Recorded live on 12 November 2023 and available to stream for free, Chiroptera is a collaboration between the artist JR, choreographer Damien Jalet and composer Thomas Bangalter, famously of Daft Punk.
We open with a lone ballet dancer, Amandine Albisso, silhouetted in front of Place de l’Opera’s facade – transformed into a cavernous feature by the artist JR – her shadow cast into a towering gollum-like figure on the backdrop. With the Parisian street lamps rising from the audience, there is the sense we are watching an old horror film.
Is this Nosferatu we see in front of us? Is it Hyde transforming into Jekyll as Albisso twists and writhes until she breaks from her internal battle and bends, arms outstretched and begins to raise the curtain on JR’s cavern? It’s a stunning image. Thomas Bangalter’s compositions match the tension. We hear the chirps of bats (chiroptera is the name of the order of bats) overlaid with discordant, haunting notes that could be our dancer’s cries.
On scaffolding behind the facade, 154 dancers are revealed. They use their bodies to create pixels flickering from black to white to create images and, at one key moment, spelling out “darkness holds the grace of the light”. Though remarkable for its scale, choreographer Damien Jalet struggles to match the intensity of the opening he has provided Albisso. Still, this is an incredible marriage of art, dance and music – and at just 20-mins long, there’s no excuse to miss it.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (Very good)
