News
How to Do Things with Words
We’re off to a running start in 2022, as rehearsals for our new production have gone into high gear.
“How to Do Things with Words” is a pas de deux between bodies and graphic text, between language and movement. How does one dance with text? What new meanings arise when dancers manipulate objects printed with words and phrases?
The results range from the literal to the poetic, from the meaningful to the absurd. Printed signs may be flat, but they add a surprising depth to a dance performance.
Performances are planned at the Dampfzentrale Bern from 17-19 February and Dock 11 Berlin from 24-26 February.
News
August 2021
Summer time is touring time
We’ve packed our newly-issued health passports, pink sneakers, safari hats, badminton rackets, hula hoops, chocolate bars and autotune processor, and we’re heading out on tour.
This summer the Joshua Monten Dance Company plans on making up for lost time. Many performances that were cancelled last year are finally going to happen. Plus some new opportunities have popped up. We’ll be showing four of our recent productions indoors and outdoors, in six different countries, including some of Europe’s leading summer arts festivals, like the Plage des Six Pompes in Switzerland, the Festival de Chassepierre in Belgium, the Theaterfestival Boulevard in the Netherlands, and the Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania.
News
June 2021
The pursuit begins
The frost has finally melted: theaters in Switzerland have reopened and dance has returned. We are relieved… grateful… thrilled to hold the red-hot premiere of our newest dance production “The Pursuit of Happiness.” Six performances at the Dampfzentrale Bern are planned on 24, 25 and 26 June. Additional outdoor performances are planned in La Chaux-de-Fonds (CH) and Diepenheim (NL).
The U.S. Declaration of Independence famously insists on the rights to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” But how is it really possible to hunt for happiness? Where does this strange beast reside? And how does our quest depend on the people around us? We believe that dance is a powerful tool for mood alteration, and an excellent way to look for answers.
News
April 2021
Delayed gratification
The hunt isn’t over yet.
Corona regulations in Switzerland have forced us to postpone the long-awaited premiere of our new production “The Pursuit of Happiness,” which was originally planned for April.
New performances are planned to take place in the Dampfzentrale Bern from 24-26 June 2021.
In the meanwhile, take a look at the following video for a sneak peak into where our hunt for happiness has been heading.
News
September 2020
Choreographing in the corona era
The Swiss newspaper “Der Bund” recently printed a portrait of Joshua Monten.
He describes the challenges of adapting his upcoming project “The Pursuit of Happiness” to new safety guidelines. Theaters in Switzerland and Germany limit audience size and require face masks for audience members. Monten discusses the sharply reduced possibilities for touring in the months ahead and the challenges of adapting to ever- shifting travel regulations. He addresses the financial support provided by the Swiss government during the months of lockdown, and the financial difficulties which his colleagues in the dance world still face.
News
July 2020
Return to the streets
We’re back!
We are honored to able to conduct some of the first street theater performances since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. As part of the Six Pompes Summer Tour, we’ve been invited to perform on 17 July in Lausanne at the Théâtre de Verdure de l’Esplanade de Montbenon. We’ll be presenting (for the very first time) the French-language version of “Romeo, Romeo, Romeo.”
On 18 July we’ll be giving two performances of “Kill Your Darlings” in La Chaux-de-Fonds as part of the “Y s’passe un truc” programming series.
And on 7 August we’ll be performing “Little Joy” at three locations in the historic center of Thun.
News
June 2020
Return to the stage
We’re back!
We are honored to be able to conduct one of the very first regular dance performances since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The four young dancers of the Cie. MARCHEPIED(CH) will be performing Joshua Monten’s new creation “La parade nuptiale” at the Théâtre Sévelin 36 in Lausanne on 27 and 28 June.
The progress made in Switzerland to contain the spread of the coronavirus means that theaters have been allowed to reopen. With a safety measures in place — including spacing the spectators 1.5m apart, a system to collect contact information, and a choreographed entrance into the theater — we’ve been given the go-ahead from local authorities.
News
April 2020
Update: the effects of coronavirus on our work
The spread of the coronavirus has drastically effected the work of our dance company and our lives, as it has so many others.
75 performances have already been cancelled, including tours to Norway, Belgium and Germany. More changes arrive each day.
In the safety of our own homes, we continue to dance on our own, to plan and to dream.
We were lucky to finish the creation of our newest dance production “Game Theory” before the coronavirus struck and theaters everywhere closed. It won’t be possible to see the work again live anytime soon, but we just posted a snazzy new trailer online and we invite you to take to take a look.
News
February 2020
Upcoming premiere
The preparations for our new dance production “Game Theory” have gone into high gear.
Before dance tried to express anything, before it became art or ceremony, it was a game…
Come join us for the premiere on 21 February at the Dampfzentrale Bern — or another show at the renowned Krokusfestival Hasselt in Belgium — or at Dock 11 in Berlin.
The show is suitable for adult audiences and young viewers.
News
February 2020
Spring tours
Even though we’ve been spending most of our time recently working in the studio (and manically shopping for pink clothes), we’ve also been planning some exciting trips for later in the spring.
“Little Joy” will have two weeks of shows in Norway in March, organized by Den Kulturelle Skolesekken in Tønsberg.
In April “Kill Your Darlings” will visit a half-dozen cities in the remote Faroe Islands in April as part of the children’s dance festival Barnafestivalurin.
In April and May “Romeo, Romeo, Romeo” heads to five cities in Mexico on a tour organized by the Red Noroeste de Festivales de Danza en México.
News
February 2020
National tour in Switzerland for the Fête de la Danse
Since 2013 Joshua Monten has been regularly participating in the Swiss national dance festival (Fête de la danse / Das Tanzfest), staging flash mobs, site-specific dance performances, school projects and giving dozens of performances of his outdoor works.
This year, he’s been invited to present the outdoor version of “Romeo, Romeo, Romeo” in seven different cities in May. The Romeos will be performing in parks, plazas, train stations and cultural centers all the way from Geneva to St. Gallen.
To make things a bit more friendly, they’ll be preparing both French- and German-language versions of the piece. “Tu ne t’appelerais pas Juliette, par hazard?”
News
January 2020
Junior dance company in Lausanne
Joshua Monten has been invited to create a new work for the dancers of the junior company MARCHEPIED(CH) in Lausanne, directed by Corinne Rochet and Nicolas Pettit.
“La parade nuptiale” will be premiered at the Théâtre Sévelin 36 in Lausanne on 25 April 2020, followed by touring in the French-speaking part of Switzerland and in France.