Retour à la Caverne, Act II, CHIROPTERA

On November 12th, 2023, the vast cavern covering the facade of the Palais Garnier came to life with CHIROPTERA, a project by JR, Damien Jalet, and Thomas Bangalter. Twenty-five thousand spectators filled the Place de l’Opéra to watch Amandine Albisson, a principal ballerina at the Paris Opera, open the entrance to the cave with her looming, anthropomorphous shadow. For one night only, JR’s Act II - Retour à la caverne installation became a stage curtain that opened to unveil 153 dancers covering scaffolding thirty meters in the air. A stunning performance choreographed by Damien Jalet with music by Thomas Bangalter, CHIROPTERA explored the allegories presented in Act I and II of Retour à la caverne.

CHIROPTERA 

A project created by JR, Damien Jalet and Thomas Bangalter
With Amandine Albisson, Étoile dancer of the Paris national Opera

And

Azuli Anastasio, Sara Andrieu, Matthew Antonucci, Judith Arazi, Gautier Asensi, Maryna Ashotivna, Jade Barkati-Martial, Alexia Barré, Irina Bashuk, Thea Bautista, Ismaël Belabid-Lenoir, Sophie Blet, Lara Bonnel, Eve Bouchelot, Marie Bruel, Clara Brunet, Ilona Cabrera, Coralie Calfond, Daniela Carler, Mariano Carluccio, Louise Carrière, Verdiano Cassone, Elena Cattardico, Mélen Cazenave, Yumio Chanoki, Manon Chapuis, Elia Chataigner, Hung-Ling Chen, Simon Chereze, Camille Cibrot, Alex Clair, Tiago Coelho, Margaux  Colemonts, Pietro Conti Milani, Lou Couton, Sebastian Cuiza Galan, Laure D'Eszlary, Odéric Daluz, Pavel Danko, Noé, Amélie De Figueiredo, Miguel De Sousa, Zoé De Reynier, Inês De Vilhena, Domitille Demaret, Fanny Didelot, Sophia Dinkel, Shirley Domoison Capello, Evane Duguet, Vladimir Duparc, Anaëlle Echalier, Even Eileraas, Axel Escot, Hajiba Fahmy, Solenn Favre, Giulia Federico, Ludivine Ferrara, Elsa Ferret, Lisa Fleury, Anne Fotso, Julie Franken, Louka Gailliez, Eve Ganneau, Marie Gibaud, Ludmila Gilles, Andrea Givanovitch, Nikita Goile, Valentin Goniot, Thomas Gounot, Emma Guillet, Camille Hinsinger, Ange-Clémentine Hiroki, Daria Hordiichuk, Valérie Igolnikov, Sonia Ivashchenko, Pepe Jaimes, Matthieu Jean, Tramayne Johnson-Pauillac, Mary Katakura, Natacha Kierbel, Jordan Kindell, Polina Kliuchnikova, Maharu Kumakawa, , Aimée Lagrange, Claire Lamothe, Lou Landré, Maeva Lassere, Isabel Le Cras, Charlotte Le Hir, Margaux Le Roy, Yi-Chi Lee, Alexis Lemoine, Laura Lille, Mickael Lips, Alice Llorente, Matteo Lochu, Deborah Lotti, Raphaël Ludon, Sarah Lutz, Dayana Mankovska, Camille Marchand, Isidora Markovic, Elena Martello, Pauline Martin, Matteo Masson, Marien Mazzoni, Lola Mérieux, Aurore Mettray, Félicia Monod, Marion Morlier, Maïlee Mouttou, Maureen Mouttou, Antonin Muno, Nicole Muratov, Alexandre Nadra, Devon Nelson, Sakiko Oishi, Hugo Olagnon, Alice Pan, Camilla Paris, Daisy Phillips, Joana Pimentel, Fiona Pincé, Vilim Poljanec, Romane Postel, Tara Prosser, Giulia Quacqueri, Elín Signý Ragnarsdóttir, Mohana Rapin, Paul Redier, Pauline Richard, Roberta Riontino, Semina Rizou, Matias Rocha Moura, Cristina Roggerini, Mona Roucan, Lola Ruscica, Iman Sahli, Emma Segura, Anastasia Senikova, Yanis Siah, Kayleigh Smerud, Yui Sugano, Alice Sundara, Astrid Sweeney, Hugo Thabaret, Flora Theault, Pierre-Adrien Touret, Marine Tournet, Inès Tressens, Mattéo Trutat, Anaïs Vallières, Myana Van Cuijlenborg, Pol Van Den Broek, Théo Vanpoperinghe, Anabelle Villechenoux, Amandine Villeneuve

Creative Director: Camille Pajot

Executive Producer: Maud Malfettes

Film directed and produced by CHANEL

Set design - JR

Choreography - Damien Jalet

Assistant for Choreography - Shawn Fitzgerald Ahern assisted by Lola Ruscica, Valentin Goniot

Sound Creation and Music - Thomas Bangalter

Music Recording - Florian Lagatta - Tecnica Musica

Costumes Creation - CHANEL

Executive Producer Atelier JR - Marc Azoulay

Artistic Producer for choreography - Jamila Hessaïne, assisted by Margot Thery

Studio Manager - Soizic Marceau

Production Manager - Valentin Crépain

Administrative Financial - Julie Bergon

Coordinator Production Administrator - Géraldine Weiss

Production Assistants - Maëlle Bossé, Charline Peiron, Milo Welsh

Help to auditions - Shoreh Belfond, Alexandre Nadra

Legal Advices - Michèle Mergui, Naomi Taklifi

Technical Direction - Raymond Lopez, Antoine d’Halluin

Stage Management  - Kalou Bornet, Vincent Lozouet

Technical Coordination - Liza Ayad, Maité Waag

General Artistic Management - Victor Burel, François Leneveu

Sound Management - Papa John, Quentin Vernier Palliez

Additional Recording  - Wilfried Lasbleiz

Light Management - Aldo, Simon Fouillet, Paul Biencourt

Video Management - Melvyn Bonnaffé, Baptiste Cornu, Timothée Girault, Eliott Fournié,  Anouk Guerbert

Scaffolding Security Team - Kevin Theraud

and - Abderrahman Benabila, Matthias Berghe, Nicolas Bruneau, Ismael El Bouazzati, Mohamed Berrached, Anthony Geslot, Milo Leclercq, Jérôme Leroy, Rémi Lopes Robalo, Hugo Malfilatre, Nicolas Milliez, Richard Muya Ekowa, Franck Rey, Jalal El Berkani, Florian Taillez, Elie Taillieu, Ihsane Mesli, Franck Vandekerckhove, Mickael Verhee

Set Construction - Matthieu Botrel

Dressers - Marine Baney, Yan Cadran, Laurène Foulquier

Drone Driver - Gary Bialas

Atelier JR

Alison Baldo, Marco Berrebi, Quentin Besnard, Mauve Chalandon, Laura Da Cunha, Damariz Damken, Marcelo De Souza Barbosa, Aymeric Gâcon, Émile Herlemont, Carmen Lawrence, Marie Planel, Camille Rousselet, Marie-Do Plumejeau, Inès Thiolat, Simon Sabotier,  Luana Saltiel,  Jaime Scatena,  Elodie Terracciano

This project could not have happened without the precious help of

Alain Bichet, Alison Chekhar, Marion Destenay Falempin,  Jean-Baptiste Legaut,

Christophe Masson, Alexandre Morgado, Alexander Neef, Claire Van de Velde
ainsi que toutes les équipes d'Athem, l’Opéra de Paris, CHANEL et le19M, la Mairie de Paris, la Préfecture de Police de Paris, Alios Developpement, la DOPC, Loxam Event, Novelty,  Happee Service, Toqué Talkie, Antoine Pialat, Layer, EIS, Graham Event, ICE, Hervé Pierre Consulting, UCD, ROT Incendie, Adelyo, Protection civile de Paris, Total Régie, Zing, Réseau Jade, Fréquences, SCE Performance, Blocstop, Jaulin, Caractère, Fonction Meuble, Gang Recording Studio - Paris