Jan Martens / Frascati Producties with tour management by GRIP
2011
SWEAT BABY SWEAT is a performance about love. Following A SMALL GUIDE ON HOW TO TREAT YOUR LIFETIME COMPANION (2010), Jan Martens created a slow duet in which a man and a woman combine acrobatic strength with mental vulnerability: a look at love, beyond all the clichés.
In a provocatively slow dance, based on different movement languages such as butoh, yoga, circus acrobatics and rock ‘n’ roll dancing, two people hold on tight to one another. They neither want to nor can let go; after all, two is better than one. There is no absolute meaning, but a recognizability that gives the audience enough room to tie its own feelings, hopes and stories to that which is unfolding before their eyes. Jaap van Keulen provided the soundscape for the show and Paul Sixta the text projection.
SWEAT BABY SWEAT is a duet that has been touring nationally and internationally for years and, together with THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER (2014), represented Jan Martens’ absolute breakthrough. The duet was selected for the Dutch Dance Festival 2012 and Circuit X 2013.
“SWEAT BABY SWEAT is a performance in which simplicity shines.”
- Moos van den Broek, Theaterkrant, 06 October 2012*****
“This is a relentless work, methodically paced, even maddening as it repeats from the beginning to try for a different outcome.”
- Brian Seibert, The New York Times, 31 January 2017
“Martens teasingly acknowledges how the couple’s all-consuming insularity might inspire viewer boredom, but sticking with it yields emotionally complex rewards.”
- The New Yorker, 27 January 2017
PREMIERE: 18 October 2011, Frascati Amsterdam (NL)
BY: Jan Martens
WITH: Kimmy Ligtvoet and Steven Michel
MUSIC: Jaap van Keulen
VIDEO: Paul Sixta
ADVICE: Peter Seynaeve
TECHNICAL SUPERVISION: Michel Spang
DURATION: 65 minutes
PRODUCTION: Frascati Productions, ICKamsterdam, TAKT Dommelhof and JAN vzw
INTERNATIONAL DIFFUSION: A Propic / Line Rousseau and Marion Gauvent
THANKS TO: SummerStudios Brussels and Marc Vanrunxt
