World premiere of Residence captivates the audience.
May 26, 2026
by Monika Klein
What an impressive dance piece. Deeply moving yet joyful, poetic and playful, the audience in the packed Forum hall was captivated and completely enthusiastic about the brand new duet Residence, which Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui created for the two dancers Marc Brew and Nelson Perrish Earl.
Brew approaches a sleeping man on a park bench in a wheelchair and tries to wake him up. The roles are reversed: the paralysed man is active, mobile and full of initiative, while the healthy man initially allows himself to be pulled reluctantly from his lethargy. But then together they explore what is possible, how one can support the other. A completely unusual dance performance with powerful poses and imagery conveys a sense of closeness and friendship that makes even severe setbacks bearable.
Marc Brew has in fact been using a wheelchair since an accident he suffered in his twenties. He works as a choreographer and has never stopped seeing himself as a dancer. Choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui explained in an earlier interview that he did not want to show what Marc cannot do, but rather everything that is possible for him. He gives him a very special strength, presented in a truly enchanting way through a successful mix of dance, theatre and illusion created with lighting colours and projection. The stage floor is constructed like a folding box and can be transformed into a small house for the friends. Changing projections turn the simple white structure into fairy tale like cottages with curtains and ivy, or into a party barn that eventually burns down before collapsing again. In the end, only the bench, the wheelchair and a friendship that survives everything remain.
This new piece was performed at the Forum during the guest appearance of the Dutch company Introdans, which has appeared there several times before and this time presented three examples of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s often poetic versatility in the extended programme LARBI, a versatility also embraced by international pop icons such as Beyoncé and Madonna.
The ensemble works Fall and In Memoriam framed the world premiere of the unique duet. Fall refers to autumn, when leaves slowly drift, spin and swirl to the ground, translated here into fascinating and constantly evolving body movements through the alternation of group scenes and duets. Giant fabrics used as side panels, continuously animated by a wind machine, created an iridescent effect. In In Memoriam, Cherkaoui’s tribute to his ancestors, the audience was mesmerised by images of continuous spinning movements that sent long, wide skirts swirling, combining Corsican folklore with classical pointe work in a distinctive stylistic blend. It was a beautiful evening marking the close of the city’s dance season.