30 Jun 2008
A Master of Nonchalance in Control of His Illusion Foofwa
Benjamin de Bouillis
The New York Times by Alastair Macaulay
«[Foofwa] is a dancer of rare imagination. (…)
Foofwa even has touches of Marceau’s winsomeness, but he also has the complete control of illusion that equals Marceau or the greatest mimes. (…) [He] remains (…) the kind of performer to whom I tentatively apply the word “genius.” How does he do what he does? What was it he just did? You watch in stupefaction.»
> Read the complete article at the New York Times
26 Jun 2008
Danceviewtimes – writers on dance
Subject: Benjamin de Bouillis de Foofwa d’Imobilite at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, New York: «[Foofwa d’Imobilité’s] “Benjamin de Bouillis” uses dance the same way Joyce uses language – as material for a grand illusion, a tour de force of signs and symbols, pointing ultimately at itself, or nothing at all. It’s brilliant. (…) As a performer he is a thrill to watch – elegantly turned-out in ballet moves, sure-footed in its off-center Cunningham variant, exact and expressive in the French style when he turns mime and clown. As a creator he unpacks Cunningham’s cryptic zen psychology – specifically treating the human performer not as an embodiment of character, but an illusion to be tinkered with; an assemblage, not a unity. “Benjamin de Bouillis” does the same kind of deconstruction job on modern dance that “Finnegans Wake” did to the modern novel, and it may have the same effect. After reading Joyce’s work, it’s hard to go back to seeing fictional characters as anything more than bubbles composed of word-associations. After seeing Foofwa, it may be hard to believe in traditional modern dance as anything but a succession of empty postures.» By Tom Phillips
21 Jan 2006
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
«”Benjamin de Bouillis” by Foofwa d’Imobilité is a very subtle study, entertaining and complex, of the being (me) who observes himself, while multiplying and losing himself . The dancer and choreographer from Geneva slips into his reflection, only to throw it off right away, reaching a state of torment. Until now we have never seen Foofwa d’Imobilité so serious and at the same time cheerful and carefree (…)»
