«Once and for all, the closing of theaters due to the ban of public events and gatherings of more than eight people in Sweden is a political choice, not a public health measure.»

(Black) Ribbon Dance consists of a celebratory and voluptuous dance that is becoming a dance of resistance. (Black) Ribbon Dance is a new version of Frédéric Gies`  piece Ribbon dance, which they created in 2015. In 2021, they replaced the original techno soundtrack by a recording of «The manufacture of our dressage», a text they wrote in the beginning of spring 2021. This text reflects on political issues revealed by the current health crisis – it uncompromisingly points at the core issues of neoliberal representative governance in Covid-19 times. 

(Black) Ribbon Dance was commissioned by Marie Fahlin in the frame of her exhibition Centauring at Marabouparken. It premiered in April 11, 2021. At BONE_21 it will be shown on 26.11. 23:00-00:00

Frédéric Gies (they/them)
is a dancer and choreographer based in Sweden. Oscillating between clockwork composition and the intensities and chaos generated by dancing bodies surrendering to the desires and forces that traverse them, their dance pieces bring to the forefront the capacity of dance to speak without having to demonstrate anything. Drawing from their former training in ballet, their encounter with specific trends of contemporary dance at the beginning of the 90s, their dance floor experiences in techno clubs and raves and their study of somatic practices, they approach form as possibilities rather than constraints. Their dances playfully collapse the distinction and hierarchies between erudite and popular forms of dance. In their pieces, bodies as the instigators of movement don’t reinforce identities but excavate the complexity of their layers. They present their works nationally and internationally in various contexts, including dance venues, music festivals and museums.