madebyhands (Belgium)

In a unique dialogue between painting, music, photography, finger dancing, objects and cinema, the dancers and choreographers Gabriella Iacono and Gregory Grosjean trace the history of dance throughout the evolution of humanity, in a selection of iconic choreographies that they recreate using only their hands.

We follow the path of a woman and a man who dance through the centuries together and experience the great stages of history, from the most tragic to the happiest.
 

A ballet for two bodies and four hands, made up of twelve frames, with miniature sets, as realistic as a movie. In each of them, they take the audience through key works by famous choreographers of the 20th century, such as Vaslav Nijinsky, Maurice Béjart, Pina Bausch or Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, and tour the main stages, from Broadway to Paris, from Brussels to Harlem, including ballet, musicals, the popular American dance marathons of the 1930s, rock, contemporary dance or hip-hop.

A fascinating journey that shows the richness of choreographic expression and the history of the world on fingertips… to see with the family from 9 to 109 years old!

"We have been working together for the past ten years sharing time on stage, at the studio, on tour. Dancing hands and bodies being filmed by a camera... This is how we came up with the idea of exploring the history of the dance, interpreting pieces we never performed, nevertheless made us dream. Today, we can interpret them differently." -  Gabriella Iacono and Grégory Grosjean

^{"Favourite: the Maison de la danse begins the year 2023 with an atypical show, full of joy, emotions and humour.
A nano-dance show performed by twenty fingers and two pairs of legs (...). A small wonder of dance, full of creativity, emotion and magic. Gabriella Iacono & Grégory Grosjean (...) perform a wonderful odyssey through the history of dance, and much more.
Between miniature scenographies, where dexterous fingers come to life to create a film performed live, the two dancers and choreographers create twelve splendid and realistic paintings.}

^{Apart from a heartbreaking evocation of the concentration camps, which moves the audience, and an amusing wink to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, they also recall the birth of lindy hop, hip-hop and musicals.
They even pay homage to the queens Pina Bausch and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, always accompanied by a skilful soundtrack (...). The show is irresistible and makes us want to try the finger dancing (...)." - Al. M., Le Progrès}

^{"The result is as powerful as it is impressive, ideal for introducing young audiences to the magic of live shows, but also equally moving for more adult audiences, due to its multiple reading levels (...). The 'finger dance' can begin and take us to its fascinating, vertiginous world of great beauty (...).
We are thus enchanted in the setting of the 1930s, when the duo of fingers fall in love, while a real couple of dancers revive the madness of the ballrooms. We are enchanted when the New York of the 1950s takes shape against the backdrop of West Side Story, and when the magic of cinema takes its full place (...).
Much more than a surprising and poetic show (...) it is also a hymn to the magic of live performance, to its evocative power to tell us about life and take us elsewhere. A little nugget to be savoured by all ages."}

^{-Amélie Bertrand, Danses avec la plume}

^{"Choreographers and dancers Gabriella Iacono and Grégory Grosjean make us vibrate with their fingers on miniature set designs (...). In a show full of references - Swan Lake by Marius Petipa, West Side Story by Jerome Robbins, Pina Bausch, Charlie Chaplin, Stanley Kubrick, Francis Ford Coppola (...). Their virtuoso hands are filmed live, offering the experience of a Lilliputian ballet with the grandeur of cinema (...). The whole family will enjoy this crazy and original little gem."}

^{-M.B., Tribune de Lyon}

BIO

Linked like the fingers on a hand, Gabriella Iacono and Grégory Grosjean have been working together for ten years. In 2011, Kiss & Cry by Michèle Anne de Mey and Jaco Van Dormael brought a breath of fresh air to the choreographic scene, with its finger dancing filmed live on miniature sets. A device that allowed the creation of unusual, poetic and extremely creative shows. Grégory Grosjean was part of the original team, which was joined by Gabriella Iacono.
Together, they founded their own company madebyhands, in 2020, using the same device for shows specially designed for younger audiences and families.
As dancers of the contemporary repertoire, their work contributes to keeping alive the memory of choreographic codes and languages.

Gabriella Iacono

Originally from Italy, Gabriella Iacono studied at the National Academy of Dance in Rome and at the London Contemporary Dance School. She has danced for various choreographers, such as Roberta Garrison, Roberta Gelpi, Enzo Cosimi and Michele Pogliani, with whom she collaborated as assistant in the choreography of Illinx for Balletto di Toscana. In Belgium she takes part in the X-Group project, a collaboration between Brussels 2000 and P.A.R.T.S. She then works in the company Charleroi Danses with Frédéric Flammand, Joanne Leighton and Ted Stoffer. Since 2006, she has been working with Michèle Anne De Mey (Charleroi Danses), and was part of the re-creation of Sinfonia Eroica, in the piece Neige and in Michèle Anne De Mey and Jaco Van Dormael's project Kiss & Cry.

Grégory Grosjean

After studying at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, Grégory pursued a career as dancer with several companies in Spain, Belgium, Scotland, and Japan,  until he become assistant to Michèle Anne De Mey in Belgium at the choreographic centre of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Charleroi Danse, as well as participating in the Kiss & Cry collective.

_CREDITS

_{Choreography and performers: Gabriella Iacono, Gregory Grosjean Scenography: Gregory Grosjean, Stefano Serra Image: Julien Lambert Lighting design: Julien Lambert, Pierre de Wurstemberger Sound design: Theo Jegat Camera man on tour: Julien Lambert / Johan Legraie Stage direction: Denis Strykowski Scenography manipulation: Didier Rodot Technical direction: Didier Rodot, Jean Benoit Ponteville Video editor: Marjorie Cauwel Image Intern: Alexi Hennecker Photography: Julien Lambert Production: madebyhands asbl Coproduction: Le Grand R Sène Nationale de La Roche-Sur-Yon Acknowledgments: Ben Fury (Graffiti), Aurelie Leporcq, Meryl Moens, Nora Alberdi, Hélène Dubois, Marie Tirtiaux, Harry Cleven, Olivier Burgain, Chloé Dilasser, Joelle Rihon, José Luis Alvarez, Anne Grosjean, Benji, Ivan Fox , Arnaud, Alessandro Sainaee, Jade Luçon, Didier Rodot Support: De Grote Post, Brussels Art Melting Pot (BAMP), Archipel 19 – Berchem Sainte-Agathe, Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, Service Général de la Création Artistique - Service de la Danse}

_{www.madebyhands.be}