"Véronique Doisneau", Jérôme Bel et Pierre Dupouey

In response to a documentary commission on the Opéra de Paris, Jérôme Bel designed a solo show based on dancer Véronique Doisneau. Doisneau is a «sujet» of the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris on the verge of retirement. On stage, in short minimalist sequences, she evokes her life inside and outside of the ballet and explains and dances memorable moments of her career. The film, which developed out of this show, insists on the poetry and quality of her movements, definitively defining Véronique Doisneau as (a) character.

Student of the Centre national de danse contemporaine d'Angers from 1984 to 1985, Jérôme Bel danced in France and Italy before becoming Philippe Decouflé's assistant for the ceremonies of the XVIth Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, in 1992. From Nom donné par l'auteur, his first piece in 1994, and The show must go on in 2001, up until the more recent Pichet Klunchun & myself in 2005, Jérôme Bel has been working internationally and shares his time between Paris and Rio de Janeiro. His creation, Véronique Doisneau, opened the season of the Ballet de l'Opéra national de Paris in 2004. The film based on the show was directed with cinematographer Pierre Dupouey.