May B

Who are these dazed, plaster-covered beings? They walk with their backs bent, their heads bowed, as if despondent. Yet their bodies still move. Beckett, whose writing is rooted in the dark years of the second half of the 20th century, "turned Maguy Marin upside down" when she discovered him in the 70s.

The French-speaking Irish writer has a talent for bringing humanity to the midst of chaos. And so does the choreographer, as when she brings out the joy of a birthday party to shed the frenzied rhythms of carnival for a moment. Poor humanity drags and tears itself apart as it moves inexorably forward. Onomatopoeia and bits of words make their way as if language were a body.

The farandoles, so characteristic of Maguy Marin, unfold. The great technicality of May B is matched only by the force that emanates from it. Created for ten performers, built in opposition to imposed norms, and among them in mirror image, those of classical dance, May B has become a benchmark of contemporary dance. It is also the matrix for all his future work. A stubborn act of not putting out the fire while a flame is still glowing, even in a thick pile of ashes.