Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium
One of the world’s leading dance companies brings a double bill pulsating with energy from two in-demand choreographers: Christos Papadopoulos and Jan Martens.
Christos Papadopoulos takes nature’s never-ending shapes, movements and structures as his influence for Mycelium. The result is a hypnotic work exploring mycelium – the vast fungal networks that lie underground.
Fascinated by these processes, Papadopoulos creates an organic dance, transforming and broadening the way bodies interact, sense and come into contact with one another.
A cast of 20 dancers create a moving, collective entity where the simple movements of the human body, rhythmic changes, repetitive structures and microscopic variations create near-trance states involving every sense.
The captivating piece is set to a soundtrack of mutating music from electronic composer Coti K.
Jan Martens’ Period Piece goes back to a forgotten sense of normalcy in our chaotic world while dreaming of a new and better one. It’s exuberant and minimalistic, serious and absurd, and as much about the mind as it is the body.
The piece is a combination of ‘old-school’ dancing styles and innovative choreography. Martens uses Henryk Górecki’s 1973 piece of contrasts, Three Dances, and invites dancer Kristina Bentz to take up as much space on stage as possible, embodying the struggles we face in navigating an oversized world.
Need to know
Running order:
Period Piece: 15 minutes
Interval: 20 minutes
Mycelium: one hour
This performance contains loud music.
A post-show talk will follow the performance on Wednesday 3 March.
Mycelium
Choregrapher: Christos Papadopoulos
Assistant choregrapher: Georgios Kotsifakis
Composer: Coti K.
Lighting designer: Eliza Alexandropoulou
Costume designer: Angelos Mentis
Ballet masters: Amandine François, Marco Merenda & Raúl Serrano Núñez
With Lyon Opera Ballet dancers
Period Piece
Choreographer: Jan Martens
Composer: Henryk Górecki – Three Dances, Op. 34, ‘Presto, marcatissimo’, ‘Andante cantabile’ and ‘Presto’
Costume designer: Jan Martens
Lighting designer: Rudy Parra
Ballet master: Marco Merenda
With Lyon Opera Ballet dancers
Born in Greece, Christos Papadopoulos studied dance and choreography at the School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam and theatre at the National Theatre of Greece Drama School. His choreographic style features close relationships between bodies, space, movement, and music, with an emphasis on group dynamics.
Born in Belgium, Jan Martens studied at the Fontys Academy of the Arts and the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp. His work is based on the idea that all bodies can communicate and have stories to tell. He’s an associate artist at Comédie de Clermont-Ferrand, deSingel, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Maison de la Danse and Lyon Dance Biennale.
Reviews
‘Entrancing and flawlessly embodied’
Le Figaro on Mycelium
‘perfect rendition of a piece that requires incredibly high focus and drive.’
La Terrasse on Mycelium
‘beauty, fugitive beauty, is incontestably present’
Télérama on Mycelium
Image gallery
Sponsors
The presentation of Lyon Opera Ballet: Mycelium is made possible with the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels.
Times & tickets
Dates, times and prices
Dates & times
03 Mar – 05 Mar 2027
Run time
1 hour (approx)
All timings are approximate and subject to change
Standard entry
from £25 + £4 booking fee
Ticket prices may be adjusted without notice to reflect demand.
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