Constellations Festival Explores Performance Art in Toulon

Stéphane Boudin-Lestienne reviews the 9th edition of Constellations, a festival of dance, music, and performance held in Toulon from September 18 to 22, 2019. Despite a near-tropical cyclone invoked by artist Kevin Jean, the festival took refuge in the Tour royale and continued almost without cancellations. Founded and directed by Frank Micheletti, Constellations resists a fixed definition, centering on the catch-all term 'performance.' The festival featured works by Aurore Thibout, Flora Détraz, Simon Tanguy, Kubilai Khan Investigations, Marion Carriau, Marie Desoubeaux, Ana Rita Teodoro, Rudi van der Merwe, Alban Richard, Marlène Rostaing, Leïla Martial, Kevin Jean, Camille Mutel, Gaspard Kuentz, and Kaori Ito. The review explores how performance art operates in a liminal space, with time equal to action, no backstage, and direct audience engagement. It highlights the festival's ability to present sketches and fragments, connecting them over three days with about thirty artists, demonstrating the vitality of a scene that can profoundly shake perception with minimal means.