“DAVID HOCKNEY 25” DANCE LATE HOURS

Trained at the Royal Ballet School, Simon Williams joined the English National Ballet Company in 1997, where he performed the greatest roles in classical ballets. From 1999 and intermittently until 2011, he distinguished himself within the New Adventures Company (formerly Adventures in Motion Pictures) in Mathew Bourne's productions: Swan Lake, The Car Man and The Nutcracker.

Emerging in the 1980s as a prodigy at the Royal Ballet School in London, Michael Clark has remained at the forefront of innovation in the field of dance. From his early days, his performances have been marked by a blend of technical rigour and experimentation, intense and refined choreography incorporating elements of punk, Dada, pop and rock. His productions continue to innovate, provoke and electrify audiences.

“Satie Stud” is a recreation for the FLV Late Hours, the product of the unprecedented encounter between Simon Williams, an Opéra de Paris danseur étoile, and Michael Clark, the enfant terrible of English dance. To a piano score by Erik Satie, the choreographer unspools a series of decidedly classical movements. And yet Clark deconstructs this exquisite sequence, little by little, to reveal movement that is more adventurous, blending fragile balance and timeless grace. The superbly committed Simon Williams then seems to be in dialogue with the surrounding works from David Hockney’s Normandy period. As though dancing in a daydream, the artist becomes truly radiant in an expression of both contemplation and seduction. Exceptional.

Excerpts from the “Le Grand Sot” by Marion Motin

Marie Begasse - Alice Bessou - Manon Bouquet - Lorenzo Dassilva Dasse - Julien Ramade

Choreographer and dancer Marion Motin performs in France’s biggest arts venues and has worked at the Opéra de Paris and on concerts for major international artists like Christine and the Queens and Stromae. In her choreographer role, Motin revisits her work “Le Grand Sot,” inspired by Ravel’s Boléro, with five dancers from her company, with the Normandy landscapes as a backdrop.

The Boléro is an excerpt from a piece entitled "Le grand sot" (The Great Fool), a thriller set against the backdrop of a swimming competition. The Boléro represents the team introduction, and on a second reading, it's a caricature of "proper behaviour"—what is expected of me: shaking hands, nodding in agreement, showing oneself, pleasing others... and also an ode to instinct, staying aligned with who one truly is at heart, what one truly feels. It's a battle against taking the easy route, a long-distance race to remain true to oneself.

Brandon Masele, Laura Defretin and Sherwin Assadan

Together, Brandon Masele and Laura Defretin form the duo known as MazelFreten and fuse electro and contemporary dance. They were seen by millions of viewers during the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics, for which they staged a ballet on a barge on the Seine. In February 2025, they performed at the Chaillot dance theatre with French pop singer Hervé.

In the David Hockney portrait gallery, they will perform a fluid, poetic duet to the live guitar music of Sherwin Assadan. The artists combine the flowing creativity of hip-hop dance with the harmony of contemporary movement.

Dancer and choreographer Sahar Dehghan performs worldwide and is just as skilled in working with Bartabas for the 2023 “Cabaret de l’exil – Femmes Persanes” show as she is in creating a choreographic performance, “WHIRL Quantum Dance,” with researchers from CERN Geneva. Sahar takes possession of the exhibition’s last gallery with a whirling, gyrating solo dance spectacle of uncommon visual potency, a dialogue between music and the sets of David Hockney’s operas and ballets.

"Do remember they can't cancel the spring."
David Hockney

"Spring... Nowruz is a celebration of spring and Nature’s renaissance, how can I not be moved by this David Hockney adage, being an Iranian woman invited to dance for him, with his Work? An oeuvre so inspired by Nature, one to which I wish to offer the symbol of the spiral, that which never dies. I would like to pay homage to David Hockney, to all that he received, through his eyes, from the sky, and that he painted so as to present it to the world. Like a whirling dervish who receives azure to give to the earth through his heart, as all trees do. I therefore wish to pay tribute to his Art, which connects us to the soul of all things, making it immortal."
Sahar Dehghan

Public performances in the Hall d’Accueil and Galleries 1 and 9

The National School of Circus Arts in Rosny-sous-Bois (ENACR), founded in 1983 on the initiative of Bernard Turin, has become a vital institution in circus-arts education. Since the school opened, more than 500 artists have completed their studies there, enhancing the discipline’s national and international reputation.

Five ENACR students have been invited to perform “Impromptus” among David Hockney’s works: one- and two-person balancing acts, juggling, Cyr wheel, hula-hoop and more. Visitors will be surprised and amazed by these unexpected flash performances.