Interview — AGAPÉ, with choreographer Caroline Breton

Following EUPHORIA, AGAPÉ is a choreographic and sonic fable exploring the power of friendship, "cellular" love, and the living world through a poetic and sensitive aesthetic. On stage, three hybrid figures evolve like microscopic entities in dialogue with one another, within a joyful, dreamlike, and ever-changing environment.

Conceived as a sensory and collective laboratory, AGAPÉ combines dance, science, lightweight objects, and moving light to explore the invisible connections between bodies, rhythms, and emotions.

The piece benefits from an exceptional residency programme (Watermill Center, CND Pantin, Atelier de Paris CDCN, among others) and marks a new chapter for the company through its collaboration with the Overjoyed Collective.

1. How did the idea for AGAPÉ emerge, and why did you choose to explore the notion of "cellular" love through a choreographic fable ?

Caroline Breton:
"AGAPÉ grew out of my desire to continue the cycle that began with De Natura Rerum and EUPHORIA, exploring vital energy, what sets us in motion, and what nourishes our desire to exist. After the duet in EUPHORIA, I wanted to move towards a work for three performers, which, for me, marks the beginning of the collective. I naturally turned to friendship, which I see as an essential form of love that is often underestimated.

The idea of 'cellular' love comes from my fascination with the invisible bonds that connect us. I see the performers as cells that meet, come together, and create a larger living organism. Through this choreographic fable, I seek to celebrate our fundamental need for tenderness, connection, and wonder in the face of life."

2. How does AGAPÉ complement or extend EUPHORIA? What distinguishes these two works within your artistic approach ?

Caroline Breton:
"Both works are part of the same artistic exploration of life and joy. EUPHORIA explored the relationship between two beings and the hybridisation of the human and the animal. With AGAPÉ, I continue this reflection while expanding its scale: moving from the duet to the trio, from an intimate relationship to the birth of a collective.

The main difference lies in the subject itself. AGAPÉ focuses on friendship as a relationship in its own right, capable of carrying as much emotional intensity as romantic or family bonds. From a scenic perspective, I also introduce a more structured scenography, featuring a membrane-like curtain that transforms the space and interacts with the performers like a living organism."

3. Your artistic universe brings together science, poetry, and choreography. How do you weave these different dimensions into your creative process ?

Caroline Breton:
"I always nourish my creations with scientific, philosophical, and poetic readings. For AGAPÉ, I turned more specifically to the humanities, drawing inspiration from authors such as Edgar Morin, Donna Haraway, and Anne Dufourmantelle, while remaining attentive to broader reflections on the living world.

These references, however, are never illustrated literally. They serve as starting points for studio work, where dance, light, sound, and scenography come together to create sensory spaces. My aim is to bring forth moments of poetry capable of moving the audience—sometimes through beauty, sometimes through humour, or vulnerability. Science nourishes thought, poetry opens the imagination, and choreography gives them a body."

4. How did you conceive the performers' bodies in AGAPÉ? What kinds of figures or gestures emerged to express the idea of "friendly microorganisms"?

Caroline Breton:
"I imagined the performers as cells in motion. Their physical differences, their voices, and their individual presences become the very material of the creation. What interests me is the way several individuals can come together to form a collective organism without losing their singularity.

Choreographically, I work extensively with continuous, fluid, and circular movements, inspired by the notion of melisma in music: a single energy flowing through multiple forms without interruption. The gestures evoke waves, currents, and transitions. The membrane-like curtain also creates effects of appearance and disappearance, as though the bodies were evolving within a living tissue in constant transformation."

5. The project also places great emphasis on the collective, both on stage and behind the scenes. How do you approach the creative process with your collaborators?

Caroline Breton:
"For me, a creation begins long before rehearsals. As soon as a project takes shape, I open a dialogue with the performers, the set designer, the sound designer, the lighting designer, and all the collaborators involved. For several months, we exchange references, intuitions, readings, and ideas.

I come with a vision, but that vision evolves through contact with others. Each artist enriches the project and sometimes leads it towards unexpected territories. This way of working is built on trust, attentive listening, and the pleasure of creating together. I like to think of the company as a working community, where the care devoted to relationships is just as important as the artistic outcome."

6. In a world that often feels fragmented, AGAPÉ seems to offer a restorative vision of human connection. What message or feeling would you like audiences to take away from the performance?

Caroline Breton:
"I would like audiences to leave with a sense of gentleness, joy, and a renewed impulse to connect with others. We are living through a time marked by many tensions, and I deeply believe in the importance of creating spaces where people can breathe, dream, and share a meaningful sensory experience.

If AGAPÉ can offer, for the space of an hour, a feeling of belonging, a desire to laugh, to reach out to others, or simply to look at the living world with greater tenderness, then the piece will have achieved its purpose. I hope everyone feels welcomed as they are and leaves with a little more lightness, wonder, and confidence in our ability to build meaningful connections."