Último Helecho
What if folklore is not preserved, but continues to live on? Último helecho takes its audience on a deep dive into the heart of myth, memory and fiery South American rhythms.
Argentine and Peruvian folklore sizzles with rhythm, vitality and raw expression. Stories of violence and resistance, interwoven with European influences, resonate through dance and music. Director Nina Laisné brings together singer Nadia Larcher and dancer François Chaignaud to breathe new life into these traditions. Surrounded by six musicians, they allow Baroque and South American mythology to collide in an exuberant performance.
Festival Julidans
Programme section Julidans On Stage
Dutch premiere
Location Internationaal Theater Amsterdam
Venue Grote zaal
Run time 70 minutes
Genre Dance
Language Language no problem
Último Helecho
This sensory performance takes the audience through hidden layers of folklore and myth. Folklore does not appear as a fixed heritage, but as something that lives and changes, full of tensions and contradictions. European influences resonate alongside the often-suppressed history of indigenous communities. Here, virtuosity arises from change and fusion.
Último helecho unfolds in two contrasting parts. In the first, time seems to stand still. Two hybrid figures move slowly through a dimly lit space that feels like a cave or a shelter. Voices and sounds rise from the depths, as if dance itself were emerging here anew.
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In the second part, everything bursts forth. Rhythm and energy take over, footwork makes the floor reverberate. What grew underground blossoms into an exuberant, collective world full of movement.
Throughout the work, the figure of the devil from South American mythology emerges – not as a threat, but as a guide. Último helecho thus becomes a poetic journey through layers of memory, melancholy and longing: a spellbinding experience that touches the soul and opens up space for other ways of feeling and living together.
Nina Laisné / François Chaignaud / Nadia Larcher
Nina Laisné (1985) is a visual artist and filmmaker who combines film, music and performance. Her work moves between documentary and poetry and focuses on oral traditions, forgotten histories and music as a vehicle for memory and identity.
François Chaignaud (1983) is a dancer, choreographer and singer who brings movement and song together into a single expressive language. His work draws on folklore, ritual and historical sources and moves between contemporary dance, music and performance. He is known for his physical precision, vocal power and his interest in transformation.
Nadia Larcher (1986) is an Argentine singer and composer, rooted in the folklore of north-western Argentina. She combines traditional forms such as the vidala with contemporary composition and poetry. Her work is characterised by intensity and a strong connection to language, landscape and collective memory.
Credits
Original idea, musical and stage direction and scenography Nina Laisné
Choreography, artistic collaboration and performance François Chaignaud
Music consulting, artistic collaboration and performance Nadia Larcher
Live music
Tenor sackbut, serpent, flute Rémi Lécorché
Tenor sackbut Nicolas Vazquez
Tenor and bass sackbut Cyril Bernhard, Joan Marín
Bandoneon Jean‑Baptiste Henry
Theorb and plucked strings Daniel Zapico
Traditional percussions Vanesa Garcia
General manager Sara Ruiz Marmolejo, Anthony Merlaud
Stage manager Sara Ruiz Marmolejo, Hervé Bailly
Lighting design Abigail Fowler
Lighting technician Anthony Merlaud, Abigail Fowler
Sound technicians Alice Le Moigne, Camille Frachet, Arthur Frick, Guilhem Angot
Dresser (tour) Cara Ben Assayag, Sarah Duvert
Scenography assistant Julie Reilles
Set construction Théâtre de Liège (BE)
Costumes design Sarah Duvert, Florence Bruchon
Costumes making Théâtre de Liège (BE), Opéra de Limoges (FR)
Administration and production Zorongo (Martine Girol, Valentina Salazar Henao), Mandorle productions (Chloé Perol, Jeanne Lefèvre, Emma Forster)
Production and tour Bureau Platô – Séverine Péan
Executive production Zorongo in association with Mandorle productions
-|-Zorongo is supported by the Ministère de la Culture – DRAC Bourgogne‑Franche‑Comté
Nina Laisné is an associate artist at Le Quartz, Scène nationale de Brest
Mandorle productions is supported by the Ministère de la Culture – DRAC Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes and the Région Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes
François Chaignaud is an associate artist at Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse, the Maison de la danse and the Biennale de la danse de Lyon
Coproductions
Théâtre de Liège (BE), Les 2 Scènes – Scène nationale de Besançon (FR), Le Quartz – Scène nationale de Brest (FR), Maison de la danse / Pôle européen de création, en soutien à la Biennale de Lyon (FR), PACT Zollverein (DE), Festival d’Automne à Paris (FR), Chaillot – Théâtre national de la Danse (FR), Théâtre de la Ville – Paris (FR), Berliner Festspiele (DE), Théâtre Auditorium Poitiers (FR), Dans in December Brugge (BE), Le Grand R – Scène nationale La Roche‑sur‑Yon (FR), Charleroi Danse – Centre chorégraphique de Wallonie‑Bruxelles (BE), Opéra de Limoges (FR), Julidans Amsterdam (NL), Le Manège – scène nationale – Reims (FR), La Comédie de Clermont – Clermont‑Ferrand (FR), Malraux – Scène nationale Chambéry‑Savoie (FR), MC2: Maison de la Culture de Grenoble – Scène nationale (FR), Bonlieu Scène nationale Annecy (FR), Château Rouge – Scène conventionnée Annemasse (FR), Theater Freiburg (DE), Oriente Occidente (IT), Théâtre Vidy‑Lausanne (CH), Festival Musica Strasbourg (FR), Maillon – Théâtre de Strasbourg – Scène européenne (FR), POLE‑SUD CDCN Strasbourg (FR), Filature – Scène nationale Mulhouse (FR), Théâtre Garonne – Scène européenne Toulouse (FR)
The show is supported by the Tax Shelter of the Belgian Federal Government and the Inver Tax Shelter
The show is supported by Interreg franco‑suisse Project n°20919 – LACS
With the support of Dance Reflections by Van Cleef & Arpels
Residencies La Ménagerie de Verre, CN D Pantin
This performance is supported by
