Published on Oct 9, 2026

Rating:

Genre: Dance & Ballet

Dates: October 17-18, 2026

Venue: Beijing Performing Arts Center

Prices: 80, 180, 280, 380, 480, 580

Features: Created in 1981 by French choreographer Maguy Marin, the dance drama "May B" will be stage in Beijing performing arts center from October 17th-18th, 2026.

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

"May B" was created in 1981 by French choreographer Maguy Marin. Through an abrupt dramatic language, it opens a series of presentations of human wandering situations, transforming the absurd, violent and painful elements in the situations into artistic expressions. The power of dance comes from its ability to interpret the mystery of human existence in the world.

This production is drawn from the works of Samuel Beckett. In terms of dramatic action and atmosphere, Beckett's creations establish a tension with the physical expression and aesthetic articulation of the dancers. Building upon this foundation, the play constructs a covert interpretive pathway to uncover those most intimate, latent, and overlooked bodily postures.

This play seeks to uncover the subtle or profoundly striking bodily expressions within countless ordinary lives: in these lives, waiting and a silence that is "not entirely still" together construct an void—a vast nothingness, a realm of silence imbued with hesitation. The characters in Beckett's works yearn for tranquility, yet their bodies move involuntarily—whether in wide or narrow gestures—they are perpetually in motion.

This work, which is fundamentally theatrical, does not focus on the exposition of dialogue and discourse; instead, it emphasizes the amplification of bodily form. Through this approach, the play seeks a point of convergence: on one side, the physical movements employed in theater; on the other, the language of dance and choreography.

Maguy Marin

In the early 1950s, Maguy Marin was born in Toulouse, France. From Toulouse to Strasbourg, and then to the Moderna Dance School in Brussels, her years of dedicated study gradually turned her long-standing passion for dance into reality. This artistic aspiration first took root with the Chandra Dance Company, before she joined the 20th Century Ballet Company. Together with Daniel Ambache, she embarked on her creative career, and the 1978 Nyon-Baniole Dance Competition further propelled her creative momentum.

Between 1980 and 1990, with the support of the Créteil Art Center team in France, she continued her artistic exploration alongside Christiane Glick, Luna Bloomfield, Michel Le Coq, and Monserrat Casanova. The dance company gradually took shape, with artists such as Kacey Polo, Françoise Leclerc, Ulises Álvarez, and Teresa Cunha joining successively to expand its ensemble. In 1985, the company officially became the "Créteil and Meuse Valley National Dance Creation Center." Its practice of collective creation, along with its efforts to sustain itself through artistic production, gained further support through the widespread global dissemination of its works.

In 1987, Maguy Marin met the musician Denis Mariot, which marked the beginning of a long-term collaboration. Both shared a common artistic pursuit and were willing to transcend the boundaries of any single art form in their exploration; this partnership opened up a vast experimental arena. In 1998, the dance company relocated to the National Choreographic Center in the Villette district of Lille-la-Paupaise. In 2006, the new building of the National Choreographic Center in Lille-la-Paupaise was completed. In 2011, the dance company reintegrated all the creative forms explored in its research and reflection within its creative workshop for systematic review and organization.

Following years of intensive residency at the National Choreographic Center in Lille-la-Paupaise, the company faced the need to enter a new phase: to resume its creative endeavors as an independent dance company—experimenting with every possible dimension of creative practice in entirely new ways, uncovering the diverse forms derived from this foundational essence, and continuously expanding the potential of its creations. After three years of residency in Toulouse, in order to meet its need for a sustainable creative space, the company officially settled in the town of Saint-Fouval in Lyon in 2015, launching a new project: "Lamdam" —an art center designed to serve as a practical hub for showcasing creative works and fostering collaborative projects with other artists.

Tickets for French Dance Drama - May B are Available now