In 1999, Gabriela Carrizo met Franck Chartier while they both danced for the Ballets C de la B (Contemporary Ballets of Belgium), led by Alain Platel. Shortly after, their first creation emerged: a performance that takes place in a caravan, through the windows of which the audience observes the action. This marked the birth of Peeping Tom. Twenty-five years and numerous shows later, Gabriela Carrizo created “Chroniques,” a show where bodies bend and collide with the boundaries of space and time. The music is composed by Raphaëlle Latani, with whom Peeping Tom has been collaborating since their piece “A louer.”
“A more experimental piece than the others”
Peeping Tom’s work was never conventional, but Gabriela Carrizo still defines “Chroniques” as “more experimental” compared to their previous works. This may be because the scenography is less clear. Usually, she and Franck Chartier work from a specific location. In the case of “Chroniques,” it is a kind of cave, a strange entity, a place and time that are hard to pinpoint precisely. “It is an abstract place that allows for easier time travel. A liminal space between several worlds,” explains Raphaëlle Latani.
However, the piece is not lacking in concreteness. “The external world has strongly entered into this creation,” further explains Raphaëlle Latini. “We were soaked in the violence around us, we could not come to work in the morning with daisies.” But this worldly violence does not immediately intervene. “Human relationships are almost always child’s play, in which power arrives very clearly,” develops Gabriela Carrizo.
“A collective work”
Peeping Tom draws great inspiration from Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater. Therefore, “Chroniques” is a collective creation: “We create with others,” emphasizes Gabriela Carrizo. “The performers are all different, and we seek the specificities of what each one can bring. There is first a work of trust to overcome fears and doubts as a creator.”
This collaboration goes beyond just dance-theater, but also involves dance-theater-sound. Regarding the sound work, Raphaëlle Latani explains: “We work a lot with archives, pieces that we like, and in this way, we find our piece together. We grow together, the sounds enriching at the same time as the movements are created.”
“More Information”
– “Chroniques” from April 2 to 8, 2026, at the Grande Halle de La Villette. – European Tour: Udine (Italy) on April 14 and 15 / Luxembourg from April 28 to 30 / Copenhagen (Denmark) from May 21 to 23 / Barcelona (Spain) from June 4 to 14 at Teatre Nacional de Catalunya.
