Opinion Public

Opinion Public is a contemporary dance company that was created in Brussels in 2010. This collective is comprised of Etienne Béchard, Johann Clapson, Sidonie Fossé and Victor Launay. They have met through their education at the Rudra school and the Béjart Ballet Lausanne.

The choreographic work is based upon neo-classical and contemporary techniques. It is rich in movement, dynamism, pace, fluidity and it is particularly physically demanding. The floorwork as well as the partnering fall within the choreographic research.

The created pieces are inspired by today’s sociological context. The artists defend the causes they take at heart by using not only dance, but also drama and digital media to create their works.

Each year, a new creation is being added to their repertoire. Their first production, entitled “Opinion Public” (Public (‘s) Opinion), denounces the role of mass media and the absence of discernment that derives from it. “Apart/heid” (2011) handles about the theme of isolation and confinement of individuals in today’s society, denouncing individualism, exclusion and intolerance in all its forms. Consumerism, new technologies, social media and all its consequences are topics of predilection for the company: “Obsolescence” in 2012, “Post Anima” in 2014, “Mr. Follower” one year later or even “Arcadia” ‘(2017) on the virtual world that video games elicit. “BOB’ART” (2013) is a critique on the style effects that rule the contemporary art genre. It denounces the intellectual gesticulations and the tendency to over-analyse modern art. “Aeterna” (2018) confronts Humanity (and its finitude) with eternity. The collective created “Rocking Chair”, a multiple-choice show, in 2019. A woman, affected by insanity and loneliness, maltreated by all the men she encounters, is being led in her choices by the public via a smartphone application.

The company has also been invited to perform outside of Belgium, in Europe and in Russia by participating in international festivals, to name but a few: Le Temps d’aimer in Biarritz, France; The Kuopio Dance Festival in Finland, The Black Box Festival in Bulgaria, The Open Look Festival in Sint- Petersburg, The Baltic Ballet Festival in Lithuania, etc …