Jan Martens | GRIP

Marching to a different beat holds a strength within. This theme is central to the first major stage production by choreographer Jan Martens. Portrayed by a group of seventeen dancers aged 18 to 71 years old. Each of them, with their own life experiences, gradually asserts their place on the stage, one by one. Without cutting off another's step. An exercise in giving each other the necessary space, away from one's own righteousness.

any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones is part of our #150years anniversary.

"Snowflakes, leaves, humans, plants, raindrops, stars, and molecules all come in communities. The singular cannot really exist." - Paula Gunn Allen in Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman's Sourcebook.

A heterogeneous group of dancers bridges multiple generations, with significant differences in life experiences and technical backgrounds. In any attempt will end in crushed bodies and shattered bones, they seek their own voice within dance and beyond, searching for an idiom that fits them perfectly. One by one, they claim their place on stage without cutting off the others.
Uninhibitedly being oneself – in life and in art – with the stage as an ideological testing ground. They are supported by a soundtrack consisting of atypical protest songs from different eras. From Henryk Gorecki to Max Roach & Abbey Lincoln to Kae Tempest.

Since 2011, Jan Martens has been creating work fueled by the conviction that every body can communicate, that every body has something to say. In each creation, he attempts to redefine the relationship between audience and performer. This has resulted in a wide range of pieces: a duet (SWEAT BABY SWEAT - 2011), solos (ODE TO THE ATTEMPT & lostmovements - 2014 and 2018), encounters between people who have never seen each other before (THE COMMON PEOPLE - 2016), group works brimming with dedication and ecstasy (THE DOG DAYS ARE OVER with 8 dancers & RULE OF THREE - 2014 & 2017), a work for young people tackling issues such as gender diversity and gender equality (PASSING THE BECHDEL TEST - 2018)."

Website: grip.house/en/projects/any-attempt-will-end-in-crushed-bodies-and-shattered-bones