Beethoven composed his Ninth Symphony when he was almost completely deaf. Cai Glover is Deaf. On stage, he chooses to dance without his hearing aid. What do our senses - or absences - say about the way we experience the world? And above all, how do they guide us beyond our differences?
In 2016, Hélène Blackburn created 9, a landmark work in the Cas Public repertoire. Inspired by the singular journey of Cai Glover, a Deaf dancer who worked with the company for over ten years, the choreographer engaged with him in a profound reflection on perception, language and difference. A veritable muse for this project, Cai is never a mere subject, but a full-fledged player in a creative process based on mutual listening. Together, they laid the foundations for a work in which inclusion is not decreed, but lived in constant dialogue - a shared path towards the universal.
Eight years later, 9.2 - marks a new stage in this adventure. Passed on to Cai Glover - now co-choreographer - this re-creation retains the essence of the work, but takes a fresh look at it, forged by experience, maturity and an intimate understanding of the subject matter. Together, Blackburn and Glover revisit the scenic score with rigor and poetry, sculpting a space where sensory reference points become blurred, where light plays with perception, and where every movement becomes a megaphone.
In this physical and visceral re-reading, Beethoven's Ninth - also revisited - embraces the contemporary vocabulary of Cas Public. 9.2 invites all audiences, young and old, to cross the boundaries of silence, to make absence an anchor point, and to recognize in each body, each journey, a potential language.
credits
9.2 takes its inspiration and roots from 9, a Cas Public co-production with the Kopergietery de Gent in Belgium, created in 2016.
Artistic direction Hélène Blackburn and Cai Glover Choreography Hélène Blackburn in collaboration with Cai Glover Playwright Johan De Smet Music Martin Tétreault Lighting design Emilie B-Beaulieu and Hélène Blackburn Set design Hélène Blackburn Costumes Michael Slack and Hélène Blackburn Films Kenneth Michiels With the participation of children from the Ghent neighborhood Rabot Seymanur Kizilca, Evgeni Miroslavov, Chaz Keith Salfamones, Ramzi Serrai, Burhan Zambur Performers at inception Nicholas Bellefleur, Cai Glover, Robert Guy, Daphnée Laurendeau, Danny Morissette and soprano Jolien de Gendt
