Planet [wanderer]

A dark field begins to glow like a starry sky. Eight bodies drift across it, subject to the pull of gravity and the resistance of the materials, yet in constant motion. The dancers traverse an ever-changing landscape of black sand, smoke, liquids, and light. Their bodies encounter elements that shape, slow, constrain, or engulf them.

The work is inspired by the Japanese creation myth *Kojiki*, particularly the section on *Ashihara-no-nakatsukuni*, the “Land of Reeds,” whose swaying, seemingly endless movement becomes the choreographic principle.

Planet [wanderer] unfolds as a cosmic ritual: a choreography of wandering, of searching, of the precarious balance between humanity and the Earth.

The title refers to the Greek root of “planet”—planaomai, meaning “to wander”—and opens up a space of experience in which bodies become wandering celestial bodies.

In this collaboration between the French-Belgian choreographer Damien Jalet and the Japanese visual artist Kohei Nawa, dance and visual art merge into a shared language of image and movement. The stage becomes the living surface of a planet that reacts to every touch. Between expressive choreography and sculptural experimentation, a sensual cosmogony emerges: a world in the making, fragile and resilient at the same time. Jalet constantly confronts the performers with material, gravity, and instability. States shift; bodies become fluid, mineral-like, dusty, or tectonic. Individual impulses intertwine, influence one another, and merge into collective formations. Migration, transformation, and vulnerability are not merely narrated but physically experienced. Planet [wanderer] presents a tragic love story between humanity and the planet—intense, visceral, and imbued with archaic power.

Damien Jalet is one of the most influential choreographers of our time. Born in Belgium and living in France, he is internationally renowned for monumental works at the intersection of dance, visual arts, film, and pop culture. He conceives of his choreographies—including collaborations with Marina Abramović, Madonna, and Luca Guadagnino—as physical landscapes in which movement becomes a sculptural experience.

With *Planet [wanderer]*, Jalet continues this signature style while also offering a poignant reflection on our existence on a planet that is itself in motion. He has maintained an ongoing collaboration with the Japanese sculptor Kohei Nawa since their first joint project, *Vessel*, driven by a shared fascination with the transformation of matter into movement and of bodies into living sculptures.

Artistic Team

• Damien Jalet – Concept, Choreography
• Kohei Nawa – Concept, Set Design
• Tim Hecker – Music
• Yukiko Yoshimoto – Lighting
• Sruli Recht – Costumes
• Xavier Jacquot – Sound Design Collaboration
• Alexandra Hoàng Gilbert – Choreography Assistant
• Catalina Navarrete Hernández – Outside Eye

Featuring

Shawn Ahern, Karima El Amrani, Aimilios Arapoglou, Francesco Ferrari, Vinson Fraley, Christina Guieb, Astrid Sweeney, Ema Yuasa