Rehearsal photos: Noé Grange

ABOUT  CHOREIA - a PollyBallet

CHOREIA grew out of the study of different choral forms and the search for the space lost by choir and community. The choir is a theatrical form with incredible potential that plays an increasingly important role in CocoonDance's artistic development. CHORA (2023) had already created a specific space that tangibly united performers and spectators in a world of interacting bodies. Behind the 'research figure' of the choir lies the question of how the theatrical institution can become a form of living community.

CHOREIA consciously takes up the challenge of the historically imposed spatial separation between stage and audience space. Instead, choral forms from ballet, folklore and ancient comedy,

as well as new choral forms for space, sound and body, are

explored for their potential to bridge the physical distance in other ways. CHOREIA explores both the power of unison and the power

of polyphony, which arises from differences and divergences towards a polyphonic aesthetic. From a critical historical perspective, community should not be thought in terms of unity, but on the basis of difference between singular individuals. The goal of communal experience is not 'fusional community', but, as Jean-Luc Nancy formulates it (La communauté dévoyée, 1983), one that is conscious of being founded on difference.

The Greek word choreia also refers to the equal singing, speaking and dancing of citizens in a choir. CHOREIA attempts to give voice to the mute form of expression that is dance, because when it comes decisively to the power of action, to the disembodied expansion of bodies in space, to relations between groups and individuals, voice becomes an indispensable factor. For the research that has been ongoing since 2016, the figure of thought

of the still 'unthought-of' body, the study of the voice in its 'corporality' is a promising extension that helps to imagine other incarnations, to break them down and put them in relation to other bodies.

PRESS CLIPPINGS

Traces of identity, wounds, and transformation are woven into

every movement, creating an intimate intensity that makes the piece intensely touching. One senses a fragmented yet unified, pluralistic humanity, searching for a shared song – vibrant and alive.  (L'œil d'Olivier, "Choreia de Rafaële Giovanola: A Ballet That Finds Its Voice," 15.05.2025, Olivier Frégaville-Gratian d'Amore)

Whirling bodies, gasping voices, an intoxicating soundscape –

the new Bonn CocoonDance production Choreia unfolds with a suggestive power, so immersive that the audience itself begins to sing. With Choreia, CocoonDance once again delivers a piece of hypnotic intensity, reaffirming its place as one of Europe’s most influential dance ensembles. (Bonner General-Anzeiger, "CocoonDance Impresses in the State Capital", 16.05.2025, Bernhard Hartmann)

This ensemble evokes the raw imagery of a medieval bestiary –

or are they Dante's damned souls? The interpretation is yours,

as boundless as your imagination. Yet while interpretation is free, the structure of this extraordinary piece is meticulously crafted: encounters unfold unexpectedly, while well-worn contemporary dance movements are reshaped into something fresh. Everything moves in perfect and lasting synergy between voice and body. (Cult.news, "CHOREIA: The Swan Songs of Rafaële Giovanola," 19.05.2025, Amélie Blaustein-Nidam)

Choreia is not just a spectacle – it is a masterfully executed performance. The staging, lighting, and mesmerizing sound design draw the audience in and hold them spellbound. The performers deserve particular praise: singing while dancing is no easy feat – it is an art unto itself. From the first moment, the sound sets the tone, creating an uncanny, unsettling atmosphere before its true nature is even understood. When one realizes that these sounds are produced live by the performers, they take on an astonishing exploratory and immersive dimension. This performance fulfills every promise of its title – a must-see experience. (arts-chipels.fr, "Choreia – A Choreographic Species in the Process of Appearing," 24.05.2025, Fabienne Schouler)

Just as in Vis Motrix, presented at the Rencontres Chorégraphiques in 2023, Giovanola questions our very concept of humanity and community. She shifts and multiplies our physical focus, challenging ideas of the human body as both a carnal form and a social entity. Now, CocoonDance expands its choreographic exploration to song, returning to the roots of ancient performance, when dancers, actors, and singers existed as one, and the boundaries between the arts were as porous as those between tragedy on stage and the city gathered in the semi-circular stands. No Parisian theater seems better suited for this PolyBallet than

the Théâtre de la Ville. Will we one day see it performed there? (Dansercanalhistorique.fr, "Choreia – A PolyBallet by Rafaële Giovanola",  Thomas Hahn, 30.05.2025)

The German premiere of Choreia – ein PolyBallett at the Tanzhaus NRW in Düsseldorf demonstrates once again how unique, creative, and consistent choreographer Rafaële Giovanola and her ensemble CocoonDance are. The concept of the yet ‘unthought’ body – a notion the company has explored since 2016. What this distinctive choreographer creates with her art bodies – figures somewhere between human and insect, plant, avatar, or machine – at times verges on the magical, as these beings move in ways never seen before. This time, the Swiss artist has expanded the notion of the body to include the voice as a corporeal extension. Even if there is no physical contact with the audience, it becomes clear how the dancers, using headset microphones, connect through sounds, tones, and singing. Breath, in a way, becomes the connective link … (Bettina Trouwborst, tanz, Rafaële Giovanola "Choreia – A PolyBallet", August/September 2025/ tanz – international edition, August/September 2025)

Dance is given a voice. In "Choreia", the CocoonDance Company creates body, space and sound forms inspired by ballet traditions and ancient theater practice. ... An intense, dense and visually powerful performance that rightly received a standing ovation. (Westfälische Nachrichten: Intense dance of a thousand voices, Helmut Jasny, 16.09.2025)

They give dance a voice. The Cocoondance ensemble explores new dimensions. [Title] She’s done it again: Once more, Swiss choreographer Rafaele Giovanola had the audience on their feet at the Regensburg Dance Festival. Indeed, with its new choreography “Choreia – A Polyballet” Cocoondance adds a new dimension to dance. … Hissing, howling, cooing. Until now, the choreographer has explored the “unthought body,” probing movements not typically associated with humans but rather with crabs, predators, or robots. With “Choreia,” she now examines the relationship between the individual and the community, as well as the power of unison and polyphony. … As a spectator, one is drawn into the same pull familiar from earlier Cocoondance performances: it is the interplay of rhythmic sound, magical dance imagery, and impressive lighting design. Giovanola is, in a sense, sending her message here: she celebrates not perfection, not the uniformity of the dancing body, but its polyphony. (Katharina Kellner, Mittelbayerische Zeitung, 28.11.2025)

This show was undoubtedly one of my highlights of 2025. It immediately took me back to my research on the dramaturgy of

the body and vocal performance. The movements, deliberately unpolished, seemed to spring from an inner momentum: a body

that does not seek to seduce or impress, but to convey a raw sensation. ... These shows … that highlight the collective, that question violence against women, racial bias, and memory.

These are issues that run through contemporary performing arts. They shift forms as much as they shift perspectives, rejecting comfortable neutrality in favor of a fully situated presence.

For me, this is where performing arts are at their best. When they take the risk of speaking out, of disturbing, of transforming us as much on stage as in the audience. (Femmes Arts et cultures - @fac.femmes, Paris), 06.01.2026)