE and the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles Support: Les Quinconces - L’Espal - Théâtres Le Mans, Le Château de Monthelon - Lieu pluridisciplinaire, Lieux Publics - CNAREP de Marseille and Cie Les Marches de l’Été}